We report on the ASCA results of hard X-ray imaging and spectroscopic observations of the galactic ridge (the Scutum arm region). The bulk of X-rays in the field of view could not be explained by an integrated emission of resolved sources, indicating that most of the galactic-ridge X-rays are due to a diffuse thin hot plasma. The X-ray luminosity of discrete sources contributing to the galactic-ridge emission was estimated to be less than ∼2x1033 erg s−1 in the 2–10 keV energy band. Emission lines from helium-like Si, S, and Fe ions were confirmed in the spectra, which means that the galactic ridge X-ray emission can not be explained by a single temperature ionization equilibrium plasma model. We give some constraints on the origin of the galactic-ridge emission.
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Yamauchi et al. (1996) studied this question.
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