Investigation of Hadronic Interactions at Ultra-High Energies with the Pierre Auger Observatory

TL;DR

The Pierre Auger Observatory investigates ultra-high-energy cosmic rays by analyzing air shower development and muon content, revealing discrepancies with existing hadronic interaction models.

Contribution

This study provides new measurements of air shower properties that challenge current hadronic interaction models at ultra-high energies.

Findings

Observed $X_{max}$ and $N_$ are inconsistent with model predictions.

Current models cannot simultaneously describe all observed air shower features.

Results suggest the need for improved or new hadronic interaction models.

Abstract

The aim of the Pierre Auger Observatory is the investigation of the nature of cosmic ray particles at ultra-high energies. It can simultaneously observe the longitudinal air shower development in the atmosphere as well as particle densities on the ground. While there are no dedicated muon detectors, techniques have been developed to estimate the number of muons, $N_\mu$, produced by air showers. Both, the longitudinal development, in particular the depth of the shower maximum, $X_{\rm max}$, and the muon content of air showers are highly sensitive to hadronic interactions at ultra-high energies. Currently, none of the available hadronic interaction models used for simulations of extensive air showers is able to consistently describe the observations of $X_{\rm max}$ and $N_\mu$ made by the Pierre Auger Observatory.