Detection of Exotic Massive Hadrons in Ultra High Energy Cosmic Ray Telescopes

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential for ultra high energy cosmic ray telescopes to detect exotic massive hadrons (uhecrons), highlighting their distinctive shower features and proposing detection strategies to differentiate them from common cosmic ray particles.

Contribution

It introduces simulation methods and detection criteria for identifying uhecrons in cosmic ray experiments, enhancing the search for exotic particles in astrophysics.

Findings

Uhecron showers have distinctive features compared to proton and nuclear showers.

Detection strategies can effectively separate uhecrons from the cosmic ray background.

Heavier nuclei improve the separation of uhecrons from other cosmic ray particles.

Abstract

We investigate the detection of exotic massive strongly interacting hadrons (uhecrons) in ultra high energy cosmic ray telescopes. The conclusion is that experiments such as the Pierre Auger Observatory have the potential to detect these particles. It is shown that uhecron showers have clear distinctive features when compared to proton and nuclear showers. The simulation of uhecron air showers, and its detection and reconstruction by fluorescence telescopes is described. We determine basic cuts in observables that will separate uhecrons from the cosmic ray bulk, assuming this is composed by protons. If these are composed by heavier nucleus the separation will be much improved. We also discuss photon induced showers. The complementarity between uhecron detection in accelerator experiments is discussed.