Cosmic ray studies with the gamma-ray observatory

Conference · Tue Mar 20 04:00:00 EST 1990 · AIP Conference Proceedings (American Institute of Physics); (USA)

OSTI ID:6866124

Kniffen, D A ^[1]

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1. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (US)

Even prior to the first undisputed observations of the diffuse galactic gamma-ray emission, it was well understood that the dominant contribution to the observed galactic gamma-ray emission above 100 MeV would be that due to the decay of neutral pi-mesons resulting from the interaction of the galactic cosmic rays with the interstellar gas. The first unambiguous detection of this radiation was made in 1968 by the OSO-3 counter telescope{sup 1}, and details sufficient to allow preliminary studies of the implications of the observations were provided by the spark chamber experiments aboard NASA SAS-2 satellite{sup 2} ad by the ESA COS-B mission{sup 3}. Many theoretical and observational studies have addressed this question since these initial explorations, but interpretation has been hampered by limited angular resolution in the observations, lack of broad band spectral coverage and insufficient information on the interstellar gas distribution, and contributions from discrete gamma-ray sources. This paper will give details on how the instruments aboard the Gamma-Ray Observatory will provide the details necessary to resolve these problems and aid significantly in determining the distribution of both cosmic-ray nucleons and electrons throughout the galaxy.

• OSTI ID: 6866124
• Report Number(s): CONF-8911161--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: AIP Conference Proceedings (American Institute of Physics); (USA) Journal Volume: 203:1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640101* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Cosmic Radiation
640105 -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Galaxies
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ANGULAR DISTRIBUTION
BARYONS
BASIC INTERACTIONS
BOSONS
BREMSSTRAHLUNG
COMPTON EFFECT
COSMIC RADIATION
DISTRIBUTION
ELASTIC SCATTERING
ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERACTIONS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELECTRONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ENERGY SPECTRA
FERMIONS
GALAXIES
GAMMA SPECTROSCOPY
HADRONS
INTERACTIONS
IONIZING RADIATIONS
LEPTONS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
MESONS
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
NUCLEONS
PIONS
PIONS NEUTRAL
PSEUDOSCALAR MESONS
RADIATIONS
SATELLITES
SCATTERING
SPECTRA
SPECTROSCOPY