EGRET Observations of the Region with Galactic Latitudes to the South of $\bf b = -30^\circ$

Session 4 -- Gamma Ray Astrophysics
Display presentation, Wednesday, January 12, 9:30-6:45, Salons I/II Room (Crystal Gateway)

[4.10] EGRET Observations of the Region with Galactic Latitudes to the South of $\bf b = -30^\circ$

Y.C. Lin, P.F. Michelson, P.L. Nolan (Stanford), D.L. Bertsch, C.E. Fichtel, R.C. Hartman, S.D. Hunter, D.J. Thompson (NASA/GSFC), B.L. Dingus, J.A. Esposito, P. Sreekumar (USRA/GSFC), G. Kanbach, H.A. Mayer-Hasselwander, C. von Montigny (MPE), E.J. Schneid (Grumman), D.A. Kniffen (Hampden-Sydney), J.R. Mattox (CSC/GSFC)

During the EGRET all-sky survey, a number of high-energy gamma ray sources have been detected in this part of the sky. The majority of these EGRET sources have been identified with QSO's and BL Lac objects, just like the EGRET sources in other high-latitude regions. There are also some EGRET detections in this region with no obvious counterparts in other wavebands. Some of these high-energy gamma ray sources are relatively constant in their flux levels while some others show clear signs of time variability. This region also includes LMC and SMC. LMC has been positively detected by EGRET while only an upper limit can be obtained for SMC. The EGRET detection of LMC combined with the EGRET non-detection of SMC is highly significant in relation to the long-standing issue of whether cosmic rays are of galactic origin or of extragalactic origin. These results will be presented in this paper.

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