# Potential for measuring the longitudinal and lateral profile of muons in TeV air showers with IACTs

## TL;DR

This paper explores how Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs), primarily used for gamma-ray astronomy, can be repurposed to measure muon profiles in TeV air showers, offering new insights into hadronic interactions.

## Contribution

It demonstrates for the first time that IACT arrays can measure muon content, lateral distribution, and longitudinal profiles in TeV air showers, expanding their scientific utility.

## Key findings

- IACTs can detect muons in hadronic air showers.
- Muons provide information on hadronic interaction models.
- Potential for IACTs to contribute to cosmic ray physics.

## Abstract

Muons are copiously produced within hadronic extensive air showers (EAS) occurring in the Earth's atmosphere, and are used by particle air shower detectors as a means of identifying the primary cosmic ray which initiated the EAS. Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs), designed for the detection of gamma-ray initiated EAS for the purposes of Very High Energy (VHE) gamma-ray astronomy, are subject to a considerable background signal due to hadronic EAS. Although hadronic EAS are typically rejected for gamma-ray analysis purposes, single muons produced within such showers generate clearly identifiable signals in IACTs and muon images are routinely retained and used for calibration purposes. For IACT arrays operating with a stereoscopic trigger, when a muon triggers one telescope, other telescopes in IACT arrays usually detect the associated hadronic EAS. We demonstrate for the first time the potential of IACT arrays for competitive measurements of the muon content of air showers, their lateral distribution and longitudinal profile of production slant heights in the TeV energy range. Such information can provide useful input to hadronic interaction models.