A search for gamma-ray emission from the Galactic plane in the longitude range between $\mathsf{37}^\circ$and $\mathsf{43}^\circ$

Using the HEGRA system of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, a region of the Galactic plane ($-10^\circ < b < 5^\circ$, $38^\circ < l < 43^\circ$) was surveyed for TeV gamma-ray emission, both from point sources and of diffuse nature. The region covered includes 15 known pulsars, 6 known supernova remnants (SNR) and one unidentified EGRET source. No evidence for emission from point sources was detected; upper limits are typically below 0.1 Crab units for the flux above 1 TeV. For the diffuse gamma-ray flux from the Galactic plane, an upper limit of $6.1\times10^{-15}$ph cm-2s-1sr-1MeV-1was derived under the assumption that the spatial distribution measured by the EGRET instrument extends to the TeV regime. This upper flux limit is a factor of about 1.5 larger than the flux expected from the ensemble of gamma-ray unresolved Galactic cosmic ray sources.