Distribution of positron annihilation radiation

The SPI instrument on-board the ESA/INTEGRAL satellite is engaged in a mission-long study of positron annihilation radiation from the Galaxy. Early results suggest that the disk component is only weakly detected at 511 keV by SPI. We review CGRO/OSSE, TGRS and SMM studies of 511 keV line and positronium continuum emission from the Galaxy in light of the early INTEGRAL/SPI findings. We find that when similar spatial distributions are compared, combined fits to the OSSE/SMM/TGRS data-sets produce bulge and disk fluxes similar in total flux and in B/D ratio to the fits reported for SPI observations. We further find that the 511 keV line width reported by SPI is similar to the values reported by TGRS, particularly when spectral fits include both narrow-line and broad-line components. Collectively, the consistency between these four instruments suggests that all may be providing an accurate view of positron annihilation in the Galaxy.