UHECRs mass composition from $$X_{\mathrm{max}}$$ Xmax distributions
Abstract The atmospheric depth where the energy deposit profile of secondary particles from extensive air showers (EAS) reaches its maximum, $$X_{\mathrm{max}}$$ Xmax , is related to the primary particle mass. The mass composition of the ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) can be inferred from me...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-020-7634-2 |
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doaj-043fcc240cb848089d8be6ce8417584d2021-01-24T12:40:22ZengSpringerOpenEuropean Physical Journal C: Particles and Fields1434-60441434-60522020-01-018011810.1140/epjc/s10052-020-7634-2UHECRs mass composition from $$X_{\mathrm{max}}$$ Xmax distributionsNicusor Arsene0Octavian Sima1Institute of Space SciencePhysics Department, University of BucharestAbstract The atmospheric depth where the energy deposit profile of secondary particles from extensive air showers (EAS) reaches its maximum, $$X_{\mathrm{max}}$$ Xmax , is related to the primary particle mass. The mass composition of the ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) can be inferred from measurements of $$X_{\mathrm{max}}$$ Xmax distributions in each energy interval, by fitting these distributions with Monte Carlo (MC) templates for four primary species (p, He, N and Fe). On the basis of simulations, we show that a high abundance of some intermediate elements in the $$X_{\mathrm{max}}$$ Xmax distributions, e.g. Ne or Si, may affect the quality of the fit and also the reconstructed fractions of different species with respect to their true values. We propose a method for finding the “best combination” of elements in each energy interval from a larger set of primaries (p, He, C, N, O, Ne, Si and Fe) which best describes the $$X_{\mathrm{max}}$$ Xmax distributions. Applying this method to the $$X_{\mathrm{max}}$$ Xmax distributions measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory (2014), we found that the “best combination” of elements which best describe the data suggest the presence of Ne or Si in some low energy bins for the EPOS-LHC model.https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-020-7634-2 |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Nicusor Arsene Octavian Sima |
spellingShingle |
Nicusor Arsene Octavian Sima UHECRs mass composition from $$X_{\mathrm{max}}$$ Xmax distributions European Physical Journal C: Particles and Fields |
author_facet |
Nicusor Arsene Octavian Sima |
author_sort |
Nicusor Arsene |
title |
UHECRs mass composition from $$X_{\mathrm{max}}$$ Xmax distributions |
title_short |
UHECRs mass composition from $$X_{\mathrm{max}}$$ Xmax distributions |
title_full |
UHECRs mass composition from $$X_{\mathrm{max}}$$ Xmax distributions |
title_fullStr |
UHECRs mass composition from $$X_{\mathrm{max}}$$ Xmax distributions |
title_full_unstemmed |
UHECRs mass composition from $$X_{\mathrm{max}}$$ Xmax distributions |
title_sort |
uhecrs mass composition from $$x_{\mathrm{max}}$$ xmax distributions |
publisher |
SpringerOpen |
series |
European Physical Journal C: Particles and Fields |
issn |
1434-6044 1434-6052 |
publishDate |
2020-01-01 |
description |
Abstract The atmospheric depth where the energy deposit profile of secondary particles from extensive air showers (EAS) reaches its maximum, $$X_{\mathrm{max}}$$ Xmax , is related to the primary particle mass. The mass composition of the ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) can be inferred from measurements of $$X_{\mathrm{max}}$$ Xmax distributions in each energy interval, by fitting these distributions with Monte Carlo (MC) templates for four primary species (p, He, N and Fe). On the basis of simulations, we show that a high abundance of some intermediate elements in the $$X_{\mathrm{max}}$$ Xmax distributions, e.g. Ne or Si, may affect the quality of the fit and also the reconstructed fractions of different species with respect to their true values. We propose a method for finding the “best combination” of elements in each energy interval from a larger set of primaries (p, He, C, N, O, Ne, Si and Fe) which best describes the $$X_{\mathrm{max}}$$ Xmax distributions. Applying this method to the $$X_{\mathrm{max}}$$ Xmax distributions measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory (2014), we found that the “best combination” of elements which best describe the data suggest the presence of Ne or Si in some low energy bins for the EPOS-LHC model. |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-020-7634-2 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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