Karlsruhe 2024 – scientific programme

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T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik

T 54: Cosmic rays 5

T 54.5: Talk

Wednesday, March 6, 2024, 17:00–17:15, Geb. 20.30: 2.059

Comparison of surface-detector based mass estimators for UHECR observatories — Lorenzo Apollonio^{1, 2}, Lorenzo Caccianiga^{1, 2}, Martin Erdmann⁴, Jonas Glombitza⁵, Niklas Langner⁴, Markus Roth³, •Maximilian Stadelmaier^1,2,3, and Darko Veberic³ — ¹INFN, Milano, Italy — ²UNIMI, Milano, Italy — ³KIT, Karlsruhe, Germany — ⁴RWTH, Aachen, Germany — ⁵ECAP, Erlangen, Germany

Ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) might be the messengers of the most extreme events in our extra-galactic neighborhood. To conduct arrival direction studies with high-rigidity particles only, however, their mixed mass composition necessitates the discrimination of heavy and light nuclei. Using the surface-detector data of an UHECR observatory, this is challenging and only possible by estimating mass-sensitive observables indirectly.

We present recent developments of event-level mass estimators for UHECRs, using data collected by the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory. In detail, we compare the functionality and performance of classical likelihood-based fit models against deep neural networks. Furthermore, we discuss the expected increase in performance for Phase 2 of the Observatory.

Keywords: extensive air showers; ultrahigh-energy; cosmic rays; Pierre Auger Observatory; mass composition