Related papers: In-orbit background for X-ray detectors
The origin of the hard (2-10 keV) X-ray background has remained mysterious for over 35 years. Most of the soft (0.5-2 keV) X-ray background has been resolved into discrete sources, which are primarily quasars; however, these sources do not…
The origin of the extragalactic gamma-ray background is a pressing cosmological mystery. The Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope has recently measured the intensity and spectrum of this background; both are substantially different from previous…
We aim to present a tutorial on the detection, parameter estimation and statistical analysis of compact sources (far galaxies, galaxy clusters and Galactic dense emission regions) in cosmic microwave background observations. The topic is of…
I review the assumptions and observations that motivate the concept of the extragalactic cosmic background radiation, and the issues of energy accounts and star formation history as a function of galaxy morphological type that figure in the…
We explore the implications of the discovery of hard, power-law X-ray sources in the spectra of nearby elliptical galaxies for the origin of the X-ray background. The spectra of these sources are consistent with models of thermal…
The ultraviolet and optical background forms a baseline for any observation of the sky. It includes emission lines and scattered light from the atmosphere; resonant scattering from the Lyman lines of interplanetary hydrogen and the…
A surface liquid Argon Far Detector for LBNE has formidable background issues from cosmic rays. There is no evidence they can be overcome.
The properties of the ambient medium in which GRBs go off are an important piece of the puzzle, not only as an issue in itself, but because of their link with the nature of the progenitor. In this review, I describe and critically comment…
We aim to present a tutorial on the detection, parameter estimation and statistical analysis of compact sources (far galaxies, galaxy clusters and Galactic dense emission regions) in cosmic microwave background observations. The topic is of…
We show that inverse Compton scattering of cosmic-microwave-background and starlight photons by cosmic-ray electrons in the interstellar and intergalactic space explains well the spectrum and intensity of the diffuse gamma-ray background…
We investigate different scenarios for the origin of the extragalactic radio background. The surface brightness of the background, as reported by the ARCADE 2 collaboration, is several times higher than that which would result from…
"Diffuse" gamma rays consist of several components: truly diffuse emission from the interstellar medium, the extragalactic background, whose origin is not firmly established yet, and the contribution from unresolved and faint Galactic point…
X-ray binaries are binary star systems in which a compact object (a neutron star or a black hole) and a relatively normal star orbit a common centre of mass. Since the discovery of X-ray binaries with the first X-ray telescopes in the…
The detection of compact sources embedded in a background is a very common problem in many fields of Astronomy. In these lecture notes we present a review of different techniques developed for the detection and extraction of compact…
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…
The properties of the cosmic microwave background radiation provide unique constraints on cosmological models, i.e. on the content, history, and evolution of the Universe. I discuss the latest measurements of the spectral and spatial…
In this overview we discuss the prospects for a first detection of an isotropic gravitational wave background with earth-based interferometric detectors. Furthermore, we focus on how correlated noise sources could endanger such a detection…
The growth of supermassive black holes across cosmic time leaves a radiative imprint recorded in the X-ray background (XRB). The XRB spectral shape suggests that a large population of distant, hidden nuclei must exist, which are now being…
Binaries with hot massive components are strong X-ray sources. Besides the intrinsic X-ray emission of individual binary members originating in their winds, X-ray emission stems from the accretion on the compact companion or from wind…
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…