Measurement of the proton-air cross section at √s=57 TeV with the Pierre Auger Observatory

Barber, K.Bellido Caceres, J.Clay, R.Cooper, M.Dawson, B.Harrison, T.Herve, A.Holmes, V.Sorokin, J.Wahrlich, P.Whelan, B.Winnick, M.2012-11-052012-11-052012Physical Review Letters, 2012; 109(6):1-90031-90071079-7114http://hdl.handle.net/2440/73937We report a measurement of the proton-air cross section for particle production at the center-of-mass energy per nucleon of 57 TeV. This is derived from the distribution of the depths of shower maxima observed with the Pierre Auger Observatory: systematic uncertainties are studied in detail. Analyzing the tail of the distribution of the shower maxima, a proton-air cross section of [505±22(stat)₋₃₆⁺²⁸(syst)] mb is found.en©2012 American Physical SocietyPierre Auger CollaborationMeasurement of the proton-air cross section at √s=57 TeV with the Pierre Auger ObservatoryMeasurement of the proton-air cross section at root s=57 TeV with the Pierre Auger ObservatoryJournal article002012194710.1103/PhysRevLett.109.0620020003073819000022-s2.0-8486488682323200Bellido Caceres, J. [0000-0002-0833-9194]Clay, R. [0000-0002-9040-9648]Dawson, B. [0000-0002-4271-3055]