Measurement of the EBL spectral energy distribution using the VHE gamma-ray spectra of H.E.S.S. blazars
Creators: name: Collaboration, H. E. S. S.
name: :
name: Abdalla, H.
name: Abramowski, A.
name: Aharonian, F.
name: Benkhali, F. Ait
name: Akhperjaniany, A. G.
name: Andersson, T.
name: Angüner, E. O.
name: Arakawa, M.
name: Arrieta, M.
name: Aubert, P.
name: Backes, M.
name: Balzer, A.
name: Barnard, M.
name: Becherini, Y.
name: Tjus, J. Becker
name: Berge, D.
name: Bernhard, S.
name: Bernlöhr, K.
name: Blackwell, R.
name: Böttcher, M.
name: Boisson, C.
name: Bolmont, J.
name: Bonnefoy, S.
name: Bordas, P.
name: Bregeon, J.
name: Brun, F.
name: Brun, P.
name: Bryan, M.
name: Büchele, M.
name: Bulik, T.
name: Capasso, M.
name: Carr, J.
name: Casanova, S.
name: Cerruti, M.
name: Chakraborty, N.
name: Chaves, R. C. G.
name: Chen, A.
name: Chevalier, J.
name: Coffaro, M.
name: Colafrancesco, S.
name: Cologna, G.
name: Condon, B.
name: Conrad, J.
name: Cui, Y.
name: Davids, I. D.
name: Decock, J.
name: Degrange, B.
name: Deil, C.
name: Devin, J.
name: deWilt, P.
name: Dirson, L.
name: Djannati-Ataï, A.
name: Domainko, W.
name: Donath, A.
name: Drury, L. O. C.
name: Dutson, K.
name: Dyks, J.
name: Edwards, T.
name: Egberts, K.
name: Eger, P.
name: Ernenwein, J. P.
name: Eschbach, S.
name: Farnier, C.
name: Fegan, S.
name: Fernandes, M. V.
name: Fiasson, A.
name: Fontaine, G.
name: Förster, A.
name: Funk, S.
name: Füßling, M.
name: Gabici, S.
name: Gallant, Y. A.
name: Garrigoux, T.
name: Giavitto, G.
name: Giebels, B.
name: Glicenstein, J. F.
name: Gottschall, D.
name: Goyal, A.
name: Grondin, M. H.
name: Hahn, J.
name: Haupt, M.
name: Hawkes, J.
name: Heinzelmann, G.
name: Henri, G.
name: Hermann, G.
name: Hinton, J. A.
name: Hofmann, W.
name: Hoischen, C.
name: Holch, T. L.
name: Holler, M.
name: Horns, D.
name: Ivascenko, A.
name: Iwasaki, H.
name: Jacholkowska, A.
name: Jamrozy, M.
name: Janiak, M.
name: Jankowsky, D.
name: Jankowsky, F.
name: Jingo, M.
name: Jogler, T.
name: Jouvin, L.
name: Jung-Richardt, I.
name: Kastendieck, M. A.
name: Katarzynski, K.
name: Katsuragawa, M.
name: Katz, U.
name: Kerszberg, D.
name: Khangulyan, D.
name: Khélifi, B.
name: King, J.
name: Klepser, S.
name: Klochkov, D.
name: Kluzniak, W.
name: Kolitzus, D.
name: Komin, Nu.
name: Kosack, K.
name: Krakau1, S.
name: Kraus, M.
name: Krüger, P. P.
name: Laffon, H.
name: Lamanna, G.
name: Lau, J.
name: Lees, J. P.
name: Lefaucheur, J.
name: Lefranc, V.
name: Lemière, A.
name: Lemoine-Goumard, M.
name: Lenain, J. P.
name: Leser, E.
name: Lohse, T.
name: Lorentz, M.
name: Liu, R.
name: Lopez-Coto, R.
name: Lypova, I.
name: Marandon, V.
name: Marcowith, A.
name: Mariaud, C.
name: Marx, R.
name: Maurin, G.
name: Maxted, N.
name: Mayer, M.
