# On the muon scale of air showers and its application to the AGASA data

Gesualdi, Flavia 1; Dembinski, Hans; Shinozaki, Kenji; Supanitsky, Daniel A.; Pierog, Tanguy 1; Cazon, Lorenzo; Soldin, Dennis; Conceição, Rúben
1 Institut für Astroteilchenphysik (IAP), Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)

## Abstract:

Recently, several experiments reported a muon deficit in air shower simulations with respect to the data. This problem can be studied using an estimator that quantifies the relative muon content of the data with respect to those of proton and iron Monte Carlo air shower simulations. We analyze two estimators. The first one, based on the logarithm of the mean of the muon content, is built from experimental considerations. It is ideal for comparing results from different experiments as it is independent of the detector resolution. The second estimator is based on the mean of the logarithm of the muon content, which implies that it depends on shower-to-shower fluctuations. It is linked to the mean-logarithmic mass $⟨ln A⟩$ through the Heitler-Matthews model. We study the properties of the estimators and their biases considering the knowns and unknowns of typical experiments.
Furthermore, we study these effects in measurements of the muon density at 1000 m from the shower axis obtained by the Akeno Giant Air Shower Array (AGASA). Finally, we report the estimates of the relative muon content of the AGASA data, which support a muon deficit in simulations. ... mehr

 Zugehörige Institution(en) am KIT Institut für Astroteilchenphysik (IAP) Publikationstyp Proceedingsbeitrag Publikationsdatum 18.03.2022 Sprache Englisch Identifikator ISSN: 1824-8039 KITopen-ID: 1000138553 HGF-Programm 51.13.03 (POF IV, LK 01) Kosmische Strahlung Auger Erschienen in Proceedings of 37th International Cosmic Ray Conference — PoS(ICRC2021) : Berlin, Germany, 12-23 July 2021 Veranstaltung 37th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC 2021), Online, 12.07.2021 – 23.07.2021 Verlag Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA) Seiten Art.-Nr.: 473 Serie Proceedings of Science / International School for Advanced Studies ; 395 Vorab online veröffentlicht am 05.07.2021 Externe Relationen Konferenz Nachgewiesen in Dimensions Relationen in KITopen Verweist aufOn the muon scale of air showers and its application to the AGASA data. Gesualdi, Flavia; Dembinski, Hans; Shinozaki, Kenji; Supanitsky, Daniel A.; Pierog, Tanguy; Cazon, Lorenzo; Soldin, Dennis; Conceição, Rúben (2021) Forschungsbericht/Preprint (1000154339)
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