Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
May 1997
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997apj...481..821y&link_type=abstract
Astrophysical Journal v.481, p.821
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
52
X-Rays: Ism
Scientific paper
Hard X-ray and gamma -ray emissions from the Galactic ridge were studied with the large area proportional counter (LAC) on the Ginga satellite and a balloon-borne detector Welcome-1. In the scanning observations with the LAC, diffuse hard X-rays were detected along the Galactic plane between l = -20 deg and l = 40 deg. The measured spectrum shows that a hard component exists in the Galactic ridge emission above 10 keV, in addition to the hot plasma component. The estimated luminosity of the Galactic ridge emission is around 2 x 1038 ergs s-1 in the 3--16 keV band. Welcome-1 observed the gamma -ray ridge emission at around l ~ 345 deg between 50 and 600 keV. These two results and a recent COMPTEL study suggest that the spectrum of the diffuse Galactic ridge emission extends over the keV--MeV range. From the observed spectral slope, bremsstrahlung by electrons is shown to be the dominant emission mechanism. This implies that low-energy electrons must be supplied continuously to sustain emission in the hard X-ray band. We propose a scenario in which the thermal electrons in the hot plasma responsible for the strong Fe K X-ray emission are shock-accelerated continuously in supernova remnants (SNRs), producing the observed hard X-ray and gamma -ray emissions from the Galactic ridge.
Gunji Shuichi
Hirayama Masaharu
Kamae Teturo
Kaneda Hidehiro
Koyama Katsuji
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