Cosmic X-ray background and intergalactic gas accretion onto intergalactic collapsed objects

Abstract

The origin of the diffuse cosmic X-ray background (CXB) has become the subject of much speculation recently, with most theorists divided between the intergalactic hot gas bremstralung hypothesis and the QSO contribution theory. Stimulated by Sargent's recent argument about the existence of a cool, low density intergalactic gas, we investigate here the third possibility of its accretion onto intergalactic collapsed objects as the sources of the X-ray background. We conclude that if the CXB is hot thermal bremstralung (TB) from the accretion of Sargent type intergalactic gas onto intergalactic collapsed objects, a new class of faint (Lx≲1041 erg s−1) low mass (M∼107−1010M⊙) discrete X-ray sources must exist with no optical or IR images, some of which could be detected by the Einstein observatory.