Galactic Gamma-Ray Emission

Analysis of the results obtained with the COMPTEL and EGRET instruments aboard the Compton Observatory suggest that the inverse Compton process may be a more important contributor to the Galactic diffuse emission than previously thought. The bremsstrahlung component of the medium-energy (1- to 50-MeV) diffuse emission, though comparatively small, remains of interest in that it can be 

Future space missions (such as GLAST) will be able to confirm any spectral variations in the diffuse emission on sufficiently small angular scales (a few degrees) to permit a serious test of the various production models. Further observations with the next generation of ground-based air-Cherenkov GeV and TeV telescopes (where to date only tantalizing upper limits have been obtained) should also provide important confirmation of the GeV excess observed by EGRET. 

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