60Fe and Massive Stars
Abstract
Gamma-ray line emission from radioactive decay of 60Fe provides constraints on nucleosynthesis in massive stars and supernovae. We detect the γ-ray lines from 60Fe decay at 1173 and 1333 keV using three years of data from the spectrometer SPI on board INTEGRAL. The average flux per line is (4.4 ± 0.9) × 10−5 ph cm−2 s−1 rad−1 for the inner Galaxy region. Deriving the Galactic 26Al gamma-ray line flux with using the same set of observations and analysis method, we determine the flux ratio of 60Fe/26Al gamma-rays as 0.15 ± 0.05. We discuss the implications of these results for the widely-held hypothesis that 60Fe is synthesized in core-collapse supernovae, and also for the closely-related question of the precise origin of 26Al in massive stars.
- Publication:
-
The Art of Modeling Stars in the 21st Century
- Pub Date:
- October 2008
- DOI:
- 10.1017/S1743921308023132
- arXiv:
- arXiv:0902.0214
- Bibcode:
- 2008IAUS..252..333W
- Keywords:
-
- ISM: abundances;
- nucleosynthesis;
- Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- 6 pages, 5 figures, talk at IAUS 252, The Art of Modeling Stars in the 21st Century, Sanya, April 6-11, 2008