EAS Longitudinal Development and the Knee

TL;DR

This paper explains the origin of the knee in the EAS size spectrum at around 100 TeV/nucleon by analyzing the critical point in the longitudinal development of extensive air showers, providing a new understanding of observed anomalies.

Contribution

It introduces a model linking the critical point in EAS development to the knee in the spectrum, explaining previously puzzling experimental results.

Findings

Identification of a critical point causing a slope change in EAS development

Explanation of the knee in the EAS size spectrum at ~100 TeV/nucleon

Successful interpretation of strange experimental results

Abstract

It is shown that Extensive Air Shower (EAS) longitudinal development has a critical point where an equilibrium between the main hadronic component and the secondary electromagnetic one exhibits a brake. This results in a change of slope in quasi-power law function $N_{e}(Eo)$. The latter leads to a knee in the EAS size spectrum at primary energy of about 100 TeV/nucleon. Many ``strange'' experimental results can be successfully explained in the frames of current approach.