The 〈 ln A 〉 study with the Muon tracking detector in the KASCADE-Grande experiment – comparison of hadronic interaction models

P Łuczak,D Kang,R Engel,A Weindl,F Di Pierro,J Zabierowski,B Mitrica,V De Souza,H Rebel,F Cossavella,R Glasstetter,H Ulrich,A Haungs,M Ludwig,J Milke,K Link,J Oehlschläger,H.J Mayer,E Cantoni,J Engler,H Bozdog,G Toma,D Fuhrmann,D Heck,T Pierog,S Ostapchenko,T Huege,J Blümer,J Wochele,M Melissas,S Schoo,H Schieler,M Petcu,C Morello,K Bekk,H.J Gils,N Palmieri,Frank G Schröder ,I.m Brâncuş ,J R Hörandel ,Claudia Curcio ,M Roth,H O Klages ,M Bertaina,B Fuchs,H.J Mathes,P Döll ,G Trinchero ,J C Arteaga‐Velázquez ,Daniel Huber ,А Чиавасса ,W D Apel ,K Daumiller,K.h Kampert ,C Grupen,O Sima

doi:10.1051/epjconf/20159913001

Abstract

With the KASCADE-Grande Muon Tracking Detector it was possible to measure with high accuracy directions of EAS muons with energy above 0.8GeV and up to 700m distance from the shower centre. Reconstructed muon tracks allow investigation of muon pseudorapidity (η) distributions. These distributions are nearly identical to the pseudorapidity distributions of their parent mesons produced in hadronic interactions. Comparison of the η distributions from measured and simulated showers can be used to test the quality of the high energy hadronic interaction models. The pseudorapidity distributions reflect the longitudinal development of EAS and, as such, are sensitive to the mass of the cosmic ray primary particles. With various parameters of the η distribution, obtained from the Muon Tracking Detector data, it is possible to calculate the average logarithm of mass of the primary cosmic ray particles. The results of theln Aanalysis in the primary energy range 10 16 eV-10 17 eV with the 1 st quartile and the mean value of the distributions will be presented for the QGSJet-II-2, QGSJet-II-4, EPOS 1.99 and EPOS LHC models in combination with the FLUKA model.

Highlights

The KASCADE-Grande experiment [1] was an air shower ground-based detector system located in Germany at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT – Campus North)
The large area Muon Tracking Detector was located in the northern part of the KASCADE Array and housed 16 muon telescopes made of streamer tubes
The directional data obtained with the Muon Tracking Detector (MTD) enables to investigate the longitudinal development of the muonic component in air showers which is a signature of the development of the hadronic EAS core, being in turn dependent on the mass of the primary cosmic ray particle initiating a shower

Summary

Muon tracking in KASCADE-Grande

The KASCADE Array was situated in the North-East corner of the experimental setup. It was an array of 252 detector stations, covering an area of 200 m × 200 m. It consisted of 37 detector stations organized in a grid of 18 clusters of overlapping hexagons, covering an area of 0.5 km. Trigger array of plastic scintillation stations, called Piccolo, built to provide additional fast triggers for some of the KASCADE detector components. Extended information about the KASCADE Array and Grande Array can be found in [1] and [2]

Design of the MTD

The mass sensitivity of the EAS muon pseudorapidity

Results and conclusions