Positron annihilation radiation from the Galactic center - 'Cheshire cat' Compton scattering and the origin of excess continuum

Details Positron annihilation radiation from the Galactic center - 'Cheshire cat' Compton scattering and the origin of excess continuum Positron annihilation radiation from the Galactic center - 'Cheshire cat' Compton scattering and the origin of excess continuum

Jun 1988

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1988apj...329..212b&link_type=abstract

Astrophysical Journal, Part 1 (ISSN 0004-637X), vol. 329, June 1, 1988, p. 212-224. Research supported by Los Alamos National La

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

15

Compton Effect, Elementary Particles, Emission Spectra, Galactic Nuclei, Gamma Ray Astronomy, Positron Annihilation, Gas Mixtures, Heao 3, Ionized Gases

Scientific paper

Two observations of the gamma-ray spectrum from the direction of the Galactic center were made by HEAO 3 in the fall of 1979 and the spring of 1980. The 2-gamma 511 keV annihilation line flux decreased by a factor of about three during the 6 months between these observations, while the excess gamma-ray continuum below the annihilation line, often interpreted as 3-gamma decay of orthopositronium, barely changed. This discrepancy in temporal behavior makes the identification of the bulk of excess continuum as 3-gamma decay of positronium difficult. It is shown that Compton scattering of the line and high-energy radiation provides a natural explanation for the surprisingly small changes seen in the excess continuum. Scattered photons are delayed by a time corresponding to the size of the scattering region. For the annihilation source in the Galactic center, this distance is probably a fraction of a parsec. Thus, even after the high-energy continuum and annihilation line are gone, low-energy Compton-scattered photons can still be detected with an almost unchanged flux.

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