2024Sci...385..452R

A long gamma-ray burst (GRB) is observed when the collapse of a massive star produces an ultrarelativistic outflow pointed toward Earth. Gamma-ray spectra of long GRBs are smooth, typically modeled by joint power-law segments describing a continuum, with no detected spectral lines. We report a significant (>6σ) narrow emission feature at ∼10 mega-electron volts (MeV) in the spectrum of the bright GRB 221009A. Over 80 seconds, it evolves in energy (∼12 to ∼6 MeV) and in luminosity (∼1.1 to <0.43 × 1050 erg second-1) but has a constant width of ∼1 MeV. We interpret this feature as a blueshifted spectral line produced by the annihilation of electron-positron pairs, potentially in the same location responsible for emitting the brightest GRB pulses.