INTEGRAL SPI All-Sky View in Soft Gamma Rays: A Study of Point-Source and Galactic Diffuse Emission

We have processed the data accumulated with the INTEGRAL SPI instrument over 4 years (~51 Ms) to study the morphology of the Galactic "diffuse" emission in the 20 keV to 8 MeV energy range. To achieve this, we simultaneously derived an all-sky census of emitting sources and images of the Galactic ridge (GR) emission. In the central radian, the resolved point-source emission amounts to 88%, 91%, and 68% of the total in the 25-50, 50-100, and 100-300 keV domains, respectively. We compare the spatial distribution of the GR emission with the distributions obtained from CO and near-IR maps and quantify our results through latitude and longitude profiles. Below 50 keV, the SPI data are better traced by the latter, supporting a stellar origin for this emission. Furthermore, we find that the GR emission spectrum follows a power law with a photon index ~1.55 above 50 keV, while an additional component is required below that energy. This component shows a cutoff around 30 keV, reinforcing a stellar origin, as proposed by Krivonos et al. The component of the diffuse emission due to e^± annihilations is extracted simultaneously, leading to the determination of the related parameters (positronium flux and fraction). Specific discussion is devoted to the annihilation-line distribution, since significant emission is detected over a region as large as ~80° × ~10°, potentially associated with the disk or halo surrounding the central regions of our Galaxy.

Based on observations with INTEGRAL, an ESA project with instruments and science data center funded by ESA member states (especially the PI countries: Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland), the Czech Republic, and Poland, and with the participation of Russia and the US.