Related papers: Hadronic physics with the Pierre Auger Observatory
The indirect ground-based observations of cosmic rays through extensive air showers in modern experiments typically involve the use of Monte Carlo simulations to determine the characteristics of the primary particles. These simulations…
Measuring proton-proton interaction cross-sections at center-of-mass energies above 40 TeV remains a significant challenge in particle physics. The Pierre Auger Observatory provides a unique opportunity to study the interactions at the…
Several methods developed within the Pierre Auger Collaboration for the estimation of the muonic component of the Extensive Air Showers observed in the surface Cherenkov detectors are described. The results derived from the data show a…
We test the predictions of hadronic interaction models regarding the depth of maximum of air-shower profiles, $X_{max}$, and ground-particle signals in water-Cherenkov detectors at 1000 m from the shower core, $S(1000)$, using the data from…
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…
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…
The Pierre Auger Observatory is the most sensitive instrument to detect photons with energies above $10^{17}$ eV. It measures extensive air showers generated by ultra high energy cosmic rays using a hybrid technique that exploits the…
Extensive air showers are generated through interactions of high-energy cosmic rays impinging the Earth's atmosphere. A new method is described to infer the attenuation of hadrons in air showers. The numbers of electrons and muons,…
The understanding of the basic properties of the ultra - high energy extensive air showers is strongly dependent on the description of the hadronic interactions in a energy range beyond that probed by the LHC. One of the uncertainties…
The study of hadronic showers, which are produced by cosmic rays penetrating the Earth's atmosphere, is essential for shedding light on the origins and characteristics of high-energy particles originating from space and reaching our planet.…
The observation of photons with energies above 10^18 eV would open a new window in cosmic-ray research, with possible impact on astrophysics, particle physics, cosmology and fundamental physics. Current and planned air shower experiments,…
Ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) are studied with giant ground-based detector systems recording extensive air showers, induced by cosmic ray particles in the atmosphere. Research at the Pierre Auger Observatory - the largest of such…
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…
At high energy, cosmic rays can only be studied by measuring the extensive air showers they produce in the atmosphere of the Earth. Although the main features of air showers can be understood within a simple model of successive…
We argue that the increase of the ratio baryon/meson due to the presence of strong colour fields and percolation in ultra-high energy hadronic collisions, helps to explain some of the global features of ultra-high energy cosmic ray cascades…
The Sydney University Giant Air-shower Recorder (SUGAR) measured the energy spectrum of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays reconstructed from muon-detector readings, while the Pierre Auger Observatory, looking at the same Southern sky, uses the…
The interpretation of extensive air shower measurements, produced by ultra-high energy cosmic rays, relies on the correct modeling of the hadron-air interactions that occur during the shower development. The majority of hadronic particles…
We demonstrate that a substantial part of the present uncertainties in model predictions for the average maximum depth of cosmic ray-induced extensive air showers is related to very high energy pion-air collisions. Our analysis shows that…
We demonstrate that the shower-to-shower fluctuations of the muon content of extensive air showers correlate with the fluctuations of a variable of the first interaction of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays, which is computed from the fraction…
The determination of the primary energy of extensive air showers using the fluorescence detection technique requires an estimation of the energy carried away by particles that do not deposit all their energy in the atmosphere. This…