High energy leptons from muons in transit

TL;DR

This paper evaluates the energy distribution of electrons and taus from muons in transit, calculates underground lepton fluxes from atmospheric sources, and compares their significance for underground detectors.

Contribution

It provides a detailed numerical analysis of lepton production from muons and neutrinos, including approximate neutrino cross sections, for underground physics applications.

Findings

Quantitative flux estimates for underground leptons from muons and neutrinos.

Comparison of lepton fluxes from different atmospheric sources.

Discussion on implications for underground detector experiments.

Abstract

The differential energy distribution for electrons and taus produced from lepton pair production from muons in transit through materials is numerically evaluated. We use the differential cross section to calculate underground lepton fluxes from an incident atmospheric muon flux, considering contributions from both conventional and prompt fluxes. An approximate form for the charged current differential neutrino cross section is provided and used to calculate single lepton production from atmospheric neutrinos. We compare the fluxes of underground leptons produced from incident muons with those produced from incident neutrinos and photons from muon bremsstrahlung. We discuss their relevance for underground detectors.