Constraints on the Extragalactic Background Light from Very High Energy
  Gamma-Ray Observations of Blazars
  The extragalactic background light (EBL) from the infrared to the ultraviolet
is difficult to measure directly, but can be constrained with a variety of
methods. EBL photons absorb gamma-rays from distant blazars, allowing one to
use blazar spectra from atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (ACTs) to put upper
limits on the EBL by assuming a blazar source spectrum. Here we apply a simple
technique, similar to the one developed by Schroedter (2005), to the most
recent very-high energy (VHE) gamma-ray observations of blazars to put upper
limits on the EBL energy density. This technique is independent of the EBL
model and has well-defined errors on the constraints. Our results are
consistent with EBL measurements and constraints but marginally inconsistent
with several EBL models.
