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Extreme TeV blazars (ETBs) are active galactic nuclei with jets presumably pointing towards the observer having their intrinsic (compensated for the effect of γ-ray absorption on extragalactic background light photons) spectral energy distributions (SEDs) peaked at an energy in excess of 1 TeV. These sources typically reveal relatively weak and slow variability as well as higher frequency of the low-energy SED peak compared to other classes of blazars. It proved to be exceedingly hard to incorporate all these peculiar properties of ETBs into the framework of conventional γ-ray emission models. ETB physics have recently attracted great attention in the astrophysical community, underlying the importance of the development of self-consistent ETB emission model(s). We propose a new scenario for the formation of X-ray and γ-ray spectra of ETBs assuming that electromagnetic cascades develop in the infrared photon field surrounding the central blazar engine. This scenario does not invoke compact fast-moving sources of radiation (so-called “blobs”), in agreement with the apparent absence of fast and strong variability of ETBs. For the case of the extreme TeV blazar 1ES 0229+200 we propose a specific emission model in the framework of the considered scenario. We demonstrate that this model allows to obtain a good fit to the measured SED of 1ES 0229+200.

We review the physics of intergalactic electromagnetic cascades in the presence of the extragalactic magnetic field (EGMF). Various regimes of intergalactic electromagnetic cascades are considered depending on the number of cascade generations, the value of the cascade electron deflection angle, and the relations between the EGMF coherence length, typical cascade γ -ray mean free path, and electron energy loss length. We also review contemporary constraints on the EGMF parameters and explore the sensitivity of various γ -ray instruments to the EGMF parameters.

Most of the recent research on extragalactic γ-ray propagation focused on the study of the γγ * e+e− absorption process (“absorption-only model”). Starting from a possible anomaly at very high energies (VHE, E > 100 GeV), we briefly review several existing deviations from this model. The exotic interpretation of the VHE anomaly is not supported by the recent works. On the other hand, the process of intergalactic electromagnetic cascade development naturally explains these effects. We discuss phenomenology of intergalactic cascades and the main spectral signatures of the electromagnetic cascade model. We also briefly consider the hadronic cascade model; it also may explain the data, but requires low strength of magnetic field around the source of primary protons or nuclei.

Most of the recent research on extragalactic γ-ray propagation focused on the study of the γγ * e+e− absorption process (“absorption-only model”). Starting from a possible anomaly at very high energies (VHE, E > 100 GeV), we briefly review several existing deviations from this model. The exotic interpretation of the VHE anomaly is not supported by the recent works. On the other hand, the process of intergalactic electromagnetic cascade development naturally explains these effects. We discuss phenomenology of intergalactic cascades and the main spectral signatures of the electromagnetic cascade model. We also briefly consider the hadronic cascade model; it also may explain the data, but requires low strength of magnetic field around the source of primary protons or nuclei.

We review extragalactic γ-ray propagation models with emphasis on the electromagnetic (EM) cascade process in the magnetized expanding Universe. We consider cascades initiated by primary protons of ultra-high energy accelerated by blazars and show that the observable spectrum is similar to the universal spectrum of a purely EM cascade. We also present a detailed calculation of the observable angular distribution for the case of EM cascades developing from relatively nearby (<20 Mpc) sources. Finally, we calculate the point-like source differential sensitivity of a novel liquid Argon time projection chamber γ-ray telescope and show that its sensitivity is several times better than the Fermi LAT sensitivity in the 100 MeV - 100 GeV energy range.

Preliminary results on the development of a separation method for Cerenkov (CL) and fluorescence (FL) light from EAS are shown. The results are based on the measurement of attenuation coefficients of CL and FL for different filters. A total of six optical filters were investigated: filters from optical glass UFS-1, UFS-5, FS6 (analogue BG3) and interference filters SL 360-50, SL 280-380, FF01-375/110. The measurements were performed using silicon photomultipliers (SiPM). To improve existing fluorescent light detectors, a segment of 7 SiPM was developed, which would be able to separate both components of the light flux from EAS at the level of primary data processing.

Very recently, the Tibet-AS\\(\\gamma\\) collaboration reported the detection of \\(\\gamma\\) rays from the galactic disk in the energy range of 100 TeV -- 1 PeV. Remarkably, many of these \\(\\gamma\\) rays were observed apart from known very high energy (E\\(>\\) 100 GeV) \\(\\gamma\\)-ray sources. These results are best understood if these diffuse \\(\\gamma\\) rays: 1) were produced by a conventional rather than an exotic (i.e. dark matter decay or annihilation) process, 2) have a hadronic rather than a leptonic origin, 3) were produced in impulsive rather than stable sources or, alternatively, in optically thick sources. In addition to that, the detection of the sub-PeV diffuse \\(\\gamma\\) rays implies a limit on the flux of neutrinos from the Galactic disk and a lower limit on the rigidity of the cutoff in the Galactic cosmic ray spectrum.

We explore the concept of liquid Argon time projection chamber (TPC) for gamma-ray astronomy in the 100 MeV --- 1 TeV energy range. We propose a basic layout for such a telescope called MAST. Using a last-generation rocket such as Falcon Heavy, it is possible to launch a detector with the effective area and the differential sensitivity about one order of magnitude better than the Fermi-LAT ones. At the same time, the MAST concept allows for an excellent angular resolution, 3-10 times better than the Fermi-LAT one depending on the energy, and good energy resolution (\\(\\approx\\) 20 % at 100 MeV and 6-10 % for the 10 GeV --- 1 TeV energy range). We show that such a telescope would be instrumental in a broad range of long-standing astrophysical problems.

Extreme TeV blazars (ETBs) are active galactic nuclei with jets presumably pointing towards the observer having their intrinsic spectral energy distributions (SEDs) peaked at an energy in excess of 1 TeV. These sources typically reveal relatively weak and slow variability as well as an extremely high frequency of the low-energy SED peak compared to other classes of blazars. It proved to be exceedingly hard to incorporate all these peculiar properties of ETBs into the framework of a reasonable \\(\\gamma\\)-ray emission model. ETB physics have recently attracted great attention in the astrophysical community, underlying the importance of the development of self-consistent ETB emission model(s). We propose a new scenario for the formation of X-ray and \\(\\gamma\\)-ray spectra of ETBs assuming that electromagnetic cascades develop in the infrared photon field surrounding the central blazar engine. This scenario does not invoke compact fast-moving sources of radiation (so-called \"blobs\"), in agreement with the apparent absence of fast and strong variability of ETBs. For the case of the extreme TeV blazar 1ES 0229+200 we propose a specific emission model in the framework of the considered scenario. We demonstrate that this model allows to obtain a good fit to the measured SED of 1ES 0229+200.