Proton-air interactions at ultra-high energies in muon-depleted air showers with different depths
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: The hardness of the energy spectrum of neutral pions produced in proton-air interactions at ultra-high energies, above 10 18 eV, is constrained by the steepness of the shower-to-shower distribution of the number of muons in muon-depleted extensive air showers . In this work, we find that this steepness, quantified by the parameter Λ μ , evolves with the depth of the shower maximum, X max , assuming a universal value for shallow showers and an enhanced dependence on the high-energy hadronic interaction model for deep showers. We show that X max probes the so-called hadronic activity of the first proton-air interaction, thus allowing direct access to the energy spectrum of neutral pions in different regions of its kinematic phase space. We verify that the unbiased measurement of Λ μ is possible for realistic mass composition expectations. Finally, we infer that the statistical precision in Λ μ required to distinguish between hadronic interaction models can be achieved in current extensive air shower detectors, given their resolution and exposure.
Source: Physics Letters B
Authors: L. Cazon, R. Conceição, M.A. Martins, F. Riehn
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
Funders: CERN, European Commission, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Xunta de Galicia, Fundación Bancaria Caixa d'Estalvis i Pensions de Barcelona, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Horizon 2020, European Regional Development Fund, Agencia Estatal de Investigación, H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, HORIZON EUROPE Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Awards: G1255325603, G1496055848, G1677408355, G1757546272, G1809737460, G2290189609, G3447586769, G3694284866, G4320224000, G434337789, G4944594896, G5132640529, G5358377219, New measurement of ultra-high energy interactions using radio detection of cosmic ray air showers, G5717897370, G5889821516, G5955501538, G6061736010, G6494969456, G744750012, G7685134749, G7731791180, G800218707, G8800403394, G8920660035
OpenAlex ID: W4404027083