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The search for ultra high energy gamma rays coming from point sources is one of the main experimental aims. A fast air shower timing system was constructed at ICRR for the study of the angular resolution of the system and operated approximately half a year. The characteristics of the surface array of Ohya air shower telescope is described.
The potential value of SOCRAS (Space Observatory of Cosmic Ray Air Showers) for studying the highest energy cosmic rays, including the neutrinos produced in collisions of cosmic ray protons with photons of the 3 deg background radiation is examined. This instrument would look down at the atmosphere from a space station orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 500 to 600 km. During the night portion of each orbit, air showers would be imaged in the fluorescent light they produce. Progress toward the eventual realization of this scheme is described, including a suggestion by Torii for improving the vertical resolution, measurements of the terrestrial background light by Halverson, and especially an application of the LPM effect, expected to increase the sensitivity for upward moving neutrinos by several orders of magnitude.
In 1982 a hybrid electronic counter-emulsion chamber experiment was flown on a balloon to study heavy nucleus interactions in the 20 to approximately 100 GeV/AMU energy range. A gas Cerenkov counter, two solid Cerenkov counters, and a proportional counter hodoscope gave the primary energy, the primary charge and the trajectory of the particles, respectively. Using the trajectory information cosmic ray nuclei of Z 10 were found reliably and efficiently, and interaction characteristics of the Fe group nuclei were measured in the chamber. A plastic scintillator below the emulsion chamber responded to showers resulting from interactions in the chamber and to noninteracting nuclei. Data on the response of the counter have been compared with simulations of hadronic-electromagnetic cascades to derive the average neutral energy fraction released by the heavy interactions, and to predict the performance of this kind of counter at higher energies. For the interacting events of highest produced particles multiplicity comparison between various simulations and the shower counter signal have been made.
Correlations between hadrons and electromagnetic particles were studied in the hadron-gamma families observed in the Chacaltaya emulsion chamber experiment. It is found that there exist a number of hadrons which associate electromagnetic showers in extraordinarily close vicinity. The probability to have such a large number of hadrons associating electromagnetic showers, expected from background calculation, is found to be negligibly small and it means there exists anomalous correlation between hadrons and electromagnetic particles in the characteristic spread of atmospheric electromagnetic cascade.
The cosmic ray interactions in the energy region 10 to the 13th power to 10 to the 17th power eV were studied by emulsion chambers exposed at Chacaltaya, 5220 m above sea-level. The chambers have a two-storied structure, and the events observed in both chambers give important informations on these phenomena. The first Centauro event was detected as a small shower at the bottom of the upper chamber and as a big fraction of energy deposit in the lower chamber, which indicates a high contribution of hadronic showers. Results of the events with continuation in the rather low energy region are described.
At present the study of nuclear interactions induced by cosmic rays is the unique source of information on the nuclear interactions in the energy region above 10 to the 15th power eV. The phenomena in this energy region are observed by air shower arrays or emulsion chambers installed at high mountain. An emulsion chamber is the pile of lead plates and photo-sensitive layers (nuclear emulsion plates and/or X-ray films) used to detect electron showers. High spatial resolution of photographic material used in the emulsion chamber enables the observation of the phenomena in detail, and recent experiments of emulsion chamber with large area are being carried out at high mountain altitudes by several groups in the world.
Hadrons in extensive air showers (E.A.S.) provide direct information about high energy interactions. As a rule the biases pertaining to different shower array arrangements have a relative large influence for the basic phenomenological characteristics of the E.A.S. hadron component. In this situation, the problem of the correct comparison between model calculated and experimental characteristics is of great importance for the reliability of the derived conclusions about the high energy interaction characteristics.
Calculations of extensive air showers in atmosphere were performed using formulae describing p-p and p-air nucleus interactions. The formulae fitted to the accelerator data were extrapolated taking the same trend up to 10 to the 16 eV. Above that energy it was assumed that the degree of scaling violating/alpha-parameter/ is saturating or even decreasing. The latter assumption follows from earlier work where it was found that without this restriction shower maxima at the highest energies are located too high in the atmosphere. Results of calculations have been compared with experimental data. The comparison was made separately for the curves obtained from the so called equal intensity cuts and for the Cerenkov data.
The structure of extensive air showers (EAS) is determined mainly by the energetic hadrons. They are strongly collimated in the core of the shower and essential difficulties are encountered for resolution of individual hadrons. The properties for resolution are different from the variety of hadron detectors used in EAS experiments. This is the main difficulty in obtaining a general agreement between actually registered data with different detectors. The most plausible source for disagreement is the uncertainty in determination of the energy of individual hadrons. This research demonstrates that a better agreement can be obtained with the average tendency of hadronic measurements if one assumes a larger coefficient of inelasticity and stronger energy increase of the total inelastic cross section in high energy pion interactions. EAS data above 10 to the 5th power GeV are revealing a faster development of hadronic cascades in the air then can be expected by extrapolating the parameters of hadron interactions obtained in accelerator measurements.
