New method to measure the attenuation of hadrons in extensive air showers

W D Apel,J.c Arteaga ,O Sima,M Finger,H.j Mayer ,K Daumiller,P Döll ,Y Kolotaev,S Ostapchenko,J Van Buren,D Hildebrand,J Milke,J Engler,J Oehlschläger,J Wochele,D Kang,R Glasstetter,H Rebel,M Wommer,G Trinchero ,D Heck,P G Isar,P Łuczak,H Schieler,H.j Gils ,D Fuhrmann,G Toma,C Grupen,W Walkowiak,M Roth,H O Klages,F Cossavella,P Buchholz,F Di Pierro ,R Engel,S Nehls,K.h Kampert ,J R Hörandel,I.m Brâncuş ,H Bozdog,H.j Mathes ,K Bekk,M Petcu,A Haungs,C Morello,M Brüggemann,F Badea,J Blümer,J Zabierowski,А Чиавасса ,S Over,M Bertaina,A Weindl,G Navarra,E Cantoni,P L Ghia,T Huege,Frank G Schröder ,T Pierog,D Kickelbick,Vítor De Souza ,B Mitrica,M Stümpert,H Ulrich

doi:10.1103/physrevd.80.022002

Abstract

Extensive air showers are generated through interactions of high-energy cosmic rays impinging the Earth’s atmosphere. A new method is described to infer the attenuation of hadrons in air showers. The numbers of electrons and muons, registered with the scintillator array of the KASCADE experiment, are used to estimate the energy of the shower inducing primary particle. A large hadron calorimeter is used to measure the hadronic energy reaching observation level. The ratio of energy reaching ground level to the energy of the primary particle is used to derive an attenuation length of hadrons in air showers. In the energy range from 106 to 3×107 GeV the attenuation length obtained increases from 170 to 210 g/cm2. The experimental results are compared to predictions of simulations based on contemporary high-energy interaction models.Received 27 March 2009DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.80.022002©2009 American Physical Society

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