| Full text | |
| Author(s): |
Prado, Raul R.
;
Conceicao, Ruben
;
Pimenta, Mario
;
de Souza, Vitor
Total Authors: 4
|
| Document type: | Journal article |
| Source: | Astroparticle Physics; v. 83, p. 40-52, OCT 2016. |
| Web of Science Citations: | 1 |
| Abstract | |
In this paper we analyze the energy evolution of the muon content of air showers between 10(18.4) and 10(19.6) eV to be able to determine the most likely mass composition scenario from future number of muons measurements. The energy and primary mass evolution of the number of muons is studied based on the Heitler-Matthews model and Monte Carlo simulation of the air shower. A simple model to describe the evolution of the first and second moments of number of muons distributions is proposed and validated. An analysis approach based on the comparison between this model's predictions and data to discriminate among a set of composition scenarios is presented and tested with simulations. It is shown that the composition scenarios can be potentially discriminated under the conditions imposed by the method. The discrimination power of the proposed analysis is stable under systematic changes of the absolute number of muons from model predictions and on the scale of the reconstructed energy. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 14/10460-1 - Analysis of extensive air showers: particle physics with extraterrestrial accelerators |
| Grantee: | Raul Ribeiro Prado |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate |
| FAPESP's process: | 10/07359-6 - Study of cosmic rays of highest energies with the Pierre Auger Observatory |
| Grantee: | Carola Dobrigkeit Chinellato |
| Support Opportunities: | Research Projects - Thematic Grants |
| FAPESP's process: | 14/19946-4 - A new generation of RPC muon detectors for high-precision high-energy cosmic-shower |
| Grantee: | Carola Dobrigkeit Chinellato |
| Support Opportunities: | Regular Research Grants |