EBL constraints using a sample of TeV gamma-ray emitters measured with the MAGIC telescopes

Abstract

Abstract. MAGIC is a stereoscopic system of two Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes operating in the very high energy (VHE) range from about 50 GeV to over 50 TeV. The VHE gamma-ray spectra measured at Earth carry an imprint of the extragalactic background light (EBL) and can be used to study the EBL density and its evolution in time. In the last few years, precision measurements of several blazars in the redshift range from z=0.03 up to z=0.9 were performed with MAGIC obtaining strong limits on the EBL density from single sources. In this paper, we present the results from a combined likelihood analysis using this broad redshift range sample of blazars allowing us to probe the EBL at different wavelengths. The implications on the EBL models and perspectives for future observations with MAGIC are also discussed.