The Gamma Ray Sky with Compton GRO and SIGMA [Hardcover]

This volume consists of invited lectures and seminars presented at the NATO Advanced Study Institute The Gamma Ray Sky with COMPTON GRO and SIGMA , which was held at the Centre de Physique Theorique of Les Houches (France) in January / February 1994. The school has been planned by a Scientific Organizing Committee. It was organized with the aim of providing students and young researchers with an up-to-date account of the high-energy phenomena in the vicinity of compact objets and the diffuse gamma-ray backgrounds after the early results from the gamma-ray telescope SIGMA and the four instruments onboard COMPTON GRO (Gamma Ray Observatory) : BATSE (Burst and Transient Source Experiment),COMPTEL(Compto'l Telescope),EGRET (Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope) and OS SE(Oriented Scintillation Spectrometer Experiment) . It was attended by more than sixty researchers from many countries. The lectures and seminars represent a complete coverage of our present knowledge and understanding of: Gamma-ray backgrounds, Gamma-ray Burts,Active Galactic Nuclei,Galactic Compact Objects, Gamma-ray Spectroscopy, Instrumentation and observation techniques, etc ... Most of these lectures are reproduced in this volume. Unfortunately, a few lecturers have chosen not to submit their manuscript.I. Introductory Lecturers.- . The COMPTON Gamma Ray Observatory: Highlights from the First Three Years of the Mission.- . Overview of the SIGMA Results.- . TEV Gamma Ray Astronomy, Techniques.- II. Extragalactic Gamma-Ray Sources.- . High-Energy Radiation from Active Galactic Nuclei: Implications for AGN Unification Scenarios.- . Modelling the High Energy Spectra of AGN.- . Multi-wavelength Observations of Active Galactic Nuclei.- . OSSE Observations of Galactic Nuclei.- . EGRET Observations of Active Galactic Nuclei.- . TEV Gamma-Ray Astronomy, Extragalactic Sources.- III. Gamma - Ray Backgrounds.- . Diffuse Gamma Rays from WIMP Decay and Annihilation.- . The Diffuse ? Ray from Cosmic Ray Intel3,