Proton-air interactions at ultra-high energies in muon-depleted air showers with different depths
The hardness of the energy spectrum of neutral pions produced in proton-air interactions at ultra-high energies, above 1018 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...
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| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Physics Letters B |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0370269324006737 |
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| author | L. Cazon R. Conceição M.A. Martins F. Riehn |
| author_facet | L. Cazon R. Conceição M.A. Martins F. Riehn |
| author_sort | L. Cazon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The hardness of the energy spectrum of neutral pions produced in proton-air interactions at ultra-high energies, above 1018 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 Λμ, evolves with the depth of the shower maximum, Xmax, assuming a universal value for shallow showers and an enhanced dependence on the high-energy hadronic interaction model for deep showers. We show that Xmax 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 Λμ is possible for realistic mass composition expectations. Finally, we infer that the statistical precision in Λμ required to distinguish between hadronic interaction models can be achieved in current extensive air shower detectors, given their resolution and exposure. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c9352138e159412bb8f15fd8f50f25ad |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0370-2693 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Physics Letters B |
| spelling | doaj-art-c9352138e159412bb8f15fd8f50f25ad2024-11-30T07:08:53ZengElsevierPhysics Letters B0370-26932024-12-01859139115Proton-air interactions at ultra-high energies in muon-depleted air showers with different depthsL. Cazon0R. Conceição1M.A. Martins2F. Riehn3Instituto Galego de Física de Altas Enerxías (IGFAE), University of Santiago de Compostela, Rúa de Xoaquín Díaz de Rábago, Santiago de Compostela, SpainLaboratório de Instrumentação e Física Experimental de Partículas (LIP), Lisbon, Portugal; Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, PortugalInstituto Galego de Física de Altas Enerxías (IGFAE), University of Santiago de Compostela, Rúa de Xoaquín Díaz de Rábago, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Corresponding author.Instituto Galego de Física de Altas Enerxías (IGFAE), University of Santiago de Compostela, Rúa de Xoaquín Díaz de Rábago, Santiago de Compostela, SpainThe hardness of the energy spectrum of neutral pions produced in proton-air interactions at ultra-high energies, above 1018 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 Λμ, evolves with the depth of the shower maximum, Xmax, assuming a universal value for shallow showers and an enhanced dependence on the high-energy hadronic interaction model for deep showers. We show that Xmax 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 Λμ is possible for realistic mass composition expectations. Finally, we infer that the statistical precision in Λμ required to distinguish between hadronic interaction models can be achieved in current extensive air shower detectors, given their resolution and exposure.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0370269324006737Ultra-high-energy cosmic raysExtensive air showersHigh-energy hadronic interactionsHadronic activityXmax and Nμ distributions |
| spellingShingle | L. Cazon R. Conceição M.A. Martins F. Riehn Proton-air interactions at ultra-high energies in muon-depleted air showers with different depths Physics Letters B Ultra-high-energy cosmic rays Extensive air showers High-energy hadronic interactions Hadronic activity Xmax and Nμ distributions |
| title | Proton-air interactions at ultra-high energies in muon-depleted air showers with different depths |
| title_full | Proton-air interactions at ultra-high energies in muon-depleted air showers with different depths |
| title_fullStr | Proton-air interactions at ultra-high energies in muon-depleted air showers with different depths |
| title_full_unstemmed | Proton-air interactions at ultra-high energies in muon-depleted air showers with different depths |
| title_short | Proton-air interactions at ultra-high energies in muon-depleted air showers with different depths |
| title_sort | proton air interactions at ultra high energies in muon depleted air showers with different depths |
| topic | Ultra-high-energy cosmic rays Extensive air showers High-energy hadronic interactions Hadronic activity Xmax and Nμ distributions |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0370269324006737 |
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