Blazar γ-rays, shock acceleration, and the extragalactic background light

The observed spectra of blazars, their intrinsic emission, and the underlying populations of radiating particles are intimately related. The use of these sources as probes of the extragalactic infrared background, a prospect propelled by recent advances in TeV- band telescopes, soon to be augmented by observations by NASA's upcoming Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope, has been a topic of great recent interest. Here, it is demonstrated that if particles in blazar jets are accelerated at relativistic shocks, then gamma-ray spectra with indices less than 1.5 can be produced. This, in turn, loosens the upper limits on the near-infrared extragalactic background radiation previously proposed. We also show evidence hinting that TeV blazars with flatter spectra have higher intrinsic TeV gamma-ray luminosities, and we indicate that there may be a correlation of flatness and luminosity with redshift.