paper

Particle Interactions in Matter at the Terascale: the Cosmic-Ray Experience

arXiv:1212.0274 · doi:10.1016/j.nimb.2013.03.009

Abstract

Cosmic-rays with energies up to eV have been observed, as have as have astrophysical neutrinos with energies above 1 PeV. In this talk, I will discuss some of the unique phenomena that occur when particles with TeV energies and above interact with matter. The emphasis will be on lepton interactions. The cross-sections for electron bremsstrahlung and photon pair conversion are suppressed at high energies, by the Landau-Pomeranchuk-Migdal (LPM) effect, lengthening electromagnetic showers. At still higher energies (above eV), photonuclear and electronuclear interactions dominate, and showers become predominantly hadronic. Muons interact much less strongly, so can travel long distances through solids before losing energy. Tau leptons behave similarly, although their short livetime limits how far they can travel. The hadronic interaction cross-section is believed to continue to increase slowly with rising energy; measurements of cosmic-ray air showers support this prediction.

Presented at the 25th International Conference on Atomic Collisions in Solids & 8th International Symposium on Swift Heavy Ions in Matter. To appear in the Proceedings. 8 pages

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