Related papers: Depth of Maximum of Air-Shower Profiles at the Pie…
Indications of a discrepancy between simulations and data on the number of muons in cosmic ray (CR) showers exist over a large span of energies. We focus in particular on the excess of multi-muon bundles observed by the DELPHI detector at…
The Pierre Auger Observatory has already collected more ultra high energy cosmic ray data than all the previous experiments. With an hybrid detection technique, it can provide coherent results on the flux, energy spectrum and arrival…
We present the status and the recent measurements from the Pierre Auger Observatory. The energy spectrum will be described and its steepening discussed. The mass composition is addressed with the measurements of the variation of the depth…
In extensive air shower experiments, the number of muons crossing a detector at a given position, as well as their arrival time, arrival direction, and energy, are determined by a more fundamental 3-dimensional distribution linked to the…
The atmospheric aerosol monitoring system of the Pierre Auger Observatory has been operating smoothly since 2004. Two laser facilities (Central Laser Facility, CLF and eXtreme Laser Facility, XLF) fire sets of 50 shots four times per hour…
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…
It is anticipated that the Pierre Auger Observatory can be used to detect cosmic neutrinos of >10^19 eV that arrive at very large zenith angles. However showers created by neutrino interactions close to the detector must be picked out…
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…
We present a summary of recent tests and measurements of hadronic interaction properties with air showers. This report has a special focus on muon density measurements. Several experiments reported deviations between simulated and recorded…
The output parameters from the ground array of the Auger South observatory, were simulated for the typical instrumental and environmental conditions at its Malarg\"ue site using the code sample-sim. Extensive air showers started by photons,…
Mass composition is important for understanding the origin of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. However, interpretation of mass composition from air shower experiments is challenging, owing to significant uncertainty in hadronic interaction…
High-energy cosmic rays are observed indirectly by detecting the extensive air showers initiated in Earth's atmosphere. The interpretation of experimental data relies on accurate modeling of the air shower development. Simulations based on…
Although recent measurements of the shower profiles of ultra-high energy cosmic rays suggest that they are largely initiated by heavy nuclei, such conclusions rely on hadronic interaction models which have large uncertainties. We…
Air showers, produced by the interaction of energetic cosmic rays with the atmosphere, are an excellent alternative to study particle physics at energies beyond any human-made particle accelerator. For that, it is necessary to identify…
A comparative study of commonly used hadronic collision simulation packages is presented. The characteristics of the products of hadron-nucleus collisions are analyzed from a general perspective, but focusing on their correlation with…
Understanding hadronic interactions at high energies represents a very important ingredient for modeling high energy cosmic ray air showers. In this paper, we present a new approach to simulate hadronic interactions, including…
Ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) interacting with the atmosphere generate extensive air showers (EAS) of secondary particles. The depth corresponding to the maximum development of the shower, $\Xmax$, is a well-known observable for…
The Pierre Auger Observatory has conducted measurements of the energy spectrum and mass composition of cosmic rays using different methods. Utilizing both surface and fluorescence detectors (SD and FD), the Observatory provides…
In this article, I will review how observations performed with extensive air showers are being used to probe hadronic interactions at high energy. I will briefly overview the new studies exploring the connection between the dynamics of air…
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…