name: Meintjes, P. J.
name: Meyer, M.
name: Mitchel, A. M. W.
name: Moderski, R.
name: Mohamed, M.
name: Mohrmann, L.
name: Morå, K.
name: Moulin, E.
name: Murach, T.
name: Nakashima, S.
name: de Naurois, M.
name: Niederwanger, F.
name: Niemiec, J.
name: Oakes, L.
name: Brien, P. O
name: Odaka, H.
name: Ohm, S.
name: Ostrowski, M.
name: Oya, I.
name: Padovani, M.
name: Panter, M.
name: Parsons, R. D.
name: Pekeur, N. W.
name: Pelletier, G.
name: Perennes, C.
name: Petrucci, P. O.
name: Peyaud, B.
name: Piel, Q.
name: Pita, S.
name: Poon, H.
name: Prokhorov, D.
name: Prokoph, H.
name: Pühlhofer, G.
name: Punch, M.
name: Quirrenbach, A.
name: Raab, S.
name: Rauth, R.
name: Reimer, A.
name: Reimer, O.
name: Renaud, M.
name: Reyes, R. de los
name: Richter, S.
name: Rieger, F.
name: Romoli, C.
name: Rowell, G.
name: Rudak, B.
name: Rulten, C. B.
name: Sahakian, V.
name: Saito, S.
name: Salek, D.
name: Sanchez, D. A.
name: Santangelo, A.
name: Sasaki, M.
name: Schlickeiser, R.
name: Schüssler, F.
name: Schulz, A.
name: Schwanke, U.
name: Schwemmer, S.
name: Seglar-Arroyo, M.
name: Settimo, M.
name: Seyffert, A. S.
name: Shafi, N.
name: Shilon, I.
name: Simoni, R.
name: Sol, H.
name: Spanier, F.
name: Spengler, G.
name: Spies, F.
name: Stawarz, L.
name: Steenkamp, R.
name: Stegmann, C.
name: Stycz, K.
name: Sushch, I.
name: Takahashi, T.
name: Tavernet, J. P.
name: Tavernier, T.
name: Taylor, A. M.
name: Terrier, R.
name: Tibaldo, L.
name: Tiziani, D.
name: Tluczykont, M.
name: Trichard, C.
name: Tsuji, N.
name: Tuffs, R.
name: Uchiyama, Y.
name: van der Walt, D. J.
name: van Eldik, C.
name: van Rensburg, C.
name: van Soelen, B.
name: Vasileiadis, G.
name: Veh, J.
name: Venter, C.
name: Viana, A.
name: Vincent, P.
name: Vink, J.
name: Voisin, F.
name: Völk, H. J.
name: Vuillaume, T.
name: Wadiasingh, Z.
name: Wagner, S. J.
name: Wagner, P.
name: Wagner, R. M.
name: White, R.
name: Wierzcholska, A.
name: Willmann, P.
name: Wörnlein, A.
name: Wouters, D.
name: Yang, R.
name: Zaborov, D.
name: Zacharias, M.
name: Zanin, R.
name: Zdziarski, A. A.
name: Zech, A.
name: Zefi, F.
name: Ziegler, A.
name: Zywucka, N.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2017
Subjects: subject: High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE)
subject: Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Very high-energy gamma-rays (VHE, E&gt;100 GeV) propagating over cosmological distances can interact with the low-energy photons of the extragalactic background light (EBL) and produce electron-positron pairs. The transparency of the universe to VHE gamma-rays is then directly related to the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the EBL. The observation of features in the VHE energy spectra of extragalactic sources allows the EBL to be measured, which otherwise is very difficult to determine. An EBL-model independent measurement of the EBL SED with the H.E.S.S. array of Cherenkov telescopes is presented. It is obtained by extracting the EBL absorption signal from the reanalysis of high-quality spectra of blazars. From H.E.S.S. data alone the EBL signature is detected at a significance of 9.5 sigma, and the intensity of the EBL obtained in different spectral bands is presented together with the associated gamma-ray horizon.
description: Accepted for publication in A&amp;A