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The origin of the cosmic X-ray background

Abstract

A high-resolution image from the Rosat X-ray satellite reveals many faint discrete sources in the 0.1–2-keV energy range. Optical spectroscopy of these sources performed at the Anglo-Australian Telescope shows that many of them are quasars, and the inferred density of quasars on the sky contributes at least 30% of the cosmic X-ray background at 1 keV.

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Shanks, T., Georgantopoulos, I., Stewart, G. et al. The origin of the cosmic X-ray background. Nature 353, 315–320 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1038/353315a0

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