Data-driven estimation of the invisible energy of cosmic ray showers with the PierreAuger Observatory

THE PIERRE AUGER COLLABORATION; GARCIA, B (COMO PARTE DE THE PIERRE AUGER COLLABORATION)

PHYSICAL REVIEW D

AMER PHYSICAL SOC

Lugar: New York; Año: 2019 vol. 100 p. 1 - 18

1550-7998

The determination of the primary energy of extensive air showers using the fluorescence detectiontechnique requires an estimation of the energy carried away by particles that do not deposit alltheir energy in the atmosphere. This estimation is typically made using Monte Carlo simulationsand thus depends on the assumed primary particle mass and on model predictions for neutrino andmuon production. In this work we present a new method to obtain the invisible energy from eventsdetected by the Pierre Auger Observatory. The method uses measurements of the muon numberat ground level, and it allows us to reduce significantly the systematic uncertainties related to themass composition and the high energy hadronic interaction models, and consequently to improvethe estimation of the energy scale of the Observatory.