Abstract
Exceptionally strong and long-lasting flaring activity of the blazar Mrk 421 occurred between 2001 January and March. Based on the excellent signal-to-noise ratio of the data, we derive the energy spectrum between 260 GeV and 17 TeV with unprecedented statistical precision. The spectrum is not well described by a simple power law even with a curvature term. Instead, the data can be described by a power law with exponential cutoff: dN/dE~E-2.14+/-0.03state- E/E0 m-2 s-1 TeV-1 with E0=4.3+/-0.3stat TeV. Mrk 421 is the second γ-ray blazar that unambiguously exhibits an absorption-like feature in its spectral energy distribution at 3-6 TeV....
Original language | English |
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Journal | The Astrophysical Journal |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Oct 2001 |