Fγ: A new observable for photon-hadron discrimination in hybrid air shower events

Niechciol, M.; Risse, M.; Ruehl, P.; Settimo, M.; Younk, P. W.; Yushkov, A.

doi:10.1016/j.astropartphys.2017.10.004

Title: F_γ: A new observable for photon-hadron discrimination in hybrid air shower events

Journal Article · Sat Oct 21 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Astroparticle Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.astropartphys.2017.10.004· OSTI ID:1430011

Niechciol, M. ^[1]; Risse, M. ^[1]; Ruehl, P. ^[1]; Settimo, M. ^[2]; Younk, P. W. ^[3]; Yushkov, A. ^[4]

Univ. of Siegen (Germany). Dept. of Physics
Univ. of Siegen (Germany). Dept. of Physics; Univ. of Paris (France). Lab. of Nuclear and High-Energy Physics (LPNHE)
Univ. of Siegen (Germany). Dept. of Physics; Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Univ. of Siegen (Germany). Dept. of Physics; Inst. of Technologies in Detection and Astroparticles, Buenos Aires (Argentina)

To search for ultra-high-energy photons in primary cosmic rays, air shower observables are needed that allow a good separation between primary photons and primary hadrons. In this paper, we present a new observable, F_γ, which can be extracted from ground-array data in hybrid events, where simultaneous measurements of the longitudinal and the lateral shower profile are performed. The observable is based on a template fit to the lateral distribution measured by the ground array with the template taking into account the complementary information from the measurement of the longitudinal profile, i.e. the primary energy and the geometry of the shower. F_γ shows a very good photon-hadron separation, which is even superior to the separation given by the well-known $X_{max}$ observable (the atmospheric depth of the shower maximum). At energies around 1 EeV (10 EeV), F_γ provides a background rejection better than 97.8 % (99.9 %) at a signal efficiency of 50 %. Advantages of the observable F_γ are its technical stability with respect to irregularities in the ground array (i.e. missing or temporarily non-operating stations) and that it can be applied over the full energy range accessible to the air shower detector, down to its threshold energy. Finally and furthermore, F_γ complements nicely to $X_{max}$ such that both observables can well be combined to achieve an even better discrimination power, exploiting the rich information available in hybrid events.

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Research Organization:: Univ. of Siegen (Germany); Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE; German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF); Helmholtz Alliance for Astroparticle Physics (HAP) (Germany)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-06NA25396

OSTI ID:: 1430011

Report Number(s):: LA-UR-17-29807; TRN: US1802889

Journal Information:: Astroparticle Physics, Vol. 97; ISSN 0927-6505

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Title: Fγ: A new observable for photon-hadron discrimination in hybrid air shower events

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Title: F_γ: A new observable for photon-hadron discrimination in hybrid air shower events