Constraining the cosmic-ray mass composition by measuring the shower length with SKA

Buitink S, Corstanje A, Bhavani J, Desmet M, Falcke H, Hare BM, Hörandel JR, Huege T, Karasthatis N, Krampah GK, Mitra P, Mulrey K, Nelles A, Nivedita K, Pandya H, Rachen JP, Scholten O, Thoudam S, Trinh G, ter Veen S (2023)

Publication Type: Conference contribution

Publication year: 2023

Journal

PoS - Proceedings of Science SISSA

Publisher: Sissa Medialab Srl

Book Volume: 424

Conference Proceedings Title: Proceedings of Science

Event location: Santiago de Compostela, ESP

Abstract

The current generation of air shower radio arrays has demonstrated that the atmospheric depth of the shower maximum Xmax can be reconstructed with high accuracy. These experiments are now contributing to mass composition studies in the energy range where a transition from galactic to extragalactic cosmic-ray sources is expected. However, we are still far away from an unambiguous interpretation of the data. Here we propose to use radio measurements to derive a new type of constraint on the mass composition, by reconstructing the shower length L. The low-frequency part of the Square Kilometer Array will have an extremely high antenna density of roughly 60.000 antennas within one square kilometer, and is the perfect site for high-resolution studies of air showers. In this contribution, we discuss the impact of being able to reconstruct L, and the unique contribution that SKA can make to cosmic-ray science.

Involved external institutions

Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) BE Belgium (BE) Khalifa University of Science, Technology & Research (KUSTAR) / جامعة خليفة AE United Arab Emirates (AE) Radboud University Nijmegen NL Netherlands (NL) Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) DE Germany (DE) Kapteyn Astronomical Institute NL Netherlands (NL) Can Tho University / Trường Đại học Cần Thơ VN Viet Nam (VN) Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Buitink, S., Corstanje, A., Bhavani, J., Desmet, M., Falcke, H., Hare, B.M.,... ter Veen, S. (2023). Constraining the cosmic-ray mass composition by measuring the shower length with SKA. In Proceedings of Science. Santiago de Compostela, ESP: Sissa Medialab Srl.

MLA:

Buitink, S., et al. "Constraining the cosmic-ray mass composition by measuring the shower length with SKA." Proceedings of the 9th International Workshop on Acoustic and Radio EeV Neutrino Detection Activities, ARENA 2022, Santiago de Compostela, ESP Sissa Medialab Srl, 2023.

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