Cosmic ray nuclei, cosmic ray electrons with energy above a few GeV, and the
diffuse gamma-ray background radiation (GBR) above a few MeV, presumed to be
extragalactic, could all have their origin or residence in our galaxy and its
halo. The mechanism accelerating hadrons and electrons is the same, the
electron spectrum is modulated by inverse Compton scattering on starlight and
on the microwave background radiation; the γ-rays are the resulting
recoiling photons. The spectral indices of the cosmic-ray electrons and of the
GBR, calculated on this simple basis, agree with observations. The angular
dependence and the approximate magnitude of the GBR are also explained.Comment: Includes a discussion of the contribution of inverse Compton
scattering of CR electrons by starlight in the halo to the gamma background
radiation. One corrected typo. Additional references, and figures to compare
predictions for the angular dependence of the gamma background radiation with
data. Conclusions are unchange
