DIFFUSION OF RELATIVISTIC ELECTRONS FROM INFRA-RED SOURCES AND THEIR X-RAY EMISSION

A model for X-ray sources in which relativistic electrons originate in a compact nucleus which is also a powerful source of infra-red emission is analysed. The distortion of the injected electron spectrum due to inverse Compton losses, and the spectrum of the resulting X-rays, are determined for the case in which the propagation of the electrons from the nucleus can be described by a simple diffusion model. It is possible to explain the detailed features of the X-ray background spectrum in the range 0.25 2s-1, similar to that of cosmic ray protons in the Galaxy. © Royal Astronomical Society.