Related papers: On the measurement of the proton-air cross section…
Cosmic ray data may allow the determination of the proton-air cross section at ultra-high energy. For example, the distribution of the first interaction point in air showers reflects the particle production cross section. As it is not…
In this paper, we will discuss the prospects of deducing the proton-air cross section from fluorescence telescope measurements of extensive air showers. As it is not possible to observe the point of first interaction $X_{\rm 1}$ directly,…
Extensive air showers are complex objects, resulting of billions of particle reactions initiated by single cosmic ray at ultra-high-energy. Their characteristics are sensitive both to the mass of the primary cosmic ray and to the details of…
Hadronic cross sections at ultra-high energy have a significant impact on the development of extensive air shower cascades. Therefore the interpretation of air shower data depends critically on hadronic interaction models that extrapolate…
The current status and prospects of deducing the proton-air cross section from fluorescence telescope measurements of extensive air showers are discussed. As it is not possible to observe the point of first interaction, $X_ {\rm 1}$,…
The proton-air cross section in the energy range 1-100 TeV has been measured by the ARGO-YBJ cosmic ray experiment. The analysis is based on the flux attenuation for different atmospheric depths (i.e. zenith angles) and exploits the…
The characteristics of extensive air showers are sensitive to the details of hadronic interactions at energies and in kinematic regions beyond those tested by human-made accelerators. Uncertainties on extrapolations of the hadronic…
Extensive air showers are the result of billions of particle reactions initiated by single cosmic rays at ultra-high energy. Their characteristics are sensitive both to the mass of the primary cosmic ray and to the fine details of hadronic…
We study the influence of shower fluctuations, and the possible presence of different nuclear species in the primary cosmic ray spectrum, on the experimental determination of both shower energy and the proton air inelastic cross section…
Using measured events from the fluorescence detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory, an unbiased distribution of the atmospheric slant depths where showers reach their maxima has been obtained. Analyzing the tail of this distribution the…
A quantitative analysis of model uncertainties for calculations of the maximum depth of proton-initiated extensive air showers (EAS) has been performed. Staying within the standard physics picture and using the conventional approach to the…
We present estimation of proton-air inelastic interaction cross-section obtained for different energy values are. Results are compared with different hadron interaction models.
There are both theoretical and experimental uncertainties in using data from cosmic-ray air showers to estimate hadronic cross sections above accelerator energies. We outline these problems and compare the physics used to extract…
The description of high-energy hadronic interactions plays an important role in the (astrophysical) interpretation of air shower data. The parameter space important for the development of air showers (energy and kinematical range) extends…
We study the dependence of extensive air shower development on the first hadronic interactions at ultra-high energies occurring in the startup phase of the air shower cascade. The interpretation of standard air shower observables depends on…
The predictions of hadronic interaction models for cosmic-ray induced air showers contain inherent uncertainties due to limitations of available accelerator data and theoretical understanding in the required energy and rapidity regime.…
Primary proton-air interactions at ultra-high energies leave a physically interpretable imprint on the correlated fluctuations of the depth of shower maximum and the muon content in extensive air showers. This imprint reflects the…
The hardness of the energy spectrum of neutral pions produced in proton-air interactions at ultra-high energies, above $10^{18}$ eV, is constrained by the steepness of the shower-to-shower distribution of the number of muons in…
The interaction of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays with air nuclei triggers extensive air showers that reach their maximal energy deposition at the atmospheric depth $X_{\max}$. The distribution of this shower observable encodes information…
The shape of the longitudinal development of the showers generated in the atmosphere by very high energy cosmic ray particles encodes information about the mass composition of the flux, and about the properties of hadronic interactions that…