Measurement of the mass composition of ultra-high energy cosmic rays with the Pierre Auger Observatory

14th International Conference on Topics in Astroparticle and Underground Physics

物理学;天文学

Settimo, Mariangela^1,2

Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Energies (LPNHE), CNRS-IN2P3, Paris, France^1

Observatorio Pierre Auger, Av. San Martín Norte 304, Malargüe

5613, Argentina^2

关键词: Accurate measurement;    Chemical compositions;    Fluorescence telescopes;    Hadronic interaction models;    Mass composition;    Pierre Auger observatory;    Ultra high-energy cosmic rays;    Water Cherenkov detectors;   

Others  :  https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/718/5/052037/pdf
DOI  :  10.1088/1742-6596/718/5/052037

学科分类：天文学(综合)

来源: IOP

【 摘 要 】

The understanding of the nature of ultra-high energy cosmic rays is one of the most intriguing open questions for current and future observatories. With its hybrid design and huge exposure, the Pierre Auger Observatory provides valuable statistical measurements of the chemical composition of cosmic rays with energies above 1017eV, including the search for neutral primaries such as neutrinos and photons. We report on the most recent results which are based on the accurate measurement of the depth of the shower maximum, Xmax, by the fluorescence telescopes and on the shape of the signals recorded by the water-Cherenkov detectors. The interpretation of these results in terms of mass composition is also discussed related to the hadronic interaction models used to describe the development of air showers.