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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 April 2008
Gamma-ray line emission from radioactive decay of 60Fe provides constraints on nucleosynthesis in massive stars and supernovae. We detect the γ-ray lines from 60Fe decay at 1173 and 1333 keV using three years of data from the spectrometer SPI on board INTEGRAL. The average flux per line is (4.4 ± 0.9) × 10−5 ph cm−2 s−1 rad−1 for the inner Galaxy region. Deriving the Galactic 26Al gamma-ray line flux with using the same set of observations and analysis method, we determine the flux ratio of 60Fe/26Al gamma-rays as 0.15 ± 0.05. We discuss the implications of these results for the widely-held hypothesis that 60Fe is synthesized in core-collapse supernovae, and also for the closely-related question of the precise origin of 26Al in massive stars.