Related papers: Surprises in the Hard X-ray Sky
Space-based astronomy of hard X-rays and gamma rays covers more than seven orders of magnitude in photon energy, from 10 keV to several hundred GeV. Detecting cosmic photons in this energy range is a challenge, due to the relatively low…
Observations of the gamma-ray sky reveal the most powerful sources and the most violent events in the Universe. While at lower wavebands the observed emission is generally dominated by thermal processes, the gamma-ray sky provides us with a…
With the unequalled INTEGRAL observatory, ESA has provided a unique tool to the astronomical community that has made Europe the world leader in the field of gamma-ray astronomy. INTEGRAL provides an unprecedented survey of the soft…
Cosmic gamma rays provide insight into some of the most dynamic processes in the Universe. At the dawn of a new generation of gamma-ray telescopes, this review summarizes results from the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) on…
We perform Monte Carlo simulations of cosmic ray-induced hard X-ray radiation from the Earth's atmosphere. We find that the shape of the spectrum emergent from the atmosphere in the energy range 25-300 keV is mainly determined by Compton…
Gamma-ray Astronomy studies cosmic accelerators through their electromagnetic radiation in the energy range between ~100 MeV and ~100 TeV. The present most sensitive observations in this energy band are performed, from space, by the Large…
With the INTEGRAL observatory, ESA has provided a unique tool to the astronomical community revealing hundreds of sources, new classes of objects, extraordinary views of antimatter annihilation in our Galaxy, and fingerprints of recent…
The INTEGRAL hard X-ray surveys have proven to be of fundamental importance. INTEGRAL has mapped the Galactic plane with its large field of view and excellent sensitivity. Such hard X-ray snapshots of the whole Milky Way on a time scale of…
ESA's hard X-ray and soft gamma-ray observatory INTEGRAL is covering the 3 keV to 10 MeV energy band, with excellent sensitivity during long and uninterrupted observations of a large field of view (~100 square degrees), with ms time…
Recent results, the present status and the perspectives of high energy gamma-ray astronomy are described. Since the satellite observations by the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and its precursor missions have been reviewed extensively,…
One of the few remaining astronomical bands (factor of $\sim$10 in energy range) still without an all-sky imaging survey is the hard x-ray band (10-600 keV). This is in spite of sensitive imaging all-sky surveys already conducted at soft…
Gamma rays constitute a privileged point of view for the study of the extreme Universe. Unlike charged cosmic rays, which are thought to have a common origin, gamma rays are not deflected by galactic and intergalactic magnetic fields. This…
Measurements of high-energy photons from cosmic sources of nuclear radiation through ESA's INTEGRAL mission have advanced our knowledge: New data with high spectral resolution showed that characteristic gamma-ray lines from radioactive…
ESA's INTEGRAL space mission has achieved unique results for solar and terrestrial physics, although spacecraft operations nominally excluded the possibility to point at the Sun or the Earth. The Earth avoidance was, however, exceptionally…
Many of the basic problems in the astrophysics of charged Cosmic Rays remain on principle unresolved by in situ observations in the Solar System due to the chaotic nature of the propagation of these particles in Interstellar space. This…
Over the next decade, we can expect time domain astronomy to flourish at optical and radio wavelengths. In parallel with these efforts, a dedicated transient "machine" operating at higher energies (X-ray band through soft gamma-rays) is…
Gamma-ray observations give us a direct view into the most extreme environments of the universe. They help us to study astronomical particle accelerators as supernovae remnants, pulsars, active galaxies or gamma-ray bursts and help us to…
Combined data from gamma-ray telescopes and cosmic-ray detectors have produced some new surprising insights regarding intergalactic and galactic magnetic fields, as well as extragalactic background light. We review some recent advances,…
After more than six and half years in orbit, the ESA space observatory INTEGRAL has provided new, exciting results in the soft gamma-ray energy range (from a few keV to a few MeV). With the discovery of about 700 hard X-Ray sources, it has…
The INTEGRAL satellite, which studies the Universe in the hard X-ray and soft Gamma-ray domain, has been operational for 5 years now. The X-ray telescopes, which use the coded mask technique, provide unprecedented spectral and imaging…