Abstract
Cosmic rays with energies up to 1011 GeV enter the atmosphere and produce showers of secondary particles. Inside these showers muons with high transverse momentum (p T ≳ 2 GeV ) are produced from the decay of heavy hadrons, or from high p T pions and kaons very early in the shower development. These isolated muons can have large transverse separations from the shower core up to several hundred meters, together with the muon bundle forming a double or triple track signature in IceCube. The separation from the core is a measure of the transverse momentum of the muon's parent particle. Assuming the validity of perturbative quantum chromodynamics (pQCD) the muon lateral distribution depends on the composition of the incident nuclei, thus the composition of high energy cosmic rays can be determined from muon separation measurements. Vice versa these muons can help to understand uncertainties due to phenomenological models as well as test pQCD predictions of high energy interactions involving heavy nuclei. After introducing the physics scenario of high p T muons in kilometer-scale neutrino telescopes we will review results from IceCube in its 59-string configuration as a starting point and discuss recent studies on composition using laterally separated muons in the final detector configuration.
Highlights
Introduction at energies above100 TeV prompt muons are expected toThe primary cosmic ray spectrum has been studied for many decades and incident cosmic rays up to energies of about 1011 GeV were first observed in the early 1960’s [1]
After applying all selection criteria 34,754 events remain in the data, where the expected number of random coincident showers obtained from off-time data is 456
Separated muons can be used as a direct probe of high energy cosmic ray interactions because high energy particles with a high transverse momentum are typically produced in the first interaction
Summary
The primary cosmic ray spectrum has been studied for many decades and incident cosmic rays up to energies of about 1011 GeV were first observed in the early 1960’s [1]. The lateral separation distribution of high energy muons provides a complementary approach to study the cosmic ray mass composition and may help to understand the uncertainties due to phenomenological models as well as test pQCD predictions at high energies and low Bjorken-x. After high energy filtering 6.4 × 107 events remain in the data sample and additional reconstructions are applied
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
