An asymmetric distribution of positrons in the Galactic disk revealed by γ-rays

Georg Weidenspointner (), Gerry Skinner, Pierre Jean, Jürgen Knödlseder, Peter von Ballmoos, Giovanni Bignami, Roland Diehl, Andrew W. Strong, Bertrand Cordier, Stéphane Schanne and Christoph Winkler
Additional contact information
Georg Weidenspointner: Centre d'Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements, CNRS/UPS, BP 44346, Toulouse Cedex 4, France
Gerry Skinner: Centre d'Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements, CNRS/UPS, BP 44346, Toulouse Cedex 4, France
Pierre Jean: Centre d'Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements, CNRS/UPS, BP 44346, Toulouse Cedex 4, France
Jürgen Knödlseder: Centre d'Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements, CNRS/UPS, BP 44346, Toulouse Cedex 4, France
Peter von Ballmoos: Centre d'Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements, CNRS/UPS, BP 44346, Toulouse Cedex 4, France
Giovanni Bignami: Centre d'Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements, CNRS/UPS, BP 44346, Toulouse Cedex 4, France
Roland Diehl: Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Postfach 1312, 85741 Garching, Germany
Andrew W. Strong: Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Postfach 1312, 85741 Garching, Germany
Bertrand Cordier: DSM/DAPNIA/SAp, CEA Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
Stéphane Schanne: DSM/DAPNIA/SAp, CEA Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
Christoph Winkler: ESA/ESTEC, SCI-SA, Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ Noordwijk, The Netherlands

Nature, 2008, vol. 451, issue 7175, 159-162

Abstract: Local antimatter unveiled Antimatter is not an exotic rarity found only in the depths of the Universe: there are large quantities in our own Galaxy. We know this because we see the 511-keV γ-ray emission line, a signature of electron–positron annihilation, coming from the general direction of the Galactic Centre. The origin of the positrons has remained a mystery, but the distribution of the annihilation line radiation provides a clue. Astronomers now have the tools that can work out that distribution, and analysis of more than four years of spectroscopic data from the INTEGRAL satellite reveals an unexpected distribution of the 511-keV γ-ray emission from the inner Galactic disk, suggesting that the positrons originate in binary stars containing black holes or neutron stars.

Date: 2008
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DOI: 10.1038/nature06490

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