TeV Cherenkov Events as Bose-Einstein Gamma Condensations

The recent detection of gamma radiation from Mkn 501 at energies as high as ∼ 25 TeV suggests stringent upper bounds on the diffuse, far infrared, extragalactic radiation density. The production of electron-positron pairs through photon-photon collisions would prevent gamma photons of substantially higher energies from reaching us across distances of order 100Mpc. However, coherently arriving TeV or sub-TeV gammas — Bose-Einstein condensations of photons at these energies — could mimic the Cherenkov shower signatures of extremely energetic gammas. To better understand such events, we describe their observational traits and discuss how they might be generated. Subject headings: BL Lacertae objects: individual (Mkn 501) — diffuse radiation — gamma rays: theory — infrared: general — masers