Lateral distribution of charged particles in giant air showers above 1 EeV observed by AGASA
- 1 April 1994
- journal article
- Published by IOP Publishing in Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics
- Vol. 20 (4) , 651-664
- https://doi.org/10.1088/0954-3899/20/4/011
Abstract
We have studied the lateral distribution of charged particles associated with giant air showers and the attenuation of the local particle density at 600 m from the core, S600, with atmospheric depth using data collected with the Akeno Giant Air Shower Array (AGASA). The lateral distribution at distances of more than 1 km from the core has been observed to be much steeper than that suggested by some of the earlier measurements. The shape of the lateral distribution function has been observed to depend on the zenith angle of showers but there is no significant evidence for the dependence on the primary energy, within the resolution of the array. The systematic errors in energy estimation due to the uncertainties in the lateral distribution and the attenuation length of S600 are smaller than statistical errors. These errors have been estimated to be approximately 5% and approximately 3% respectively for near vertical showers with sec theta =1.1, and approximately 10% and approximately 12% respectively for showers with sec theta =1.4.Keywords
This publication has 6 references indexed in Scilit:
- Design studies for a very large detector array to study cosmic rays at the highest energiesNuclear Physics B - Proceedings Supplements, 1992
- Shower properties relevant to large arraysNuclear Physics B - Proceedings Supplements, 1992
- Energy spectrum of primary cosmic rays above 1017.0eV determined from extensive air shower experiments at AkenoJournal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics, 1992
- Akeno Giant Air Shower Array (AGASA) covering 100 km2 areaNuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, 1992
- On the energy estimation of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays observed with the surface detector arrayJournal of Physics G: Nuclear Physics, 1988
- Properties of 109-1010GeV extensive air showers at core distances between 100 and 3000 mJournal of Physics G: Nuclear Physics, 1986