Probing the high energy spectrum of neutral pions in ultra-high energy proton-Air interactions

TL;DR

This paper proposes a method to analyze ultra-high energy cosmic ray interactions by studying muon distributions at ground level, revealing the high energy spectrum of neutral pions, and linking cosmic ray physics with collider measurements.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to infer the neutral pion spectrum in ultra-high energy interactions from muon ground data, bridging cosmic ray observations and collider physics.

Findings

Muon distribution slope relates to neutral pion spectrum

Method feasible with current experimental setups

Connects cosmic ray data with LHC measurements

Abstract

The interaction of ultra-high energy cosmic rays with the atmosphere nuclei has long been seen as a unique opportunity to study hadronic interactions above energies attainable by accelerators. However, so far the multiparticle production properties of the first interaction have been difficult to assess as they are masked by the many interactions that outline the shower development. In this work, we demonstrate, that relevant properties of the ultra-high energy first interaction can be accessed through the analysis of the shower-to-shower distribution of muons arriving at the ground. In particular, it is shown that the slope of the low-tail of the number of muon distribution measured at the ground is a direct link to the high energy spectrum of neutral pions produced in the interaction of the primary protons. In this presentation, it will also address the experimental feasibility of such measurements and their connection with physical quantities being currently measured at the Large Hadron Collider.