Related papers: Mass Composition Working Group Report at UHECR-201…
We calculate the angular two-point correlation function of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECR) observed by AGASA and Yakutsk experiments. In both data sets, there is a strong signal at highest energies, which is concentrated in the first…
Cherenkov telescope experiments, such as H.E.S.S., have been very successful in astronomical observations in the very-high-energy (VHE; E $>$ 100 GeV) regime. As an integral part of the detector, such experiments use Earth's atmosphere as a…
A recently proposed novel technique for the detection of cosmic rays with arrays of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes is applied to data from the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.). The method relies on the ground based…
Space-based experiments, either orbiting the Earth or from scientific balloon altitudes, measure high-energy cosmic rays by measuring from above the atmosphere the optical and radio signals generated by extensive air showers (EAS). These…
Ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs), whose energy are beyond $10^{18}~\mathrm{eV}$, are the most energetic particles we have ever detected. The latest results seem to indicate a heavier composition at the highest energies, complicating…
A new family of parameters intended for composition studies in cosmic ray surface array detectors is proposed. The application of this technique to different array layout designs has been analyzed. The parameters make exclusive use of…
The Pierre Auger Observatory is a hybrid detector for ultrahigh energy cosmic rays (UHECR) with energies above 10$^{18.5}$ eV. Currently the first part of the Observatory nears completion in the southern hemisphere in Argentina. One…
In this paper we study, using Monte Carlo simulations, the possibility to discriminate the mass of the Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs) by combining information obtained from the maximum $X_{max}^{\mu}$ of the muon production rate…
We describe the measurement of the depth of maximum, Xmax, of the longitudinal development of air showers induced by cosmic rays. Almost four thousand events above 10^18 eV observed by the fluorescence detector of the Pierre Auger…
We report on the cosmic ray mass composition measured by the Telescope Array Low-energy Extension (TALE) hybrid detector. The TALE detector consists of a fluorescence detector (FD) station with 10 FD telescopes located at the Telescope…
We consider multivariate skew-t distributions for modeling composition data of high energy cosmic rays. The model has been validated with simulated data for different primary nuclei and hadronic models focusing on the depth of maximum Xmax…
Ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) are the most energetic particles ever detected. Cosmic rays that achieve the highest energies are rare, and their flux at Earth is extremely low. As a result, next-generation experiments with large…
The air fluorescence technique is used to detect ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECR), and to estimate their energy. Of fundamental importance is the photon yield due to excitation by electrons, in air of various densities and…
The identification of potential sources of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) remains challenging due to magnetic deflections and propagation losses, which are particularly strong for nuclei. In previous iterations of this work, we…
We discuss the lateral distribution of charged particles in extensive air showers with energy above $10^{17}$ eV measured by surface scintillation detectors of Yakutsk EAS array. The analysis covers the data obtained during the period from…
The mass composition of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) is usually inferred from the depth of the shower maximum ($X_{\rm{max}}$) of cosmic-ray showers, which is only ambiguously determined by modern hadronic interaction models. We…
We suggest a new approach to study the cosmis ray (CR) mass composition in the energy region from 30 TeV/nucleus up to the "knee" region, i.e. up to a few PeV/nucleus, using an array of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) of a…
We describe a new approach to establishing the mass composition at high energies. Based on measuring both the vertical and inclined shower rates, it has the potential to distinguish heavy nuclei from light nuclei. We apply the method to…
We report an investigation of the mass composition of cosmic rays with energies from 3 to 100 EeV (1 EeV=$10^{18}$ eV) using the distributions of the depth of shower maximum $X_\mathrm{max}$. The analysis relies on ${\sim}50,000$ events…
Many results from astrophysical observations point to a 27% contribution of non-baryonic dark matter to the mass-energy budget of the universe. Although still elusive, strongly motivated candidates in form of weakly interacting massive…