Sharp knee phenomenon of primary cosmic ray energy spectrum

Abstract

Primary energy spectral models are tested in the energy range of 1-200 PeV using standardized extensive air shower responses from BASJE-MAS, Tibet, GAMMA and KASCADE scintillation shower arrays. Results point towards the two-component origin of observed cosmic ray energy spectra in the knee region (GAPS spectral model) consisting of a pulsar component superimposed upon rigidity-dependent power law diffuse galactic flux. The two-component energy spectral model accounts for both the sharp knee shower spectral phenomenon and observed irregularity of all-particle energy spectrum in the region of 50-100 PeV. Alternatively, tested multi-population primary energy spectra predicted by non-linear diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) models describe observed shower spectra in the knee region provided that the cutoff magnetic rigidities of accelerating particles are 6.0+/-0.3 PV and 45+/-2 PV for the first two populations respectively. Both tested spectral models confirm the predominant H-He primary nuclei origin of observed shower spectral knee. The parameters of tested energy spectra are evaluated using solutions of inverse problem on the basis of the corresponding parameterizations of energy spectra for primary H, He, O-like and Fe-like nuclei, standardized shower size spectral responses in the 550-1085 g/cm^2 atmospheric slant depth range and near vertical muon truncated size spectra detected by the GAMMA array.

9 pages, 7 figures, 6 tables

References in corpus (5)

• The spectrum of high-energy cosmic rays measured with KASCADE-Grande
• Spectrum of cosmic rays, produced in supernova remnants
• All-particle primary energy spectrum in the 3-200 PeV energy range
• Rigidity-dependent cosmic ray energy spectra in the knee region obtained with the GAMMA experiment
• Mutually compensative pseudo solutions of primary energy spectra in the knee region

Cited by in corpus (8)

• The energy spectrum of cosmic rays beyond the turn-down around $10^{17}$ eV as measured with the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory
• A cosmic-ray database update: CRDB v4.1
• Mapping the dominant regions of the phase space associated with $c\bar{c}$ production relevant for the Prompt Atmospheric Neutrino Flux
• Uncertainties in Atmospheric Muon-Neutrino Fluxes Arising from Cosmic-Ray Primaries
• Classifying the Cosmic-Ray Proton and Light Groups on the LHAASO-KM2A Experiment with the Graph Neural Network
• Analyzing Cosmic Ray Spectral Features: A Numerical Investigation
• Alternative description of particle shower longitudinal profile
• Energy spectrum and mass composition of the primary cosmic rays based on the intensity of muon bundles detected in the NEVOD-DECOR experiment