Related papers: Background for a gamma-ray satellite on a low-Eart…
Despite an intense theoretical and experimental effort over the past decade, observations of the extragalactic radio background at multiple frequencies below 10 GHz are not understood in terms of known radio sources, and may represent a…
We present a measurements of electron and positron fluxes below the geomagnetic cutoff rigidity in wide energy range from 50 MeV to several GeV by the PAMELA magnetic spectrometer. The instrument was launched on June 15th 2006 on-board the…
A considerable fraction of incident high-energy photons from astrophysical transients such as Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) is Compton scattered by the Earth's atmosphere. These photons, sometimes referred to as the "reflection component",…
Attenuation of high--energy gamma rays by pair--production with UV, optical and IR background photons provides a link between the history of galaxy formation and high--energy astrophysics. We present results from our latest semi-analytic…
Interactions of grazing incidence, ultra high energy cosmic rays with the earth's atmosphere may provide a new method of studying energetic cosmic rays with gamma-ray satellites. It is found that these cosmic ray interactions may produce…
Gravitational wave experiments will play a key role in the investigation of the frontiers of cosmology and the structure of fundamental fields at high energies, by detecting, or setting strong upper-limits to, the primordial gravitational…
We discuss how measurements of the absorption of gamma-rays from GeV to TeV energies via pair production on the extragalactic background light (EBL) can probe important issues in galaxy formation. Semi-analytic models (SAMs) of galaxy…
Fermi measurements of the high-latitude gamma-ray background strongly constrain a decaying-dark-matter origin for the 1--100 GeV Galactic positron anomaly measured with PAMELA. Inverse-Compton scattering of the microwave background by the…
In this paper (Paper II) we complete our discussion on the results of a comprehensive GEANT simulation of the scientific performance of the AGILE Gamma-Ray Imaging Detector (GRID), operating in the 30 MeV - 50 GeV energy range in an…
The origin of the extragalactic $\gamma$-ray background permeating throughout the Universe remains a mystery forty years after its discovery. The extrapolated population of blazars can account for only half of the background radiation at…
This article reviews the present status of high energy gamma-ray astronomy at energies above 30 MeV. Observations in the past decade using both space- and ground-based experiments have been primarily responsible for giving a tremendous…
Astrophysical sources of nuclei are expected to produce a broad spectrum of isotopes, many of which are unstable. An unstable nucleus can beta-decay outside the source into a single-electron ion. Heavy one-electron ions, thus formed, can be…
Among unidentified gamma-ray sources in the galactic plane, there are some that present significant variability and have been proposed to be high-mass microquasars. To deepen the study of the possible association between variable low…
The Solar Maximum Mission satellite's Gamma Ray Spectrometer observed Earth's atmosphere for most of the period 1980-1989. Its 28deg orbit ensured that a range of geomagnetic latitudes (geomagnetic cutoff rigidities) was sampled. We…
In this paper we present the results of a $\sim$5 hour airborne gamma-ray survey carried out over the Tyrrhenian sea in which the height range (77-3066) m has been investigated. Gamma-ray spectroscopy measurements have been performed by…
The Large Observatory For X-ray Timing (LOFT), currently in an assessment phase in the framework the ESA M3 Cosmic Vision programme, is an innovative medium-class mission specifically designed to answer fundamental questions about the…
ASTRO-H is the next generation JAXA X-ray satellite, intended to carry instruments with broad energy coverage and exquisite energy resolution. The Soft Gamma-ray Detector (SGD) is one of ASTRO-H instruments and will feature wide energy band…
There has been much debate about the origin of the diffuse $\gamma$--ray background in the MeV range. At lower energies, AGNs and Seyfert galaxies can explain the background, but not above $\simeq$0.3 MeV. Beyond $\sim$10 MeV blazars appear…
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…
Hadronic cosmic particles (cosmic rays) and gamma rays are constantly absorbed in the Earth's atmosphere and result in air showers of secondary particles. Cherenkov radiation from these atmospheric events is used to measure cosmic gamma…