  The origin of the hard (2-10 keV) X-ray background has remained mysterious
for over 35 years. Most of the soft (0.5-2 keV) X-ray background has been
resolved into discrete sources, which are primarily quasars; however, these
sources do not have the flat spectral shape required to match the X-ray
background spectrum. Here we report the results of an X-ray survey 30 times
more sensitive than previous studies in the hard band and four times more
sensitive in the soft band. The sources detected in our survey account for at
least 75 per cent of the hard X-ray background. The mean X-ray spectrum of
these sources is in good agreement with that of the background. The X-ray
emission from the majority of the detected sources is unambiguously associated
with either the nuclei of otherwise normal bright galaxies or optically faint
sources, which could either be active nuclei of dust enshrouded galaxies or the
first quasars at very high redshifts.
