1996A&AS..120C.381S

We summarize some recent results related to observations and interpretation of hard X-ray and low-energy γ-ray diffuse Galactic continuum emission. Combined spectra based on data from OSSE, COMPTEL and EGRET are presented. In the energy range 1-30MeV covered by COMPTEL the spectrum of the diffuse emission has been measured and is consistent with a combination of bremsstrahlung and inverse-Compton emission; spatial analysis shows strong evidence for a component with a wide latitude extent which is plausibly identified with inverse-Compton. Molecular hydrogen appears to be only a weak γ-ray emitter at low energies, which may indicate reduced MeV cosmic-ray electron density in molecular clouds. New data on the hard X-ray diffuse Galactic emission from OSSE indicates the need for a dramatic low-energy upturn in the electron spectrum, or for some other additional component of γ-ray emission. The interstellar electron spectrum has been computed using a diffusive halo model and the resulting bremsstrahlung and inverse-Compton emission is compared with the observations.