https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/20159913001
The 〈 ln A 〉 study with the Muon tracking detector in the KASCADE-Grande experiment – comparison of hadronic interaction models
1 Institut für Kernphysik, KIT - Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, Germany
2 Universidad Michoacana, Instituto de Física y Matemáticas, Morelia, Mexico
3 Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Torino, Italy
4 Institut für Experimentelle Kernphysik, KIT - Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, Germany
5 Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Bucharest, Romania
6 Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino, INAF Torino, Italy
7 Universidade São Paulo, Instituto de Física de São Carlos, Brasil
8 Fachbereich Physik, Universität Wuppertal, Germany
9 Department of Physics, Siegen University, Germany
10 Deptartment of Astrophysics, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands
11 National Centre for Nuclear Research, Department of Astrophysics, Łódź, Poland
12 Department of Physics, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
a Corresponding author
b e-mail: luczak@zpk.u.lodz.pl
c Now at: Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologia, INRIM, Torino
d DLR Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
e Now at: University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Germany
f Now at: Stanford University (CA)
Published online: 4 August 2015
With the KASCADE-Grande Muon Tracking Detector it was possible to measure with high accuracy directions of EAS muons with energy above 0.8 GeV and up to 700 m 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 the 〈 ln A 〉 analysis in the primary energy range 1016 eV–1017 eV with the 1st 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.
© Owned by the authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2015
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