Probing the Galactic Diffuse Continuum Emission with COSI

Abstract: In 2016 the Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) had a successful 46-day flight onboard NASA's Super Pressure Balloon platform. In this work we report measurements of the Galactic diffuse continuum emission (GDCE) observed towards the inner Galaxy during the flight, which in the COSI energy band (0.2 - 5 MeV) is primarily generated from inverse Compton radiation. Within uncertainties we find overall good agreement with previous measurements from INTEGRAL/SPI and COMPTEL. Based on these initial findings, we discuss the potential for further probing the GDCE with the 2016 COSI balloon data, as well as prospects for the upcoming satellite mission.