Related papers: Estimation of the number of muons with muon counte…
The origin and nature of ultra high energy cosmic rays remains being a mystery. However, great progress has been made in recent years due to the observations performed by the Pierre Auger Observatory and Telescope Array. In particular, it…
Despite the significant experimental effort made in the last decades, the origin of the ultra-high energy cosmic rays is still largely unknown. Key astrophysical information to identify where these energetic particles come from is provided…
Several methods can be used to perform statistical inference of primary composition of cosmic rays measured with water Cerenkov detectors as those in use at the Pierre Auger Southern Observatory. In the present work we assess the impact of…
Measuring the angles of muons and electrons in air showers is proposed as a method for studying the primary cosmic-ray mass composition near the knee of the cosmic-ray energy spectrum at a few $10^{15}$ eV. Conventional tracking detectors…
Despite the significant experimental effort made in the last decades, the origin of the ultra high energy cosmic rays is still unknown. The chemical composition of these energetic particles carries key astrophysical information to identify…
The Pierre Auger Observatory has been designed to investigate the most energetic particles known, the ultra high energy cosmic rays. The observatory, covering an area of 3000 km^2, combines two different detection techniques to study the…
Cosmic rays, originating from stars, supernovae, and other astrophysical sources, are composed of high-energy particles that enter Earths atmosphere. Upon interaction with atmospheric nuclei, these primary cosmic rays generate secondary…
The muonic and electromagnetic components of air showers are sensitive to the mass of the primary cosmic particle. The sizes of the components can be measured with particle detectors on ground, and the electromagnetic component in addition…
The Pierre Auger Observatory is the world's largest detector for observation of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) (above the energy of $10^{17}$ eV). It consists of a Fluorescence Detector (FD) and an array of particle detectors known…
The investigation of cosmic rays holds significant importance in the realm of particle physics, enabling us to expand our understanding beyond atomic confines. However, the origin and characteristics of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays remain…
The muon content of extensive air showers is an observable sensitive to the primary composition and to the hadronic interaction properties. The Pierre Auger Observatory uses water-Cherenkov detectors to measure particle densities at the…
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…
The Pierre Auger Observatory is the world's largest detector of ultra--high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). It uses an array of fluorescence telescopes and particle detectors at the ground to obtain detailed measurements of the energy…
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 measurement of the flux of muons produced in cosmic ray air showers is essential for the study of primary cosmic rays. Such measurements are important in extensive air shower detectors to assess the energy spectrum and the chemical…
We present the first measurement of the fluctuations in the number of muons in extensive air showers produced by ultrahigh energy cosmic rays. We find that the measured fluctuations are in good agreement with predictions from air shower…
A key step towards the understanding of the origin of ultra-high energy cosmic rays is their mass composition. Primary photons and neutrinos produce markedly different showers from nuclei, while showers of different nuclear species are not…
Production of high-energy muons in cosmic-ray air showers, relevant for underground detectors, depends on the properties of the primary cosmic ray as well as the atmospheric temperature through the competition between decay and…
We explore the feasibility of estimating primary cosmic ray composition at ultra high energies from the sum of muon, electron and photon densities and the depth of maximum of extensive air showers detected by the Auger Observatory. From the…
Extensive air showers are complex objects, resulting of billions of particle reactions initiated by single cosmic ray at ultra-high-energy. Their characteristics are sensitive both to the mass of the primary cosmic ray and to the details of…