The synthesis of Al-26 during combined hydrogen and helium-burning reactions

Abstract

The synthesis of Al-26 during combined hydrogen and helium-burning processes in high temperature and density conditions is studied. The possible sites for these processes are believed to be the neutron star surfaces where the density ranges from 10 exp 4 to 10 exp 7 g/cu cm and temperature ranges from 10 exp 8 to 8 x 10 exp 8 K. A detailed calculation of the abundances of Al-26 and Al-27 isotopes is presented here. The amount of material processed in the burst sources is very little compared to the amount of material processed in novae or supernovae. Thus it is suggested that rather than contributing to the overall amount of Al-26, gamma-ray bursts are likely to contribute more significantly to the inhomogeneity of Al-26 distribution in interstellar medium.