Related papers: Mass composition of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays …
The paper describes methods used for the detection of cosmic rays with energies above 10^18 eV (UHECR, UltraHigh Energy Cosmic Rays). It had been anticipated there would be a cutoff in the energy spectrum of primary cosmic rays around 3…
We consider the ultra-high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) spectrum as measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory. Top-down models for the origin of UHECRs predict an increasing photon component at energies above about $10^{19.7}$eV. Here we…
The energy losses and spectra of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) are calculated for protons as primary particles. The attention is given to the energy losses due to electron-positron production in collisions with the microwave 2.73 K…
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…
A review of several analyses is presented that forces the conclusion that the mass composition of the highest-energy cosmic rays is not proton-dominated. This deduction, combined with the use of a modern hadronic interaction model, should…
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 average mass composition of cosmic rays with primary energies between $10^{17}$eV and $10^{18}$eV has been studied using a hybrid detector consisting of the High Resolution Fly's Eye (HiRes) prototype and the MIA muon array.…
The mass composition of high energy cosmic rays above $10^{17}$ eV is a crucial issue to solve some open questions in astrophysics such as the acceleration and propagation mechanisms. Unfortunately, the standard procedures to identify the…
The determination of the primary energy and mass of ultra-high-energy cosmic-rays (UHECR) generating extensive air-showers in the Earth's atmosphere, relies on the detailed modeling of hadronic multiparticle production at center-of-mass…
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 explore the feasibility of estimating primary cosmic ray composition at high energies from the study of two parameters of Extensive Air Showers (EAS) at ground and underground level with Monte Carlo simulations using the new EPOS and…
Having previously argued that binary neutron star mergers are the principle source of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays~\citep{fBNS-prl25}, we exploit here the highly constrained initial conditions to make quantitative predictions for the cutoff…
Over the last decade, observations have shown that the mean mass of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) increases progressively toward the highest energies. However, the precise composition is still unknown, and several theoretical…
The mass composition of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays is an open problem in astroparticle physics. It is usually inferred from the depth of the shower maximum (Xmax) of cosmic-ray showers, which is only ambiguously determined by modern…
The ratio of the number of muons with a threshold of 1 GeV and charged particles at a distance of 600 m from the axis is analyzed. Air showers with energies above 5 EeV and zenith angles with less than 60 degrees are considered. Comparison…
A Monte-Carlo study to reconstruct energy and mass of cosmic rays with energies above 300 TeV using ground based measurements of the electromagnetic part of showers initiated in the atmosphere is presented. The shower properties determined…
The origin and nature of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) are hot topics in the astroparticle physics community. The Fluorescence detector Array of Single-pixel Telescopes (FAST) is a design for a next-generation ground-based UHECR…
In this article a new method is proposed for estimating the mass composition of cosmic rays in individual events with energies above $1.25 \times 10^{19}$ eV. It is based on a joint analysis of experimental data and simulation results…
Ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) have been studied with the data of the Pierre Auger Observatory for more than fifteen years. An essential feature of the Observatory is its hybrid design: UHECRs are detected through the observation of…
Ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) remain one of the greatest mysteries in astroparticle physics. The Fluorescence detector Array of Single-pixel Telescopes (FAST) is a next-generation cosmic ray experiment which utilizes ground-based…