The quiet Sun in gamma rays: first theorization and detection
This is the first image of the Sun existing in gamma rays in its quiescient state (center of the image) as published in Orlando and Strong 2008. During her PhD thesis, she discover this gamma-ray emission from Sun in the EGRET data.
None detection of the quiescient Sun in gamma rays was made till this. Moreover before 2006 it was not believed that the heliosphere could emit strong gamma rays. During her PhD thesis she theorized for the first time the spatially extended gamma-ray emission from the heliophere due to cosmic rays interactions in the solar photon field. In 2008 she observed that her theory was right!
The fundamental scientific outcome if this discovery is that we are getting information on the cosmic rays and their propagation very close to the Sun, which can not be possible by any other mean.
After her first theorization of the gamma-ray emission from the quiet Sun and first detection of the non-flaring Sun in gamma rays with EGRET, now with Fermi-LAT and its improved sensitivity she is constantly monitoring this emission. The image below shows the quiet Sun as detected by Fermi-LAT.
The most recent work within the Fermi-LAT collaboration on the analysis and modeling of the Sun was published in Abdo et al. 2011 ApJ 734, 116. Further and mre precise analyses are still ongoing and will be till Fermi-LAT will fly.