Abstract
Although it seems that cosmic-ray electrons in the range 100–300 MeV are mostly generated in sources within the Galaxy (extragalactic electrons are kept out by the 2.7 K relict radiation) their distribution is not known. Studies of electron synchrotron radiation in the region of hundreds of MHz indicate that the synchrotron emissivity varies with position, generally decreasing as the galacto-centric distance, R, increases, but such dependence could be in either the electron flux, Ie, or the magnetic field strength, H, (emissivity ∝˜IeH2) or both. We examine here the distribution of Ie itself from studies of the γ-ray flux produced by electrons interacting in the interstellar medium by way of the dominant bremsstrahlung mechanism.
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Issa, M., Riley, P., Strong, A. et al. Distribution of cosmic-ray electrons in the Galaxy. Nature 287, 810–812 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1038/287810a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/287810a0
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