Search for fingerprints of disoriented chiral condensates in cosmic ray showers

TL;DR

This paper investigates the potential signatures of disoriented chiral condensates in ultra-high energy cosmic ray showers by analyzing fluctuations in observables like $X_{max}$ and muon count, aiming to detect DCC formation.

Contribution

It introduces a simulation-based approach to identify DCC fingerprints in cosmic ray shower observables, focusing on $X_{max}$ and muon numbers.

Findings

Simulation results show sensitivity of $X_{max}$ to DCC-induced pion fraction asymmetry.

Muon count on ground varies with neutral-to-charged pion ratio, indicating potential DCC signatures.

Large event-by-event fluctuations could serve as indicators of DCC formation in cosmic rays.

Abstract

Although the generation of disoriented chiral condensates (DCCs), where the order parameter for chiral symmetry breaking is misaligned with respect to the vacuum direction in isospin state, is quite natural in the theory of strong interactions, they have so far eluded experiments in accelerators and cosmic rays. If DCCs are formed in high-energy nuclear collisions, the relevant outcome are very large event-by-event fluctuations in the neutral-to-charged pion fraction. In this note we search for fingerprints of DCC formation in observables of ultra-high energy cosmic ray showers. We present simulation results for the depth of the maximum ($X_{max}$) and number of muons on the ground, evaluating their sensitivity to the neutral-to-charged pion fraction asymmetry produced in the primary interaction.