Nuclear processes in the jets of SS 433

The very narrow gamma-ray lines observed at 1.495 and 6.695 MeV from SS 433 which are blueshifted 1.369 and 6.129 emissions from deexcitations of (24)Mg-asterisk and (16)O-asterisk in grains moving with the jets and inelastically excited by interactions with the ambient medium are discussed. Energetic particle interactions in grains produce very narrow gamma ray lines from deexcitation of nuclear levels whose lifetimes are long enough that the excited nuclei stop before deexcitation. The presence of grains in the jets resolves hitherto discussed difficulties of inelastic excitation models for gamma ray production in SS 433, the very narrow widths of the observed lines and the absence of other strong lines, expected from abundant elements. A model is proposed which could be distinguished from a previously proposed fusion model by gamma ray line observations.