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The nearby BL Lacertae (BL Lac) object Markarian~421 (Mkn~421) at a red shift z=0.031 was observed to undergo strong TeV Gamma-ray outbursts in the observational periods from December 1999 until May 2001. The time averaged energy spectrum is well described by a power law with an exponential cut-off energy at 3.6(+0.4-0.3)_{stat}(+0.9-0.8)_{sys} TeV. The energy spectra derived for different average flux levels ranging from 0.5 to 10 * 10^{-11}ph/cm**2/s follow a clear correlation of photon index and flux level. Generally, the energy spectra are harder for high flux levels. From January to April 2001 Mkn~421 showed rapid variability (doubling time as short as 20 minutes), accompanied with a spectral hardening with increasing flux level within individual nights. For two successive nights (MJD 51989-51991, March 21-23,2001), this correlation of spectral hardness and change in flux has been observed within a few hours. The cut-off energy for the Mkn~421 TeV spectrum remains within the errors constant for the different flux levels and differs by 2.6+/-0.6_stat+/-0.6_sys TeV from the value determined for Mkn~501. This indicates that the observed exponential cut-off in the energy spectrum of Mkn~421 is not solely caused by absorption of multi-TeV photons by pair-production processes with photons of the extragalactic near/mid infrared background radiation., Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, submitted to Astronomy&Astrophysics

The HEGRA system of imaging air Cherenkov telescopes has been used to observe the BL Lac object H1426+428 ($z=0.129$) for 217.5 hours in 2002. In this data set alone, the source is detected at a confidence level of $5.3~\sigma$, confirming this object as a TeV source. The overall flux level during the observations in 2002 is found to be a factor of $\approx 2.5$ lower than during the previous observations by HEGRA in 1999&2000. A new spectral analysis has been carried out, improving the signal-to-noise ratio at the expense of a slightly increased systematic uncertainty and reducing the relative energy resolution to $\Delta E/E\le 12 %$ over a wide range of energies. The new method has also been applied to the previously published data set taken in 1999 and 2000, confirming the earlier claim of a flattening of the energy spectrum between 1 and 5 TeV. The data set taken in 2002 shows again a signal at energies above 1 TeV. We combine the energy spectra as determined by the CAT and VERITAS groups with our reanalyzed result of the 1999&2000 data set and apply a correction to account for effects of absorption of high energy photons on extragalactic background light in the optical to mid infrared band. The shape of the inferred source spectrum is mostly sensitive to the characteristics of the extragalactic background light between wavelengths of 1 and 15~$\mu$m, Comment: 12 pages, 4 Figures, submitted to A&A

Using the HEGRA system of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, the Andromeda galaxy (M31) was surveyed for TeV gamma ray emission. Given the large field of view of the HEGRA telescopes, three pointings were sufficient to cover all of M31, including also M32 and NGC205. No indications for point sources of TeV gamma rays were found. Upper limits are given at a level of a few percent of the Crab flux. A specific search for monoenergetic gamma-ray lines from annihilation of supersymmetric dark matter particles accumulating near the center of M31 resulted in flux limits in the 10^-13/cm^2s range, well above the predicted MSSM flux levels except for models with pronounced dark-matter spikes or strongly enhanced annihilation rates., Comment: Latex, 7 pages, 4 Figures, submitted to A&A

Tycho's supernova remnant (SNR) was observed during 1997 and 1998 with the HEGRA Cherenkov Telescope System in a search for gamma-ray emission at energies above ~1 TeV. An analysis of these data, ~65 hours in total, resulted in no evidence for TeV gamma-ray emission. The 3sigma upper limit to the gamma-ray flux (>1 TeV) from Tycho is estimated at 5.78x10^{-13} photons cm^{-2} s^{-1}, or 33 milli-Crab. We interpret our upper limit within the framework of the following scenarios: (1) that the observed hard X-ray tail is due to synchrotron emission. A lower limit on the magnetic field within Tycho may be estimated B>=22 microG, assuming that the RXTE-detected X-rays were due to synchrotron emission. However, using results from a detailed model of the ASCA emission, a more conservative lower limit B>=6 microG is derived. (2) the hadronic model of Drury, Aharonian & Voelk, and (3) the more recent time-dependent kinetic theory of Berezhko & Voelk. Our upper limit lies within the range of predicted values of both hadronic models, according to uncertainties in physical parameters of Tycho, and shock acceleration details. In the latter case, the model was scaled to suit the parameters of Tycho and re-normalised to account for a simplification of the original model. We find that we cannot rule out Tycho as a potential contributor at an average level to the Galactic cosmic-ray flux., 9 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics