![](https://d3ilqtpdwi981i.cloudfront.net/snjlO2ivmzWXAp8Ds3WV8EFJEVU=/425x550/smart/https://bepress-attached-resources.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/96/d4/35/96d435bc-61e1-4fed-9fbd-1f3e35ad6e4a/thumbnail_d5870318-7850-4b43-92d2-8603c0546d1f.jpg)
Article
A Search for Gamma-Ray Lines from the Decay of Fe-59 in Supernova 1987A
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-28-1993
Publisher
EDP Sciences
Abstract
We have searched spectra of Supernova (SN) 1987A, accumulated during several 35-day intervals after the explosion by the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS), for gamma-ray lines at 1.099 and 1.292 MeV from the decay of Fe-59 which may have been produced in the progenitor's helium shell. We find no evidence for these lines, down to 3-sigma upper limits approximately = 7 x 10-4 gamma/sq cm/s for the 1.099 MeV line, or approximately = 4.5 x 10-4 gamma/sq cm/s for the 1.292 MeV line, in any 35-day interval. We derive a conservative 3-sigma upper limit on the mass fraction of Fe-59 in the helium shell of 2.9 x 10-3.
Citation Information
Please use publisher's recommended citation.