EAS lateral distribution functions in the framework of the universal hadronic interaction model neX us

Abstract

An Extensive Air Shower (EAS) calculation scheme based on the solution of cascade equations is applied to obtain lateral distributions of shower particles. The universal hadronic interaction model neX us is used to prepare necessary input data, i.e. inclusive energy spectra of secondary hadrons and their transverse momentum distributions. The calculated lateral distributions of electrons and muons are compared to the experimental data of the KASCADE array. It is shown that a good agreement with the measurements may be achieved if one takes into account the increasing abundance of heavy nuclei in the primary Cosmic Ray (CR) composition above the knee of the CR spectrum. Some methodical problems concerning electron lateral distribution calculations at large distances are discussed.