OSSE Observations of Galactic 511 keV Positron Annihilation Radiation: Initial Phase 1 Results
Abstract
The Oriented Scintillation Spectrometer Experiment (OSSE) on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (GRO) has performed numerous observations of the galactic plane and galactic center region to measure the distribution of galactic 511 keV positron annihilation radiation and to search for time variability of the emission; the initial 511 keV line fluxes for the observations performed during the first 18 months of the GRO mission are presented. The 511 keV line flux for a typical galactic center observation is (2:5 plus or minus 0:3) x 10(exp -1) gamma sq cm s(exp -1), where the quoted uncertainty represents the 1 sigma statistical uncertainty. No statistically significant time variability of the line flux has been observed; the 3 sigma upper linit to daily variations from the mean is 3 x 10(exp -4) gamma sq cm s(exp -1). The distribution of galactic 511 keV positron annihilation radiation implied by the OSSE observations is discussed and compared with observations by other instruments.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 10, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA464533
Entities
People
- David A. Grabelsky
- G. V. Jung
- James D. Kurfess
- Mark S. Strickman
- Melville P. Ulmer
- Robert L. Kinzer
- W. Neil Johnson
- William R. Purcell
Organizations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory