Determination of the proton-to-helium ratio in cosmic rays at ultra-high energies from the tail of the X-max distribution

0539915 - FZÚ 2021 RIV NL eng J - Journal Article
Yushkov, A. … Total 4 authors
Determination of the proton-to-helium ratio in cosmic rays at ultra-high energies from the tail of the X-max distribution.
Astroparticle Physics. Roč. 85, Dec (2016), s. 29-34. ISSN 0927-6505. E-ISSN 1873-2852
Research Infrastructure: AUGER-CZ - 90038
Keywords : depth of shower maximum * proton-to-helium ratio
OECD category: Particles and field physics
Impact factor: 3.257, year: 2016
Method of publishing: Limited access
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.astropartphys.2016.09.007

We present a method to determine the proton-to-helium ratio in cosmic rays at ultra-high energies. It makes use of the exponential slope, A, of the tail of the X-max. distribution measured by an air shower experiment. The method is quite robust with respect to uncertainties from modeling hadronic interactions and to systematic errors on X-max and energy, and to the possible presence of primary nuclei heavier than helium. Obtaining the proton-to-helium ratio with air shower experiments would be a remarkable achievement. To quantify the applicability of a particular mass-sensitive variable for mass composition analysis despite hadronic uncertainties we introduce as a metric the 'analysis indicator' and find an improved performance of the A method compared to other variables currently used in the literature. The fraction of events in the tail of the Xmax distribution can provide additional information on the presence of nuclei heavier than helium in the primary beam.

Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0317606