Probing the energy spectrum of hadrons in proton air interactions at ultrahigh energies through the fluctuations of the muon content of extensive air showers

0547048 - FZÚ 2022 RIV NL eng J - Journal Article
Cazon, L. … Total 3 authors
Probing the energy spectrum of hadrons in proton air interactions at ultrahigh energies through the fluctuations of the muon content of extensive air showers.
Physics Letters. B. Roč. 784, September (2018), s. 68-76. ISSN 0370-2693. E-ISSN 1873-2445
Research Infrastructure: AUGER-CZ - 90038
Keywords : high energy hadron interactions * ultrahigh energy cosmic rays * extensive air showers
OECD category: Particles and field physics
Impact factor: 4.162, year: 2018
Method of publishing: Open access
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2018.07.026

We demonstrate that the shower-to-shower fluctuations of the muon content of extensive air showers correlate with the fluctuations of a variable of the first interaction of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays, which is computed from the fraction of energy carried by the hadrons that sustain the hadronic cascade. The influence of subsequent stages of the shower development is found to play a sub-dominant role. As a consequence, the shower-to-shower distribution of the muon content is a direct probe of the hadron energy spectrum of interactions beyond those reachable in human-made accelerators.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0323401