Muons in air showers at the Pierre Auger Observatory: Measurement of atmospheric production depth

Abstract

The surface detector array of the Pierre Auger Observatory provides information about the longitudinal development of the muonic component of extensive air showers. Using the timing information from the flash analog-to-digital converter traces of surface detectors far from the shower core, it is possible to reconstruct a muon production depth distribution. We characterize the goodness of this reconstruction for zenith angles around 60°and different energies of the primary particle. From these distributions, we define X μ max as the depth along the shower axis where the production of muons reaches maximum. We explore the potentiality of X μ max as a useful observable to infer the mass composition of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays. Likewise, we assess its ability to constrain hadronic interaction models.

Primary spectrum and composition with IceCube/IceTop

“…Another approach under investigation is to use the timing of muons at large distances to reconstruct the distribution of muon production heights as in Auger [26]. The goal is to measure the muon production profile and hence to obtain the muon depth of shower maximum as a composition-dependent parameter.…”

Measurement of the Muon Atmospheric Production Depth with the Water Cherenkov Detectors of the Pierre Auger Observatory

“…A simple phenomenological model relates the arrival times with the depths in the atmosphere where muons are produced. The experimental confirmation that the distributions of muon production depths (MPD) correlate with the mass of the primary particle was done in [1]. This opened the way to a variety of studies of which this thesis is a continuation of the original work with the aim of enlarging and improving its range of applicability.…”

“…Un modelo fenomenológico simple relaciona los tiempos de llegada con las profundidades atmosféricas a las que se producen los muones. La confirmación experimental de que las distribuciones de producción de muones (MPD) están correlacionadas con la masa de la partícula primaria fue hecha por primera vez en [1]. Este trabajo abrió nuevas líneas de estudio, siendo esta tesis una continuación de ese trabajo original con el objetivo de ver si podemos ampliar y mejorar el rango de aplicación de esta técnica.…”

“…When building muon production depth (MPD) distributions, the main source of distortion comes from effects like the under-sampling of the detector, the tank response to muons and the geometry resolution [1,127,128,129]. To a lesser extent, the algorithm used to convert the times recorded by the SD detectors into muon production distances also deforms the average profile 1 .…”

Laboratory tests of two-dimensional wavelet trigger in radio detection of cosmic rays

“…The present challenges of the RD are to understand the emission mechanisms and the features of the radio signal, and to develop an adequate measuring instrument. Electron-positron pairs generated in the shower development are separated and deflected by the Earth magnetic field, hence introducing an electromagnetic emission [2]- [4]. During shower development, charged particles are concentrated in a shower disk a few meters thick.…”