Related papers: Surprises in the Hard X-ray Sky
A recent re-determination of the non-thermal component of the hard X-ray to soft gamma-ray emission from the Galactic ridge, using the SPI instrument on the INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL) Observatory, is shown to…
In over two years of operation Fermi-LAT has revolutionized our knowledge of the gamma-ray sky. Interstellar gamma rays are part of this new era and allow unprecedented tests for models of cosmic rays in the Galaxy. The extension to lower…
The distribution of cosmic rays in the Galaxy at energies above few TeVs is still uncertain and this affects the expectations for the diffuse gamma flux produced by hadronic interactions of cosmic rays with the interstellar gas. We show…
Here we review our current knowledge on diffuse gamma-rays from galactic halos. Estimates of the relative contribution of the various emission processes at low and high latitudes are compared to the data over 6 decades in energy. The…
Detectors for gamma-ray astronomy are complex: they often comprise multiple sub-systems and utilize new and/or custom-developed detector components and readout electronics. Gamma rays are typically not detected directly: ground-based…
After decades of development, multi-messenger astronomy, the combination of information on cosmic sources from photons, neutrinos, charged particles and gravitational waves, is now an established reality. Within this emerging discipline we…
This paper deals with the cosmic-ray penetration into molecular clouds and with the related gamma--ray emission. High energy cosmic rays interact with the dense gas and produce neutral pions which in turn decay into two gamma rays. This…
With its excellent sensitivity, large field of view, broad energy coverage, and good per-photon angular resolution, the Large Area Telescope aboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope satellite provides us with an unprecedented view of the…
The imaging capabilities of the INTEGRAL and HESS observatories allow the study of hard X-ray and TeV sources with unprecedented positional accuracy. Here I review the multiwavelength followup studies which are currently being performed on…
Gamma rays in the band from 30 MeV to 300 GeV, used in combination with direct measurements and with data from radio and X-ray bands, provide a powerful tool for studying the origin of Galactic cosmic rays. Gamma-ray Large Area Space…
Magnetars are the most luminous compact objects in the stellar mass range observed in the Milky Way, with giant flares of hard X-ray power ~10^45 erg/sec being detected from three soft gamma repeaters in the Galactic neighborhood.…
The Galactic Bulge region is a rich host of variable high-energy point sources. These sources include bright and relatively faint X-ray transients, X-ray bursters, persistent neutron star and black-hole candidate binaries, X-ray pulsars,…
In this chapter, we discuss the contributions of gamma-ray astronomy at TeV energies to our understanding of the visible content and structure of the universe. We start from the present epoch with the second most intense electromagnetic…
Indirect detection of gamma rays with ground-based observatories is currently the most sensitive experimental approach to characterize the gamma-ray sky at energies $>0.1$\,TeV. Ground-based detection of gamma-rays relies on the…
Our understanding of the Universe today includes overwhelming observational evidence for the existence of an elusive form of matter that is generally referred to as dark. Although many theories have been developed to describe its nature,…
We study the spectrum of the cosmic X-ray background (CXB) in energy range $\sim$5-100 keV. Early in 2006 the INTEGRAL observatory performed a series of four 30ksec observations with the Earth disk crossing the field of view of the…
Radio spectroscopy offers a number of tools for studying a large variety of astrophysical phenomena, ranging from stars and their environment to interstellar and intergalactic medium, active galactic nuclei (AGN) and distant quasars. Main…
The Sun stands out as the closest and clearest astrophysical accelerator of cosmic rays, while other objects within and beyond the galaxy remain enigmatic. It is probable that the cosmic ray spectrum and mass components from these celestial…
Since its launch on October 2002 the INTEGRAL satellite is performing an deep survey of the hard X-ray sky with unprecedented sensitivity and positional accuracy. This allowed pinpointing, through positional cross-correlation with catalogs…
This chapter outlines the general principles for the detection and characterisation of high-energy $\gamma$-ray photons in the energy range from MeV to GeV. Applications of these fundamental photon-matter interaction processes to the…