The Size Dependence of the Average Transverse Momentum of Hadrons with Respect to the Shower Axis Direction in Extensive Air Showers Observed at Sea Level
Abstract
The simplest way of studying whether the characteristics of a nucleon-nucleon interaction change with increasing energy is to observe whether the mean value of hadron energy at the orthogonal core distance depends on shower size. Ashton et al. (1977) used a high-energy hadron detector as a master trigger and measured the core position and shower size of any accompanying air shower; results showed that the average transverse momentum of hadrons with respect to the shower axis direction increases with shower size. These results are checked, but with the following experimental changes: (1) the master trigger is now either an electron density inner ring trigger or an electron density outer ring trigger of the Durham EAS array; (2) the orthogonal core distances between measured hadron interactions and the shower axis direction are found; and (3) the charged or neutral state of a sample of detected hadrons is determined. The previously obtained results are confirmed by the experiment, and a change in the character of the nucleon-nucleon interaction is indicated for energies greater than 2 x 10 to the 14th eV.
- Publication:
-
International Cosmic Ray Conference
- Pub Date:
- 1981
- Bibcode:
- 1981ICRC....6..172A
- Keywords:
-
- Angular Momentum;
- Cosmic Ray Showers;
- Hadrons;
- Nucleon-Nucleon Interactions;
- Particle Energy;
- Sea Level;
- Electron Flux Density;
- Kinetic Energy;
- Neutral Particles;
- Particle Collisions;
- Primary Cosmic Rays;
- Radiation Detectors;
- Size (Dimensions);
- Space Radiation;
- ANGULAR MOMENTUM;
- COSMIC RAY SHOWERS;
- HADRONS;
- NUCLEON-NUCLEON INTERACTIONS;
- PARTICLE ENERGY;
- SEA LEVEL;
- ELECTRON FLUX DENSITY;
- KINETIC ENERGY;
- NEUTRAL PARTICLES;
- PARTICLE COLLISIONS;
- PRIMARY COSMIC RAYS;
- RADIATION DETECTORS;
- SIZE (DIMENSIONS)