# Initial simulation study on high-precision radio measurements of the depth of shower maximum with SKA1-low

## TL;DR

This simulation study explores SKA1-low's potential for precise measurements of the depth of shower maximum in cosmic ray air showers, promising significant improvements over current radio detection methods.

## Contribution

The paper presents initial simulation results indicating SKA1-low's capability to achieve less than 10 g/cm^2 uncertainty in Xmax measurements, enhancing cosmic ray composition studies.

## Key findings

- SKA1-low can measure Xmax with less than 10 g/cm^2 uncertainty.
- Denser and homogeneous antenna arrays improve measurement precision.
- Frequency bandwidth and antenna count influence reconstruction accuracy.

## Abstract

As LOFAR has shown, using a dense array of radio antennas for detecting extensive air showers initiated by cosmic rays in the Earth's atmosphere makes it possible to measure the depth of shower maximum for individual showers with a statistical uncertainty less than $20\,g/cm^2$. This allows detailed studies of the mass composition in the energy region around $10^{17}\,eV$ where the transition from a Galactic to an Extragalactic origin could occur. Since SKA1-low will provide a much denser and very homogeneous antenna array with a large bandwidth of $50-350\,MHz$ it is expected to reach an uncertainty on the $X_{\max}$ reconstruction of less than $10\,g/cm^2$. We present first results of a simulation study with focus on the potential to reconstruct the depth of shower maximum for individual showers to be measured with SKA1-low. In addition, possible influences of various parameters such as the numbers of antennas included in the analysis or the considered frequency bandwidth will be discussed.