Probing galaxy formation with TeV gamma ray absorption

We present here the extragalactic background light (EBL) predicted by semi-analytic models of galaxy formation, and show how measurements of the absorption of gamma rays of similar to TeV energies via pair production on the EEL can probe cosmology and the formation of galaxies. Semi-analytic models permit a physical treatment of the key processes of galaxy formation - including gravitational collapse and merging of dark matter halos, gas cooling and dissipation, star formation, supernova feedback and metal production - and have been shown to reproduce key observations at low and high redshift. Using this approach, we investigate the consequences of variations in input assumptions such as the stellar initial mass function and the underlying cosmology. We conclude that observational studies of the absorption of similar to 10(-2)-10(2) TeV gamma rays will help to constrain the star formation history of the universe, and the nature and extent of the extinction of starlight due to dust and reradiation of the absorbed energy at infrared wavelengths. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.