A multi-dimension, time-dependent Monte Carlo code is used to compute sample
gamma-ray spectra to explore whether unambiguous constraints could be obtained
from gamma-ray observations of Type Ia supernovae. Both spherical and
aspherical geometries are considered and it is shown that moderate departures
from sphericity can produce viewing-angle effects that are at least as
significant as those caused by the variation of key parameters in
one-dimensional models. Thus gamma-ray data could in principle carry some
geometrical information, and caution should be applied when discussing the
value of gamma-ray data based only on one-dimensional explosion models. In
light of the limited sensitivity of current gamma-ray observatories, the
computed theoretical spectra are studied to revisit the issue of whether useful
constraints could be obtained for moderately nearby objects. The most useful
gamma-ray measurements are likely to be of the light curve and time-dependent
hardness ratios, but sensitivity higher than currently available, particularly
at relatively hard energies (~2-3 MeV), is desirable.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures. Accepted by MNRAS. Minor changes to clarify
discussion in Section