Astrophysical gamma-ray lines: a probe of stellar nucleosynthesis and star formation
Abstract
Description
Astrophysical gamma-ray spectroscopy is a most valuable tool for studying nuclear astrophysics, as well as recent star formation in the Milky Way. After a short, historical, introduction to the field, I present a brief review of the most important current issues. Emphasis is given to radioactivities produced by massive stars and associated supernova explosions, and in particular, those related to observations presently carried out by INTEGRAL: short-lived Ti-44 from CasA and SN1987A and long-lived Al-26 and Fe-60 from massive stars; various candidate sources of positrons for the 511 keV emission of the Galactic bulge are also critically discussed.
12 pages, Invited Review talk presented in the 5th INTEGRAL Workshop (Munich, February 16-20, 2004), to appear as ESA SP-552
12 pages, Invited Review talk presented in the 5th INTEGRAL Workshop (Munich, February 16-20, 2004), to appear as ESA SP-552