Tskhra-Tskaro EAS complex located at the height of 2500 m above sea level is intended for a correlated investigation of three main components of the extended atmospheric showers (EAS) - hadron, muon and electro-proton ones - near the shower axis. This complex is aimed at the investigation of proton and primary cosmic radiation nucleus interactions with the nuclei of air atoms within the energy range 10 to the 14th power to 10 to the 16th power eV. Research equipment design and installation are discussed.
Fluctuation studies need to compare a parameter which is sensitive to longitudinal fluctuations against a parameter which is insensitive. Cascade calculations indicate that the shower size parameter at Haverah Park, rho (500), and the muon density are insensitive while parameters that significantly reflect the longitudinal development of a particular extensive air shower (EAS) include the muon/water Cerenkov response ratio and the muon arrival time dispersion. This paper presents conclusions based on muon fluctuation studies of EAS measured between 1976 and 1981 at Haverah Park.
Three 10 sq m liquid scintillators were situated at approximately 0 m, 150 m and 250 m from the center of the Haverah Park array. The detectors were shielded by lead/barytes giving muon detection thresholds of 317 MeV, 431 MeV and 488 MeV respectively. During part of the operational period the 431 MeV threshold was lowered to 313 MeV for comparison purposes. For risetime measurement fast phototubes were used and the 10% to 70% amplitude time interval was parameterized by T sub 70. A muon lateral density distribution of the form rho mu (R theta) = krho(500)0.94 1/R(1 + R/490)-eta has been fitted to the data for 120 m R 600 m and 0.27 (500) 2.55. The shower size parameter (500) is the water Cerenkov response at 500 m from the core of the extensive air showers (EAS) and is relatable to the primary energy. The results show general consistency.
Muon energy spectra and muon lateral distribution in EAS were investigated with the underground magnetic spectrometer working as a part of the extensive air showers (EAS) array. For every registered muon the data on EAS are analyzed and the following EAS parameters are obtained, size N sub e, distance r from the shower axis to muon, age parameter s. The number of muons with energy over some threshold E associated to EAS of fixed parameters are measured, I sub reg. To obtain traditional characteristics, muon flux densities as a function of the distance r and muon energy E, muon lateral distribution and energy spectra are discussed for hadron-nucleus interaction model and composition of primary cosmic rays.
The extensive air showers' (EAS) front shape, angle of incidence, disk thickness, particle distribution along the shower, on the delayed and EAS front advancing particles were determined. The suggested system of the EAS time analysis allows determination of the whole EAS longitudinal structure at the observation points. The information from the detectors is continuously recorded in the memory with the memory cell switching in 5 ns, this enables fixation of the moment of pulse input from the detector with an accuracy to + or - 2.5 ns. Along with the fast memory, a slow memory with the cell switching in 1 micron s is introduced in the system, this permits observation of relatively large time intervals with respect to the trigger pulse with an appropriately lower accuracy.
The facility designed for the study of angular resolution of light in the extensive air showers EAS flashes is described. The threshold energy of the facility is about 3 x 10 to the 12h power eV. The data on the angular distribution of light in a flash and the ratio of the flux in the UV and visual region as a function of the distance to the axis of a shower are given. Obtained results are compared to the published computations.
A method used in locating the core of individual cosmic ray showers is described. Using a microprocessor-based detecting system, the density distribution and hence, energy of each detected shower was estimated.
Multiple high energy muons, when studied with a large area detector, can be useful in the study of the composition of cosmic rays at energies approx. 10 14 eV. The Soudan II detector, primarily designed to detect nucleon decay, is located approx. 600 m deep underground and has dimensions of 16m x 8m x 5m (height), and is made up of drift tubes. The minimum muon energy needed to penetrate that depth is approximately 500 GeV. A set of simulated cosmic ray showers was set up to calculate the rate of muon associated events, using a trigger array with the number of detectors varying from 37 to 127 (the radius of acceptance varying from 50m to 100m). The number used in the calculations is given. The association rate is seen to be a strong function of the multiplicity of muons in the detector. The difference in the rates of association of proton and nuclei induced showers rises rapidly with multiplicity.
An experimental study of the fast scintillation counter (FS) system to observe a shower disk structure at Mt. Norikura is described, especially the system performance and a pulse wave-form by a single charge particles. The photomultiplier tube (PT) pulse appears at the leading edge of the main pulse. To remove this PT-pulse from the main pulse, the frame of the scintillator vessel was changed. The fast triggering system was made to decrease the dead time which came from the use of the function of the self triggering of the storage oscilloscope (OSC). To provide a new field on the multi-parameter study of the cosmic ray showers, the system response of the FS system also improved as a result of many considerations.