Simulation study of lateral distribution properties of ultra-high energy cosmic ray air showers for the Telescope Array
Year: 2025
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: Ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) are extremely rare and of unknown origin. They are studied indirectly via air showers, but the reconstructed energy scale carries intrinsic uncertainties whose causes are not fully understood. We investigate the lateral distribution of particle densities in UHECR-induced showers simulated for the Telescope Array (TA) surface detectors using CORSIKA with QGSJET-II04, EPOS-LHC, and Sibyll 2.3e. Analyzing detector-level simulation outputs without reconstruction eliminates biases from the array layout and algorithms. The results show systematically steeper lateral distributions than the empirical function used in TA analysis. While 𝑆(800) remains a robust energy estimator, differences from the currently used look-up table are attributed to idealized versus realistic array assumptions. Hybrid events help calibrate this offset. Dependence on primary particle and interaction model is marginal. These findings support future efforts to derive average lateral distributions from data to constrain related uncertainties.
DOI: 10.22323/1.501.0396
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Funders: National Science Foundation, University of Utah, European Commission, National Research Foundation, Academia Sinica, National Research Foundation of Korea, University of Tokyo, Forskningsrådet om Hälsa, Arbetsliv och Välfärd, Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, RIKEN, Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, University of Tokyo
Awards: G1192106470, Analysis of Data from the Telescope Array Observatory, Study of the ultra high energy cosmic ray source evolution by detailed measurement of cosmic rays in the wide energy range, Analysis of Data from the Telescope Array Observatory, G2464845396, Quest for the unified picture of the explosion mechanism of supernovae and the central engine of gamma-ray bursts, G2908002831, Investigating the Correlation Between Lightning and High-Energy Particles in the Earth's Atmosphere, G5260365489, G5281852683, Downward Gamma Ray Showers from Natural Lightning, G5629441754, Operation of the Telescope Array Observatory, G6444257319, G6554715000, Exploring energy spectrum anisotropies in ultra-high energy cosmic rays with the Telescope Array, Operation of the Telescope Array Observatory, The Microphysics of Lightning: Observing the Optical Emission from Downward Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes, Extended Telescope Array Experiment - Nearby Extreme Universe Elucidated by Highest-energy Cosmic Rays, Baseline Support of the University of Utah Cosmic Ray Physics Group Including Analysis of Telescope Array, TALE, and TAx4 Data, Operation of the Telescope Array, TALE, and the TAx4 Expansion by the University of Utah, Extreme Phenomena in the Universe Explored by Highest Energy Cosmic Rays, Study of origins and propagation of very high energy cosmic rays with detailed measurements in the wide energy range
OpenAlex ID: W4414451485
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