Gamma Ray Lines from the Orion Complex

Abstract

We show that the 4.44 and 6.13 MeV line emission observed with COMPTEL from Orion is consistent with gamma ray spectra consisting of a mixture of narrow and broad lines or spectra containing only broad lines. We employed several accelerated particle compositions and showed that the current COMPTEL data in the 3--7 MeV region alone cannot distinguish between the various possibilities. However, the COMPTEL upper limits in the 1--3 MeV band favor a composition similar to that of the winds of Wolf-Rayet stars of spectral type WC. The power dissipated by the accelerated particles at Orion is about 4 $\times$ 10${}^{38}$ erg s${}^{-1}$. These particles are not expected to produce significant amounts of ${}^{26}$Al.

12 pages, uuencoded compressed postscript with 4 figures ApJL in press 1995

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