High energy cosmic ray physics with underground muons in MACRO. I. Analysis methods and experimental results
- Dipartimento di Fisica dellUniversita di Bari and INFN, 70126 Bari (Italy)
- Dipartimento di Fisica dellUniversita di Bologna and INFN, 40126 Bologna (Italy)
- Physics Department, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215 (United States)
- California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125 (United States)
- Department of Physics, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104 (United States)
- Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati dellINFN, 00044 Frascati (Roma) (Italy)
- Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso dellINFN, 67010 Assergi (LAquila) (Italy)
- Departments of Physics and of Astronomy, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405 (United States)
- Dipartimento di Fisica dellUniversita dellAquila and INFN, 67100 LAquila (Italy)
- Dipartimento di Fisica dellUniversita di Lecce and INFN, 73100 Lecce (Italy)
In this paper, the first of a two-part work, we present the reconstruction and measurement of muon events detected underground by the MACRO experiment at Gran Sasso (E{sub {mu}}{ge} 1.3 TeV in atmosphere). The main aim of this work is to discuss the muon multiplicity distribution as measured in the detector. The data sample analyzed consists of 4.4{times}10{sup 6} muon events, of which {approximately} 263000 are multiple muons, corresponding to a total live time of 5850 h. In this sample, the observed multiplicities extend above N{sub {mu}}=35, with intermuon separations up to 50 m and beyond. Additional complementing measurements, such as the inclusive muon flux, the angular distribution, and the muon separation distribution (decoherence), are also included. The physical interpretation of the results presented here is reported in the following companion paper. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}
- OSTI ID:
- 628679
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review, D, Vol. 56, Issue 3; Other Information: PBD: Aug 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Simultaneous observation of extensive air showers and deep-underground muons at the Gran Sasso Laboratory
High energy cosmic ray physics with underground muons in MACRO. II. Primary spectra and composition