Cerenkov Photon Density Fluctuations in Extensive Air Showers

Abstract

The details of Cerenkov light produced by a gamma ray or a cosmic ray incident at the top of the atmosphere is best studied through systematic simulations of the extensive air showers. Recently such studies have become all the more important in view of the various techniques resulting from such studies, to distinguish gamma ray initiated showers from those generated by much more abundant hadronic component of cosmic rays. We have carried out here such systematic simulation studies using CORSIKA package in order to understand the Cerenkov photon density fluctuations for 5 different energies at various core distances both for gamma ray and proton primaries incident vertically at the top of the atmosphere. Such a systematic comparison of shower to shower density fluctuations for gamma ray and proton primaries is carried out for the first time here. It is found that the density fluctuations are significantly non-Poissonian. Such fluctuations are much more pronounced in the proton primaries than gamma ray primaries at all energies. The processes that contribute significantly to the observed fluctuations have been identified. It has been found that significant contribution to fluctuations comes from photons emitted after shower maximum. The electron number fluctuations and correlated emission of Cerenkov photons are mainly responsible for the observed fluctuations.

31 pages, latex, 16 figures in ps files, Accepted for publication in "Astroparticle Physics"

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• Dirichlet Joyce Manifolds, Discrete Torsion and Duality

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• Lateral density and arrival time distributions of Cherenkov photons in extensive air showers: a simulation study
• An analysis method for data taken by Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescopes at very high energies under the presence of clouds
• Gamma-Hadron Separation using Cerenkov Photon Density Fluctuations
• Gamma Ray and Hadron generated Čerenkov Photon Spectra at Various Observation Altitudes
• The background from single electromagnetic subcascades for a stereo system of air Cherenkov telescopes