Core-corona effect in hadron collisions and muon production in air showers

It is well known that the fraction of energy in a hadron collision going into electromagnetic particles (electrons and photons, including those from decays) has a large impact on the number of muons produced in air shower cascades. Recent measurements at the LHC confirm features that can be linked to a mixture of different underlying particle production mechanisms such as a collective statistical hadronization (core) in addition to the expected string fragmentation (corona). Since the two mechanisms have a different electromagnetic energy fraction, we present a possible connection between statistical hadronization in hadron collisions and muon production in air showers. Using a novel approach, we demonstrate that the core-corona effect as observed at the LHC can have a significant impact and should be properly taken into account before trying to find a more exotic solution for the lack of muon production in simulations of high energy cosmic rays.