LOWER BOUNDS ON MAGNETIC FIELDS IN INTERGALACTIC VOIDS FROM LONG-TERM GeV-TeV LIGHT CURVES OF THE BLAZAR MRK 421

Lower bounds are derived on the amplitude B of intergalactic magnetic fields (IGMFs) in the region between Galaxy and the blazar Mrk 421, from constraints on the delayed GeV pair-echo flux that are emitted by secondary e(-)e(+) produced in gamma gamma interactions between primary TeV gamma rays and the cosmic infrared background. The distribution of galaxies mapped by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey shows that this region is dominated by a large intergalactic void. We utilize data from long-term, simultaneous GeV-TeV observations by the Fermi Large Area Telescope and the ARGO-YBJ experiment extending over 850 days. For an assumed value of B, we evaluate the daily GeV pair-echo flux expected from the TeV data, select the dates where this exceeds the Fermi 2 sigma sensitivity, compute the probability that this flux is excluded by the Fermi data for each date, and then combine the probabilities using the inverse normal method. Consequently, we exclude B < 10(-20.5) G for a field coherence length of 1 kpc at similar to 4 sigma level, as long as plasma instabilities are unimportant for cooling of the pair beam. This is much more significant than the 2 sigma bounds we obtained previously from observations of Mrk 501, by virtue of more extensive data from the ARGO-YBJ, as well as improved statistical analysis. Compared with most other studies of IGMF bounds, the evidence we present here for a non-zero IGMF is more robust as it does not rely on unproven assumptions on the primary TeV emission during unobserved periods.