On the muon scale of air showers and its application to the AGASA data

F. GESUALDI; H. DEMBINSKI,; K. SHINOZAKI; A.D. SUPANITSKY; T. PIEROG; L. CAZON; D. SOLDIN; R. CONCEIÇÃO

Conferencia; 37th International Cosmic Ray Conference; 2021

Recently, several experiments reported a muon deficit in air shower simulations with respect to thedata. This problem can be studied using an estimator that quantifies the relative muon content ofthe data with respect to those of proton and iron Monte Carlo air shower simulations. We analyzetwo estimators. The first one, based on the logarithm of the mean of the muon content, is builtfrom experimental considerations. It is ideal for comparing results from different experiments asit is independent of the detector resolution. The second estimator is based on the mean of thelogarithm of the muon content, which implies that it depends on shower-to-shower fluctuations.It is linked to the mean-logarithmic mass ⟨ln A⟩ through the Heitler-Matthews model. We studythe properties of the estimators and their biases considering the knowns and unknowns of typicalexperiments. Furthermore, we study these effects in measurements of the muon density at 1000 mfrom the shower axis obtained by the Akeno Giant Air Shower Array (AGASA). Finally, we reportthe estimates of the relative muon content of the AGASA data, which support a muon deficit insimulations. These estimates constitute valuable additional information of the muon content ofair showers at the highest energies.