Gamma-ray signatures of 𝑟-process radioactivity from the collapse of magnetized white dwarfs
Gamma-ray signatures of 𝑟-process radioactivity from the collapse of magnetized white dwarfs
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Abstract
We predict the gamma-ray line emission from -process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta of the accretion-induced collapse (AIC) of a magnetized, rapidly rotating white dwarf. Using ejecta from a two-dimensional general-relativistic neutrino-magnetohydrodynamic simulation, further evolved with a radiation-hydrodynamics code coupled to an in situ nuclear reaction network, we construct angle-dependent gamma-ray spectra in the 0.01–10 MeV band via composition-dependent ray tracing through the ejecta. The emission between and 10 d is dominated by (), continuously replenished by the decay of its parent (), with additional contributions from , , and . At , (from decay) becomes the primary emitter. The simultaneous presence of process and iron-peak gamma-ray lines is distinctive of AIC ejecta and absent in binary neutron star mergers, where iron-peak nuclei are generally not synthesized. Comparing with the continuum sensitivities of planned MeV gamma-ray telescopes (COSI, AMEGO-X, e-ASTROGAM, GRAMS, GammaTPC), we find the brightest -process lines detectable to by GammaTPC and GRAMS, with the signal approaching their sensitivity threshold at 30 Mpc. The -process spectral features survive time integration over d exposures, demonstrating robustness against the long observation times required by gamma-ray detectors.
