High energy cosmic ray physics with underground muons in MACRO. II. Primary spectra and composition

M. Ambrosio, R. Antolini, G. Auriemma, R. Baker, A. Baldini, G. C. Barbarino, B. C. Barish, G. Battistoni, R. Bellotti, C. Bemporad, P. Bernardini, H. Bilokon, V. Bisi, C. Bloise, T. Bosio, C. Bower, S. Bussino, F. Cafagna, M. Calicchio, D. CampanaM. Carboni, M. Castellano, S. Cecchini, F. Cei, V. Chiarella, A. Corona, S. Coutu, G. De Cataldo, H. Dekhissi, C. De Marzo, I. De Mitri, M. De Vincenzi, A. Di Credico, O. Erriquez, R. Fantini, C. Favuzzi, C. Forti, P. Fusco, G. Giacomelli, G. Giannini, N. Giglietto, M. Goretti, M. Grassi, A. Grillo, F. Guarino, P. Guarnaccia, C. Gustavino, A. Habig, K. Hanson, A. Hawthorne, R. Heinz, J. T. Hong, E. Iarocci, E. Katsavounidis, E. Kearns, S. Kyriazopoulou, E. Lamanna, C. Lane, D. S. Levin, P. Lipari, N. P. Longley, M. J. Longo, G. Mancarella, G. Mandrioli, A. Margiotta-Neri, A. Marini, D. Martello, A. Marzari-Chiesa, M. N. Mazziotta, D. G. Michael, S. Mikheyev, L. Miller, P. Monacelli, T. Montaruli, M. Monteno, S. Mufson, J. Musser, D. Nicoló, R. Nolty, C. Okada, C. Orth, G. Osteria, O. Palamara, S. Parlati, V. Patera, L. Patrizii, R. Pazzi, C. W. Peck, S. Petrera, P. Pistilli, V. Popa, A. Rainó, J. Reynoldson, M. Ricciardi, F. Ronga, U. Rubizzo, A. Sanzgiri, F. Sartogo, C. Satriano, L. Satta, E. Scapparone, K. Scholberg, A. Sciubba, P. Serra-Lugaresi, M. Severi, M. Sitta, P. Spinelli, M. Spinetti, M. Spurio, R. Steinberg, J. L. Stone, L. R. Sulak, A. Surdo, G. Tarlé, V. Togo, V. Valente, C. W. Walter, R. Webb

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

36 Scopus citations

Abstract

Multimuon data from the MACRO experiment at Gran Sasso have been analyzed using a new method, which allows one to estimate the primary cosmic ray fluxes. The estimated all-particle spectrum is higher and flatter than the one obtained from direct measurements but is consistent with EAS array measurements. The spectral indexes of the fitted energy spectrum are 2.56[Formula presented]0.05 for [Formula presented]500 TeV and 2.9[Formula presented]0.3 for [Formula presented]5000 TeV with a gradual change at intermediate energies. The average mass number shows little dependence on the primary energy below 1000 TeV, with a value of 10.1[Formula presented]2.5 at 100 TeV. At higher energies the best fit average mass shows a mild increase with energy, even though no definite conclusion can be reached taking into account errors. The fitted spectra cover a range from [Formula presented] 50 TeV up to several thousand TeV.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1418-1436
Number of pages19
JournalPhysical Review D - Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology
Volume56
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 1997

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Nuclear and High Energy Physics
  • Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)

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