# Cosmic ray energy spectra derived from KASCADE-Grande data using post-LHC hadronic interaction models

## TL;DR

This paper presents updated cosmic ray energy spectra from KASCADE-Grande data, analyzing the impact of various post-LHC hadronic interaction models, including a new model, on observed spectral features like the knee and ankle.

## Contribution

It introduces the use of the newly released EPOS-LHC-R model for cosmic ray spectrum analysis with KASCADE-Grande data, comparing results across multiple post-LHC models.

## Key findings

- Identification of a knee-like structure at ~100 PeV in heavy component
- Detection of an ankle-like feature in the light component
- Comparison of spectral results across different hadronic models

## Abstract

KASCADE-Grande was dedicated to measuring the energy spectrum and mass composition of cosmic rays in the energy range of 10 PeV to 1 EeV. We observed a knee-like structure in the heavy mass component at around 100 PeV and an ankle-like structure in the light component. In this contribution, we present updated energy spectra based on shower size measurements, using the post-LHC hadronic models QGSJet-II-04, EPOS-LHC, and SIBYLL 2.3d, including accounting for shower-to-shower fluctuations. In addition, the newly released EPOS-LHC-R model is tested for the first time with KASCADE-Grande. We will compare and discuss the results obtained using the different hadronic interaction models.