Scientific objectives of solar gamma-ray observations

Solar flare neutrons and gamma rays are produced by nuclear interactions of flare accelerated ions in the solar atmosphere. A rich variety of such gamma ray and neutron observations have been made by the Solar Maximum Mission (SSM), other satellite, balloon and ground based detectors, and they have provided a wealth of unique information on the nature of particle acceleration in flares and on the flare process itself. What we have learned from these observations is briefly reviewed, and what we can hope to learn from more sensitive new observations to be made with the Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO), the Max '91 balloon program, and the Nuclear Astrophysics Explorer is outlined

Interpretations and implications of gamma ray lines from solar flares, the galactic center in gamma ray transients

Observations and theories of astrophysical gamma ray line emission are reviewed and prospects for future observations by the spectroscopy experiments on the planned Gamma Ray Observatory are discussed

Gamma-ray line astrophysics

Recent observations of gamma-ray line emission from solar flares, gamma-ray bursts, the galactic center, the interstellar medium and the jets of SS433 are reviewed. The implications of these observations on high energy processes in these sources are discussed

Gamma ray lines from solar flares

The strongest line, both predicted theoretically and detected observationally at 2.2 MeV, is due to neutron capture by protons in the photosphere. The neutrons are produced in nuclear reactions of flare accelerated particles which also positrons and prompt nuclear gamma rays. From the comparison of the observed and calculated intensities of the lines at 4.4 or 6.1 MeV to that of the 2.2 MeV line, it is possible to deduce the spectrum of accelerated nuclei in the flare region; and from the absolute intensities of these lines, it is possible to obtain the total number of accelerated nuclei at the sun. The study of the 2.2 MeV line also gives information on the amount of He-3 in the photosphere. The study of the line at 0.51 MeV resulting from positron annihilation complements the data obtained from the other lines; in addition it gives information on the temperature and density in the annihilation region

Gamma-ray astronomy

Cosmic gamma rays, the physical processes responsible for their production and the astrophysical sites from which they were seen are reported. The bulk of the observed gamma ray emission is in the photon energy range from about 0.1 MeV to 1 GeV, where observations are carried out above the atmosphere. There are also, however, gamma ray observations at higher energies obtained by detecting the Cerenkov light produced by the high energy photons in the atmosphere. Gamma ray emission was observed from sources as close as the Sun and the Moon and as distant as the quasar 3C273, as well as from various other galactic and extragalactic sites. The radiation processes also range from the well understood, e.g. energetic particle interactions with matter, to the still incompletely researched, such as radiation transfer in optically thick electron positron plasmas in intense neutron star magnetic fields

Al-26: A galactic source of gamma ray line emission

It is shown that Al26 is a very good candidate for producing a detectable gamma-ray line, and that this line is not only intense but also very narrow. By examining the chart of nuclides for other radioactive isotopes which could produce hiterto unnoticed gamma-ray lines following nucleosynthesis, it is found that for mass numbers less than 60, the isotopes Na22, Al26, K40, Ar42, Ti44, Sc46, Mn54, Co56, Co57, Co58, Co60 and Fe60 are the only ones with sufficiently long half lives (70) days to produce gamma rays in optically thin regions

Gamma ray lines from interstellar grains

The existence of very narrow (FWHM or approximately = 5 KeV) gamma ray line emission from interstellar grains is pointed out. The prime candidate for detection is the line at 6.129 Mev from O-16, but other very narrow lines could also be detected at 0.847, 1.369, 1.634, 1.779 and 2.313 Mev from Fe-56, Mg-24, Ne-20, Si-28 and N-14. Measurements of this line emission can provide information on the composition, size and spatial distribution of interstellar grains

Advances in gamma-ray line astronomy

Gamma ray line observations of solar flares, gamma ray transients, and the galactic center are reviewed and interpreted. Prospects of future line detections are discussed