Verbesserung der Winkelauflösung des Myonspurdetektors von KASCADE und Bestimmung von Myonproduktionshöhen

Abstract

The KASCADE-Experiment investigates cosmic rays in the region of the knee. Because of the combined determination of the shower direction by the array and the direction of muons with the Muon Tracking Detector, the muon production height in extented air showers can be analysed. Modifying the readout from two combined streamer tube cells to single wire readout, the determination of the direction of muons with an improved angular resolution was enabled. For that purpose, a separation of the combined wire signals was achieved by an adequate pulse shaping. The investigation of radial angles as well as muon production heights represents a direct study of the longitudinal shower development in the atmosphere. The comparison of measured data with simulations exhibit a systematic discrepancy. Two different explanations are possible. In one case the muons leave the shower axis in the simulations with a relatively low transverse momentum and in the other case the air showers develop relatively high in the atmosphere as compared to reality. Especially, the used hadronic interaction models have to be reconsidered. Systematic investigations exclude detector effects and geometric uncertainties. The use of correlated array parameters of muon and electron shower size allows a classification in air showers induced by light and heavy primary particles. The difference between light and heavy agrees with the difference between simulations with proton and iron. With the enriched data samples the sensitivity of the muon tracking detector via radial angle or muon production height to the mass of the primary particle could be confirmed.