Abstract
In this paper we review the current status of the debate about the origin of the X-ray background. The existing observational data, when considered in their totality, seem to indicate that no simple scenario can easily explain in a direct way all the observed features of the X-ray background. After a brief discussion of the most important observational facts which have to be accounted for, we discuss the main problems, difficulties and astrophysical implications associated with each of the two main classes of models for the production of the X-ray background, i.e. X-ray emission from diffuse processes or from faint discrete X-ray sources.
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Zamorani, G. (1989). The X-Ray Background: Discrete Sources or Diffuse Processes?. In: Mezzetti, M., Giuricin, G., Mardirossian, F., Ramella, M. (eds) Large Scale Structure and Motions in the Universe. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 151. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0903-8_20
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0903-8_20
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