Diffuse Gamma Rays: Galactic and Extragalactic Diffuse Emission

TL;DR

This paper reviews the components of diffuse gamma-ray emission, including Galactic and extragalactic sources, and discusses how studying these can reveal insights into cosmic ray sources, propagation, and cosmological phenomena.

Contribution

It provides an overview of the different components of diffuse gamma rays and highlights how their study can inform understanding of cosmic rays and extragalactic backgrounds.

Findings

Diffuse gamma rays originate from multiple sources including interstellar medium and unresolved point sources.

Studying the spectrum of diffuse emission helps identify cosmic ray interactions and sources.

Extragalactic background gamma rays can inform cosmological and blazar research.

Abstract

"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 sources. One approach to unravel these components is to study the diffuse emission from the interstellar medium, which traces the interactions of high energy particles with interstellar gas and radiation fields. Because of its origin such emission is potentially able to reveal much about the sources and propagation of cosmic rays. The extragalactic background, if reliably determined, can be used in cosmological and blazar studies. Studying the derived "average" spectrum of faint Galactic sources may be able to give a clue to the nature of the emitting objects.