Related papers: Exploring the Most Extreme Blazars: New Insights f…
The understanding of acceleration mechanisms in active galactic nuclei (AGN) jets and the measurement of the extragalactic-background-light (EBL) density are closely linked and require the detection of a large sample of very-high-energy…
Only BL Lac objects have been detected as extragalactic sources of very high energy (E > 300 GeV) gamma rays. Using the Whipple Observatory Gamma-ray Telescope, we have attempted to detect more BL Lacs using three approaches. First, we have…
The extragalactic background light (EBL) from the infrared to the ultraviolet is difficult to measure directly, but can be constrained with a variety of methods. EBL photons absorb gamma-rays from distant blazars, allowing one to use blazar…
The launch of the Fermi gamma-ray space telescope and the imaging air Cerenkov telescopes H.E.S.S., MAGIC, and VERITAS have substantially transformed our knowledge of gamma-ray sources in the last decade. The extragalactic gamma-ray sky is…
BL Lacertae objects (BL Lacs) is the dominant population of TeV emitting blazars. In this work, we investigate whether there is any special observational properties for TeV sources. To do so, we will compare the observational properties of…
Very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray emission from a distant source (z >~0.2) can be efficiently absorbed my means of the electron-positron pair creation process. Analyses of the unabsorbed spectra imply that the intrinsic TeV emission of some…
Very high energy (VHE, energy $E \gtrsim 100$\,GeV) \gamma-rays from cosmological sources are attenuated due to the interaction with photons of the extragalactic background light (EBL) in the ultraviolet to infrared wavelength band. The…
We present the results of five years (2005-2009) of MAGIC observations of the BL Lac object PG 1553+113 at very high energies (VHEs). Adding the new data set (2007-2009) to previous observations, this source becomes one of the best…
Aims: We derive limits on the EBL density from the energy spectra of distant sources of very high energetic gamma-rays (VHE gamma-rays). Methods: VHE gamma-rays are attenuated by the photons of the EBL via pair production, which leaves an…
We present the results of a multi-wavelength study of a population of X-ray bright ($\rm log(F_{0.2-12 \ keV})>-12.5$), non-$\gamma$-ray detected high and extreme high synchrotron peak (HSP, EHSP; $\rm log(\nu_{\rm peak,\ Hz})>16$) BL Lacs…
Extreme high-synchrotron-peak blazars (EHSPs) are postulated as the most efficient and extreme particle accelerators in the universe but remain enigmatic as a possible new class of TeV gamma-ray blazars. Blazars are active galactic nuclei…
Extreme high-synchrotron peaked blazars (EHSPs) are rare high-energy sources characterised by synchrotron peaks beyond 10$^{17}$ Hz in their spectral energy distributions (SEDs). Their extreme properties challenge conventional blazar…
Critical progress in our understanding of high energy emission from AGN has been determined in the last 10 years by X-ray monitoring campaigns with many space missions, notably ROSAT, ASCA, RXTE, BeppoSAX, and XMM, often in conjunction with…
Multiwavelength polarimetry is a powerful tool to probe magnetic field and flow geometries in the relativistic jets of blazars. In this respect, particularly interesting are the sources whose synchrotron emission covers a broad range of…
The energy spectra of TeV gamma-rays from blazars, after being corrected for intergalatic absorption in the Extragalactic Background Light (EBL), appear unusually hard, a fact that poses challenges to the conventional models of particle…
We re-examine possible dependencies on redshift of the spectral parameters of blazars observed at very-high energies (VHEs) with Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs). This is relevant to assess potential effects with the source…
Gamma-ray blazars are among the most extreme astrophysical sources, harboring phenomena far more energetic than those attainable by terrestrial accelerators. These galaxies are understood to be active galactic nuclei that are powered by…
A multiwavelength campaign was organized to take place between March and July of 2012. Excellent temporal coverage was obtained with more than 25 instruments, including the MAGIC, FACT and VERITAS Cherenkov telescopes, the instruments on…
Very high energy gamma-rays from blazars traversing cosmological distances through the metagalactic radiation field can convert into electron-positron pairs in photon-photon collisions. The converted gamma-rays initiate electromagnetic…
We present the results of six BeppoSAX observations of 1ES 2344+514, five of which were taken within a week. 1ES 2344+514, one of the few known TeV BL Lac objects, was detected by the BeppoSAX Narrow Field Instruments between 0.1 to \~50…