The spectrum of 1ES0229 + 200 and the cosmic infraredbackground

Aims. To reexamine the implications of the recent HESS observations of the blazar 1ES0229+200 for constraining the extragalactic mid-infrared background radiation. Methods. We examine the effect of -ray absorption by the extragalactic infrared radiation on predicted intrinsic spectra for this blazar and compare our results with the observational data. Results. We find agreement with our previous results on the shape of the IR spectral energy distribution (SED), contrary to the recent assertion of the HESS group. Our analysis indicates that 1ES0229+200 has a very hard intrinsic spectrum with a spectral index between 1.1 ± 0.3 and 1.5 ± 0.3 in the energy range between �0.5 TeV and �15 TeV. Conclusions. Under the assumptions that (1) the SED models of Stecker, Malkan & Scully (2006) are reasonable as derived from numerous detailed IR observations, and (2) spectral indexes in the range 1 < < 1.5 have been shown to be obtainable from relativistic shock acceleration under the astrophysical conditions extant in blazar flares (Stecker, Baring & Summerlin 2007), the fits to the observations of 1ES0229+200 using our previous IR SEDs are consistent with both the IR and -ray observations. Our analysis presents evidence indicating that the energy spectrum of relativistic particles in 1ES0229+200 is produced by relativistic shock acceleration, producing an intrinsic -ray spectrum with index 1 < < 1.5 and with no evidence of a peak in the SED up to energies � 15 TeV.