Gamma-rays as probes of the Universe

The propagation of $\gamma$ rays over very large distances provides new insights on the intergalactic medium and on fundamental physics. On their path to the Earth, $\gamma$ rays can annihilate with diffuse infrared or optical photons of the intergalactic medium, producing $e^+ \, e^-$ pairs. The density of these photons is poorly determined by direct measurements due to significant galactic foregrounds. Studying the absorption of $\gamma$ rays from extragalactic sources at different distances allows the density of low-energy diffuse photons to be measured. Gamma-ray propagation may also be affected by new phenomena predicted by extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics. Lorentz Invariance is violated in some models of Quantum Gravity, leading to an energy-dependent speed of light in vacuum. From differential time-of-flight measurements of the most distant $\gamma$-ray bursts and of flaring active galactic nuclei, lower bounds have been set on the energy scale of Quantum Gravity. Another effect that may alter $\gamma$-ray propagation is predicted by some models of String Theory, namely the mixing of the $\gamma$ ray with a light fundamental boson called an "axion-like particle", which does not interact with low-energy photons. Such a mixing would make the Universe more transparent to $\gamma$ rays than what would otherwise be, in a sense it decreases the amount of modification to the spectrum that comes from the extragalactic background light. The present status of the search for all these phenomena in $\gamma$-ray astronomy is reviewed.
Comment: Invited Review to appear in Comptes-Rendus Physique