Muon content of extensive air showers: comparison of the energy spectra obtained by the Sydney University Giant Air-shower Recorder and by the Pierre Auger Observatory

dc.contributor.authorBellido, J.
dc.contributor.authorClay, R.
dc.contributor.authorKalmykov, N.
dc.contributor.authorKarpikov, I.
dc.contributor.authorRubtsov, G.
dc.contributor.authorTroitsky, S.
dc.contributor.authorUlrichs, J.
dc.date.issued2018
dc.description.abstractThe Sydney University Giant Air-shower Recorder (SUGAR) measured the energy spectrum of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays reconstructed from muon-detector readings, while the Pierre Auger Observatory, looking at the same Southern sky, used the calorimetric fluorescence method for the same purpose. Comparison of their two spectra allows us to reconstruct the empirical dependence of the number of muons in a vertical shower on the primary energy for energies between 10¹⁷ and 10¹⁸·⁵  eV. We compare this dependence with the predictions of hadronic interaction models QGSJET-II-04, EPOS-LHC and SIBYLL-2.3c. The empirically determined number of muons with energies above 0.75 GeV in a vertical shower exceeds the simulated one by the factors ∼1.7 and ∼1.3 for 10¹⁷  eV proton and iron primaries, respectively. The muon excess grows moderately with the primary energy, increasing by an additional factor of ∼1.2 for 10¹⁸·⁵  eV primaries.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityJ.A. Bellido, R.W. Clay, N.N. Kalmykov, I.S. Karpikov, G.I. Rubtsov, S.V. Troitsky and J. Ulrichs
dc.identifier.citationPhysical Review D (particles, fields, gravitation, and cosmology), 2018; 98(2):023014-1-023014-6
dc.identifier.doi10.1103/PhysRevD.98.023014
dc.identifier.issn2470-0010
dc.identifier.issn2470-0029
dc.identifier.orcidBellido, J. [0000-0002-0833-9194]
dc.identifier.orcidClay, R. [0000-0002-9040-9648]
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2440/119073
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherAmerican Physical Society
dc.rights© 2018 American Physical Society
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.98.023014
dc.titleMuon content of extensive air showers: comparison of the energy spectra obtained by the Sydney University Giant Air-shower Recorder and by the Pierre Auger Observatory
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

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