Related papers: TeV Gamma-Ray Absorption and the Intergalactic Inf…
We extend our previous model-independent determination of the intergalactic background light (IBL), based purely on galaxy survey data, out to a wavelength of 5 microns. Our approach enables us to constrain the range of photon densities,…
The energy spectrum of Mkn501 in the TeV energy regime, as measured by the HEGRA (High Energy Gamma Ray Astronomy) Cerenkov telescopes during its low state in 1995/96 and during a fraction of the 1997 outburst in the TeV energy regime, is…
High energy gamma-ray astronomy has recently made significant progresss through ground-based instruments like the {\it H.E.S.S.} array of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. The unprecedented angular resolution and the large field of…
Energy spectra of gamma-ray blazars may contain an imprint from the cosmic infrared background radiation due to gamma-ray absorption (pair-production) by soft photons constituting the extragalactic background light (EBL). The signature of…
We present results of a calculation of absorption of 10-500 GeV gamma-rays at high redshifts. This calculation requires the determination of the high- redshift evolution of the full spectral energy distribution of the intergalactic photon…
The expected opacity of the intergalactic space limits the mean free path of TeV gamma rays to dozens of Megaparsecs. However, TeV photons from numerous more distant sources have been detected. This might be interpreted, in each particular…
The intergalactic magnetic field (IGMF) in cosmic voids can be indirectly probed through its effect on electromagnetic cascades initiated by a source of TeV gamma rays, such as blazars, a subclass of active galactic nuclei. Blazars that are…
Very high energy photons from cosmological gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are expected to interact with extragalactic background light (EBL) and produce electron-positron pairs when they propagate through intergalactic medium (IGM). These…
The {\gamma}-ray sky can be decomposed into individually detected sources, diffuse emission attributed to the interactions of Galactic cosmic rays with gas and radiation fields, and a residual all-sky emission component commonly called the…
The Extragalactic Background Light (EBL) can be probed via the absorption imprint it leaves in the spectra of gamma-ray sources ($\gamma\gamma \rightarrow e^-e^+$). We recently developed a dedicated technique to reconstruct the EBL, and its…
The magnetic field in intergalactic space gives important information about magnetogenesis in the early universe. The properties of this field can be probed by searching for radiation of secondary e$^+ $e$^-$ pairs created by TeV photons,…
For distant extragalactic sources of gamma-rays in the PeV energy range, interactions of the gamma rays with intergalactic diffuse radiation fields will initiate a pair cascade. Depending on the magnetic fields in the vicinity of the…
We discuss how measurements of the absorption of $\gamma$-rays from GeV to TeV energies via pair production on the extragalactic background light (EBL) can probe important issues in galaxy formation. We use semi-analytic models (SAMs) of…
For High frequency BL Lac objects (HBLs) like H1426+428, a significant fraction of their TeV gamma-rays emitted are likely to be absorbed in interactions with the diffuse IR background, yielding $e^\pm$ pairs. The resulting $e^\pm$ pairs…
Our understanding of the intensity distribution of the interstellar radiation background is based on the observational data from IRAS, COBE-FIRAS and Planck. The intensity of this radiation field increases rapidly towards the Galactic plane…
Very high energy (VHE; energy $E \gtrsim 100\,$GeV) $\gamma$-rays originating from extragalactic sources undergo pair production with low-energy photons of background radiation fields. These pairs can inverse-Compton-scatter background…
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…
The BL Lac object Mkn 501 has shown very high emission in TeV gamma-rays from March to October, 1997. During this period the source was continuously monitored with the HEGRA stereoscopic system of 4 imaging air Cherenkov telescopes for a…
The HEGRA collaboration has achieved outstanding results during the operation of the six imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes from 1996 to 2002. The experimental work pioneered the field of TeV gamma-ray astronomy with observations…
We present here the extragalactic background light (EBL) predicted by semi-analytic models of galaxy formation, and show how measurements of the absorption of gamma rays of $\sim$ TeV energies via pair production on the EBL can probe…