Related papers: Strong interactions in air showers
We study the proposal that the cosmic ray primaries above the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin (GZK) cutoff are gluino-containing hadrons ($\tilde g$-hadrons). We describe the interaction of $\tilde g$-hadrons with nucleons in the framework of the…
We study the potential of the Pierre Auger detector for horizontal air showers initiated by ultra high energy neutrino. Assuming some simple trigger requirements we obtain measurable event rates for neutrino fluxes from AGN, from…
Measurements of proton and nuclear collisions at the Large Hadron Collider at nucleon-nucleon c.m. energies up to $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=$ 13 TeV, have improved our understanding of hadronic interactions at the highest energies reached 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…
We explore particle physics beyond accelerator energies, motivated by questions exposed in astroparticle physics observations: 1) Are there reasonable modifications to the standard extrapolations of LHC-tuned hadronic interaction models, so…
The new hadronic Monte Carlo model QGSJET-II is applied for extensive air shower (EAS) calculations. The obtained results are compared to the predictions of the original QGSJET and of the SIBYLL 2.1 interaction models. It is shown that…
High-energy cosmic rays are observed indirectly by detecting the extensive air showers initiated in Earth's atmosphere. The interpretation of these observations relies on accurate models of air shower physics, which is a challenge and an…
The identification of string relics, or of other very massive states, at forthcoming ultra high energy cosmic rays experiments, requires a good reconstruction of the main properties of the extensive air showers produced by the collision of…
We highlight the progress, current status, and open challenges of QCD-driven physics, in theory and in experiment. We discuss how the strong interaction is intimately connected to a broad sweep of physical problems, in settings ranging from…
The latest observations of extensive air showers (EAS) induced by ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECR) appear to indicate, prima facie, a transition to heavy primaries at the highest energies. However, this interpretation, which is based…
With high-statistics data coming from both RHIC and LHC, the experimentally available selection of hard tomographic probes for the medium created in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion (A-A) collisions is rapidly expanding. Jet-hadron (jet-h)…
Presently large systematic uncertainties remain in the description of hadronic interactions at ultra-high energies and a fully consistent description of air-shower experimental data is yet to be reached. The amount of data collected by the…
Measurements of the muon content of extensive air showers at the highest energies show discrepancies compared to simulations as large as the differences between proton and iron. This so-called muon puzzle is commonly attributed to a lack of…
Hard probes are a cornerstone in the ongoing program to determine the properties of hot and dense QCD matter as created in ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions. LHC measurements have so far resulted in a wealth of high P_T data, opening…
To search for ultra-high-energy photons in primary cosmic rays, air shower observables are needed that allow a good separation between primary photons and primary hadrons. We present a new observable, $F_\gamma$, which can be extracted from…
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…
We review some of the recent progress in our knowledge about high-energy cosmic rays, with an emphasis on the interpretation of the different observational results. We discuss the effects that are relevant to shape the cosmic ray spectrum…
Extensive air showers produced by the interaction of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays ($E > 10^{18}$ eV) in the Earth's atmosphere provide a challenging yet unique channel to probe hadronic interactions at the 100 TeV center-of-mass energy…
Ultra high energy (UHE) photons can initiate electromagnetic showers in magnetic field. We analyze the two processes that determine the development of the shower, $e^+ e^-$ pair creation and synchrotron radiation, and derive formulae for…
The changes of hadron properties within strongly interacting matter provide a link between experimental observables and Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) in the non-pertubative sector. The sensitivity of various observables to in-medium…