Study of global galactic distribution of classical novae by their gamma-ray line emission at 1.275 MeV Original Research Article

Classical novae (CNe) are believed to be the source of the ISM enrichment with the isotopes of 13C, 15N, 22Na and 26Al. In the γ-ray band the Galaxy is almost transparent, so that otherwise obscured bulge CNE may be detectable up to Aν∼103 by observation of the extended 1.275 MeV line emission from the accumulated 22Na. Indeed, COMPTEL telescope on board the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO) has detected this extended γ-ray line emission from the bulge population of classical novae. We discuss implications of this result for the theory of classical nova.