Open AccessEarth X‐ray albedo for cosmic X‐ray background radiation in the 1–1000 keV band
Author(s) -
Churazov E.,
Sazonov S.,
Sunyaev R.,
Revnivtsev M.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.12918.x
Subject(s) - physics , albedo (alchemy) , atmosphere (unit) , astrophysics , cosmic ray , sky , astronomy , compton scattering , radiation , earth (classical element) , reflection (computer programming) , gamma ray , scattering , astrobiology , optics , art , performance art , art history , programming language , computer science , thermodynamics
We present calculations of the reflection of the cosmic X‐ray background (CXB) by the Earth's atmosphere in the 1–1000 keV energy range. The calculations include Compton scattering and X‐ray fluorescent emission and are based on a realistic chemical composition of the atmosphere. Such calculations are relevant for CXB studies using the Earth as an obscuring screen (as was recently done by INTEGRAL ). The Earth's reflectivity is further compared with that of the Sun and the Moon – the two other objects in the Solar system subtending a large solid angle on the sky, as needed for CXB studies.