26Al in the inner Galaxy

Details 26Al in the inner Galaxy 26Al in the inner Galaxy

2005-12-13

arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0512334v1

Astron.Astrophys. 449 (2006) 1025-1031

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

7 pages with 7 figures; accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

Scientific paper

10.1051/0004-6361:20054301

We performed a spectroscopic study of the 1809 keV gamma-ray line from 26Al decay in the Galaxy using the SPI imaging spectrometer with its high-resolution Ge detector camera on the INTEGRAL observatory. We analyzed observations of the first two mission years, fitting spectra from all 7130 telescope pointings in narrow energy bins to models of instrumental background and the 26Al sky. Instrumental background is estimated from independent tracers of cosmic-ray activation. The shape of the 26Al signal is compared to the instrumental response to extract the width of the celestial line. We detect the 26Al line at \~16sigma significance. The line is broadened only slightly, if at all; we constrain the width to be below 2.8 keV (FWHM, 2 sigma). The average Doppler velocities of 26Al at the time of its decay in the interstellar medium (decay time~1.04 My) therefore are probably around 100 km/s, in agreement with expectations from Galactic rotation and interstellar turbulence. The flux and spatial distribution of the emission are found consistent with previous observations. The derived amount of 26Al in the Galaxy is 2.8 (+/-0.8) M_solar.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

26Al in the inner Galaxy does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with 26Al in the inner Galaxy, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and 26Al in the inner Galaxy will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-35872