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A proposed method for measurement of cosmic-ray mass composition based on geomagnetic spectroscopy

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Abstract

The effect of the geomagnetic Lorentz force on the muon component of extensive air shower (EAS) has been studied in a Monte Carlo generated simulated data sample. This geomagnetic field affects the paths of muons in an EAS, causing a local contrast or polar asymmetry in the abundance of positive and negative muons about the shower axis. The asymmetry can be approximately expressed as a function of transverse separation between the positive and negative muons barycentric positions in the EAS through opposite quadrants across the shower core in the shower front plane. In the present study, it is found that the transverse muon barycenter separation and its maximum value obtained from the polar variation of the parameter are higher for iron primaries than protons for highly inclined showers. Hence, in principle, these parameters can be exploited to the measurement of primary cosmic-ray mass composition. Possibility of practical realization of the proposed method in a real experiment is briefly discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the anonymous referee for detailed and helpful comments that improves the manuscript substantially. RKD would like to thank Prof. J. N. Capdevielle, APC, University Paris-Diderot for useful correspondence and Dr. A. Bhadra, HECRRC, NBU for useful comments. This work is supported by the Science and Engineering Research Board of India through Grant no. EMR/2015/001390.

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  1. Department of Physics, University of North Bengal, Siliguri, West Bengal, 734 013, India

    Rajat K. Dey & Sandip Dam

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  1. Rajat K. Dey
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Correspondence to Rajat K. Dey.

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Dey, R.K., Dam, S. A proposed method for measurement of cosmic-ray mass composition based on geomagnetic spectroscopy. Exp Astron 43, 75–98 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10686-016-9521-2

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