Constraining gamma-ray propagation on cosmic distances

Abstract

Studying the propagation of gamma rays on cosmological distances encompasses a variety of scientific fields, focusing on diffuse radiation fields such as the extragalactic background light, on the probe of the magnetism of the Universe on large scales, and on physics beyond the standard models of cosmology and particle physics. The measurements, constraints and hints from observations of gamma-ray blazars by airborne and ground-based instruments are briefly reviewed. These observations point to gamma-ray cosmology as one of the major science cases of the Cherenkov Telescope Array, CTA.