Possible effects of positronium negative ion on 0.511 MeV gamma-ray line in astrophysical sources

Abstract

The astrophysical importance of the negative positronium ion, detected recently in the laboratory, has been pointed out. It is found that the presence of Ps(-) ions will contribute additionally to the width of the 0.511 gamma-ray line formed by pair annihilation. The formation of Ps(-) ion from an aggregate of electrons, positrons and positronium results in a variable positron population in the 0.511 MeV gamma-ray line source.