2010/09/10 by Gerald K. Skinner, Skinner, Gerald K.
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA) #FOS: Physical sciences #astro-ph.GA
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1009.2098
To be published in the Proceedings of the Vulcano Workshop 2010 "Frontier Objects in Astrophysics and Particle Physics", Vulcano (Italy) 24-29 May 2010. 10pp, 3 Figures
arxiv created 2010/09/10 · arxiv updated 2010/09/14
High energy (~GeV) positrons are seen within cosmic rays and observation of a narrow line at 511 keV shows that positrons are annihilating in the galaxy after slowing down to ~keV energies or less. Our state of knowledge of the origin of these positrons, of the formation of positronium 'atoms', and of the circumstances of their annihilation or escape from the galaxy are reviewed and the question of whether the two phenomena are linked is discussed.