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Abstract: The azimuthal asymmetry in the risetime of signals in Auger surface detector stations is a source of information on shower development. The azimuthal asymmetry is due to a combination of the longitudinal evolution of the shower and geometrical effects related to the angles of incidence of the particles into the detectors. The magnitude of the effect depends upon the zenith angle and state of development of the shower and thus provides a novel observable, (secθ)max, sensitive to the mass composition of cosmic rays above 3×1018  eV. By comparing measurements with predictions from shower simulations, we find for both of our adopted models of hadronic physics (QGSJETII-04 and EPOS-LHC) an indication that the mean cosmic-ray mass increases slowly with energy, as has been inferred from other studies. However, the mass estimates are dependent on the shower model and on the range of distance from the shower core selected. Thus the method has uncovered further deficiencies in our understanding of shower modeling that must be resolved before the mass composition can be inferred from (secθ)max.
Keywords: ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECR), UHECR mass composition, Pierre Auger Observatory, extensive air showers, Auger Surface Detector signals risetime, azimuthal symmetry
Published in RUNG: 15.04.2016; Views: 5431; Downloads: 0
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Abstract: The data collected with the Pierre Auger Observatory have led to a number of surprising discoveries. While a strong suppression of the particle flux at the highest energies has been established unambiguously, the dominant physics processes related to this suppression could not be identified. Within the energy range covered by fluorescence detector observations with sufficient statistics, an unexpected change of the depth of maximum distribution is found. Using LHC-tuned interaction models these observations can be understood as a correlated change of the fluxes of different mass groups. On the other hand, they could also indicate a change of hadronic interactions above the energy of the ankle. Complementing the water Cherenkov detectors of the surface array with scintillator detectors will, mainly through the determination of the muonic shower component, extend the composition sensitivity of the Auger Observatory into the flux suppression region. The upgrade of the Auger Observatory will allow us to estimate the primary mass of the highest energy cosmic rays on a shower-by-shower basis. In addition to measuring the mass composition the upgrade will open the possibility to search for light primaries at the highest energies, to perform composition-selected anisotropy studies, and to search for new phenomena including unexpected changes of hadronic interactions. After introducing the physics motivation for upgrading the Auger Observatory the planned detector upgrade is presented. In the second part of the contribution the expected performance and improved physics sensitivity of the upgraded Auger Observatory are discussed.
Keywords: Pierre Auger Observatory, ultra-high energy cosmic rays, elemental composition sensitivity, Auger upgrade (AugerPrime), muonic shower component, scintillator detectors
Published in RUNG: 03.03.2016; Views: 4394; Downloads: 222
Full text (659,02 KB)

Abstract: The muon content of extensive air showers is an observable sensitive to the primary composition and to the hadronic interaction properties. We present here different methods which allow us to estimate the muon number at the ground level and the muon production depth by exploiting the measurement of the longitudinal, lateral and temporal distribution of particles in air showers recorded at the Pierre Auger Observatory. The results, obtained at about 10[sup]19 eV (E[inf]CM ∼ 140 TeV center-of-mass energy for proton primaries), are compared to the predictions of LHC-tuned hadronic interaction models with different primary masses and suggest a deficit in the muon content at the ground predicted by simulations. The Pierre Auger Observatory uses water-Cherenkov detectors to measure particle densities at the ground and therefore has a good sensitivity to the muon content of air showers. Moreover, due to its hybrid design, the combination of muon measurements with other independent mass composition analyses such as Xmax provides additional constraints on hadronic interaction models.
Keywords: Pierre Auger Observatory, ultra-high energy cosmic rays, muons, mass composition, hadronic interactions
Published in RUNG: 03.03.2016; Views: 4750; Downloads: 218
Full text (298,46 KB)

Abstract: We report for the first time on the measurement of the correlation between the depth of shower maximum and the signal in water-Cherenkov stations for events reconstructed by both the fluorescence and the surface detectors of the Pierre Auger Observatory. Such a correlated measurement is a unique feature of a hybrid air-shower observatory and allows us to determine the purity of the cosmic-ray composition. The observed correlation in the energy range around the “ankle” lg(E/eV) = 18.5−19.0 differs significantly from the expectations for pure beams, indicating that the primary composition in this range is mixed, unless the hadronic interactions at these energies behave very differently than in conventional, LHC-tuned event generators.
Keywords: ultra-high energy cosmic rays, elemental composition, depth of shower maximum, secondary cosmic rays, Pierre Auger Observatory
Published in RUNG: 02.03.2016; Views: 5265; Downloads: 238
Full text (388,00 KB)