The EPIC/MOS view of the 2-8 keV Cosmic X-ray Background Spectrum

We have measured the spectrum of the Cosmic X-ray Background (CXB) in the 2-8 keV range with the high throughput EPIC/MOS instrument onboard XMM-Newton. A large sample of high galactic latitude observations was used, covering a total solid angle of 5.5 square degrees. Our study is based on a very careful characterization and subtraction of the instrumental background, which is crucial for a robust measurement of the faintest diffuse source of the X-ray sky. The CXB spectrum is consistent with a power law having a photon index Gamma=1.41+/-0.06, with a 2-10 keV flux of (2.24+/-0.16)x10^(-11) erg/(cm^2 s deg) (90% confidence level, including the absolute flux calibration uncertainty). Our results are in excellent agreement with two of the most recent CXB measurements, performed with BeppoSAX LECS/MECS data (Vecchi et al. 1999) and with an independent analysis of XMM-Newton EPIC/MOS data (Lumb et al. 2002), providing a very strong constrain to the absolute sky surface brightness in this energy range, so far affected by a ~40% uncertainty. Our measurement immediately implies that the fraction of CXB resolved by the recent deep X-ray observations in the 2-10 keV band is of 80+/-7% (1 sigma), suggesting the existence of a new population of faint sources, largely undetected within the current sensitivity limits of the deepest X-ray surveys.