Observations on muon multiplicity distribution with the GRAPES-2 experiment at Ooty for studies on the mass composition of cosmic rays at PeV energies

Gupta, S. K. ; Gopalakrishnan, N. V. ; John, A. V. ; Mohanty, D. K. ; Morris, S. D. ; Ravindran, K. C. ; Sivaprasad, K. ; Sreekantan, B. V. ; Srivatsan, R. ; Tonwar, S. C. (2003) Observations on muon multiplicity distribution with the GRAPES-2 experiment at Ooty for studies on the mass composition of cosmic rays at PeV energies Physical Review D - Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology, 68 (5). 052005_1-052005_12. ISSN 1550-7998

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Official URL: http://prd.aps.org/abstract/PRD/v68/i5/e052005

Related URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.68.052005

Abstract

Precise knowledge of the mass composition of the primary cosmic ray flux below and above the knee in the primary energy spectrum at E∼3×1015 eV is essential for understanding the acceleration and propagation of high energy cosmic rays. Simulations have shown that the correlations between the electron and muon components of showers are very sensitive to the mass of the primary nuclei. In particular, different regions of the muon multiplicity distribution observed with a large area muon detector, for well-defined selection on the electron component of showers, have a high sensitivity to different nuclear groups present in the primary flux. The GRAPES-2 experiment at Ooty seeks to exploit this sensitivity using a 200m2 area muon detector to study the mass composition of the primary flux in the energy range 1014-1016 eV. The details of the experiment are presented and early observations are discussed in relation to the expectations from simulations.

Item Type:Article
Source:Copyright of this article belongs to The American Physical Society.
ID Code:49971
Deposited On:21 Jul 2011 09:07
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