A Celestial Gamma-ray Foreground Due To The Albedo Of Small Solar System Bodies And A Remote Probe Of The Interstellar Cosmic Ray Spectrum

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

Scientific paper

We calculate the gamma-ray albedo flux from cosmic-ray (CR) interactions with the solid rock and ice in Main Belt asteroids and Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) using the Moon as a template. We show that the gamma-ray albedo for the Main Belt and Kuiper Belt strongly depends on the small-body mass spectrum of each system and may be detectable by the forthcoming Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST). The orbits of the Main Belt asteroids and KBOs are distributed near the ecliptic, which passes through the Galactic center and high Galactic latitudes. If detected, the gamma-ray emission by the Main Belt and Kuiper Belt has to be taken into account when analyzing weak gamma-ray sources close to the ecliptic, especially near the Galactic center and for signals at high Galactic latitudes, such as the extragalactic gamma-ray emission. Additionally, it can be used to probe the spectrum of CR nuclei at close-to-interstellar conditions, and the mass spectrum of small bodies in the Main Belt and Kuiper Belt.The asteroid albedo spectrum also exhibits a 511 keV line due to secondary positrons annihilating in the rock. This may be an important and previously unrecognized celestial foreground for the INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL) observations of the Galactic 511 keV line emission including the direction of the Galactic center. IVM, PFM, JFO acknowledge support from NASA. TAP acknowledges support from the US DoE.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

A Celestial Gamma-ray Foreground Due To The Albedo Of Small Solar System Bodies And A Remote Probe Of The Interstellar Cosmic Ray Spectrum 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 A Celestial Gamma-ray Foreground Due To The Albedo Of Small Solar System Bodies And A Remote Probe Of The Interstellar Cosmic Ray Spectrum, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and A Celestial Gamma-ray Foreground Due To The Albedo Of Small Solar System Bodies And A Remote Probe Of The Interstellar Cosmic Ray Spectrum will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-957936

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.