Speaker
Description
The Pierre Auger Observatory is the world largest extensive air shower
detector. Based on two detection techniques, namely fluorescence telescopes
for the observation of the longitudinal development and water Cherenkov
detectors for particles at ground, this experiment can be used not only as a
cosmic ray observatory, but also to study the basic properties of hadronic
interactions leading the development of air showers initiated by these
primary cosmic rays. We will show that by using careful data selection it is
possible to extract the proton-air inelastic cross-section at energies much
higher than that accessible at man-made accelerators. Taking advantage of
both detection techniques we will demonstrate that it is also possible to test
hadronic interaction models using correlations between different air shower
observables, like shower maximum and muons at ground and their fluctuations, to reduce
the uncertainty due to the unknown beam of cosmic rays. Thanks to the low energy
extension of the Pierre Auger Observatory, the muon deficit in air shower
simulations can be addressed over almost 3 decades at the highest energies
for instance.
