What type of study is this?

This is a Experimental Study study.

October 19, 2025Open Access

Measurement of the mean number of muons with energies above 500 GeV in air showers detected with the IceCube Neutrino Observatory

Key Points

The measurement shows consistency between observed TeV muons and simulation predictions, highlighting complex cosmic ray interactions.
Measured muon counts from air showers indicate potential discrepancies in low- versus high-energy simulation predictions.
IceTop's surface detection and IceCube's in-ice tracking provide a comprehensive approach to studying cosmic rays' behavior.
Findings point to inconsistencies in hadronic interaction models, particularly in predictions made by the EPOS-LHC framework.

Abstract

We present a measurement of the mean number of muons with energies larger than 500 GeV in near-vertical extensive air showers initiated by cosmic rays with primary energies between 2.5 and 100 PeV. The measurement is based on events detected in coincidence between the surface and in-ice detectors of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. Air showers are recorded on the surface by IceTop, while a bundle of high-energy muons (TeV muons) from the shower can subsequently produce a tracklike event in the IceCube in-ice array. Results are obtained assuming the hadronic interaction models Sibyll 2.1, QGSJet-II.04, and EPOS-LHC. The measured number of TeV muons is found to be in agreement with predictions from air-shower simulations. The results have also been compared to a measurement of low-energy muons by IceTop, indicating an inconsistency between the predictions for low- and high-energy muons in simulations based on the EPOS-LHC model.

Read Full Paperexternally

اسأل الذكاء الاصطناعي

Bookmark

View Full Paper