Low‐State Gamma‐Ray Emission from Blazars and the Gamma‐Ray Background

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Abstract
We examine the contribution of flat spectrum radio sources (FSRSs), or blazars, to the diffuse gamma-ray background (DGRB), prompted by the association of the extragalactic γ-ray sources detected by the EGRET instrument aboard the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) with this class of objects by using their well-studied log N-log S distribution. The basic assumption of our study are that (1) there exists steady state γ-ray emission at the EGRET energy band from the entire population of FSRSs with γ-ray luminosity that is proportional to their radio luminosity, i.e., (νFν)100 MeV = f(νFν)5 GHz; (2) the ensemble of blazars produce the DGRB. Under these assumptions, the estimated average value of the proportionality constant is f 70, compared to a mean observed value of fobs 750 seen among the EGRET-detected blazars. We explore the implications of this result for AGN models and address the results that should be achieved by the next generation of γ-ray satellites.

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