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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.16341 |
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| _version_ | 1866915904743276544 |
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| author | Zhang, Xinshun Chen, Shaomin Dou, Wei Fu, Haoyang Gong, Guanghua Guo, Lei Guo, Ziyi Ji, XiangPan Li, Jianmin Li, Jinjing Liang, Bo Liang, Ye Liu, Qian Luo, Wentai Qi, Ming Shao, Wenhui Sun, Haozhe Tang, Jian Wang, Yuyi Wang, Zhe Wei, Changxu Weng, Jun Wu, Yiyang Xu, Benda Xu, Chuang Xu, Tong Xue, Tao Yang, Haoyan Yang, Yuzi Zhang, Aiqiang Zhang, Bin Zhang, Yang Zhang, Zhicai Zhao, Lin Zheng, Yangheng |
| author_facet | Zhang, Xinshun Chen, Shaomin Dou, Wei Fu, Haoyang Gong, Guanghua Guo, Lei Guo, Ziyi Ji, XiangPan Li, Jianmin Li, Jinjing Liang, Bo Liang, Ye Liu, Qian Luo, Wentai Qi, Ming Shao, Wenhui Sun, Haozhe Tang, Jian Wang, Yuyi Wang, Zhe Wei, Changxu Weng, Jun Wu, Yiyang Xu, Benda Xu, Chuang Xu, Tong Xue, Tao Yang, Haoyan Yang, Yuzi Zhang, Aiqiang Zhang, Bin Zhang, Yang Zhang, Zhicai Zhao, Lin Zheng, Yangheng |
| contents | Deep underground experiments present a new avenue to probe the first interactions in extensive air showers or hadronic interactions in the extreme forward phase space. The China Jinping Underground Laboratory, characterized by a vertical rock overburden of 2,400~m, provides an exceptionally effective shield against cosmic muons with energies below 3~TeV. The surviving high-energy muons, produced in the first interactions of extensive air showers, open a unique observational window into primary cosmic rays from tens of TeV up to the PeV scale and beyond. This distinctive feature also enables detailed studies of charged hadron production in the earliest stages of shower development. Using 1,338.6 live days of data collected with a one-ton prototype detector for the Jinping Neutrino Experiment, we measured the underground muon flux originating from air showers. The results show discrepancies of about 40\% corresponding to significances of more than 2$σ$, relative to predictions from several leading hadronic interaction models. We interpret these findings from two complementary perspectives: (i) by adopting the expected cosmic-ray spectra, we constrain the modeling of the first hadronic interactions in air showers and provide novel insights into resolving the long-standing \textit{muon puzzle}; and (ii) by assuming specific hadronic interaction models, we infer the mass composition of cosmic rays, and our data favor a lighter component in the corresponding energy range. Our study demonstrates the potential of deep underground laboratories to provide new experimental insights into air shower physics and cosmic rays. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_16341 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Investigating Production of TeV-scale Muons in Extensive Air Shower at 2400 Meters Underground Zhang, Xinshun Chen, Shaomin Dou, Wei Fu, Haoyang Gong, Guanghua Guo, Lei Guo, Ziyi Ji, XiangPan Li, Jianmin Li, Jinjing Liang, Bo Liang, Ye Liu, Qian Luo, Wentai Qi, Ming Shao, Wenhui Sun, Haozhe Tang, Jian Wang, Yuyi Wang, Zhe Wei, Changxu Weng, Jun Wu, Yiyang Xu, Benda Xu, Chuang Xu, Tong Xue, Tao Yang, Haoyan Yang, Yuzi Zhang, Aiqiang Zhang, Bin Zhang, Yang Zhang, Zhicai Zhao, Lin Zheng, Yangheng High Energy Physics - Experiment High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena Deep underground experiments present a new avenue to probe the first interactions in extensive air showers or hadronic interactions in the extreme forward phase space. The China Jinping Underground Laboratory, characterized by a vertical rock overburden of 2,400~m, provides an exceptionally effective shield against cosmic muons with energies below 3~TeV. The surviving high-energy muons, produced in the first interactions of extensive air showers, open a unique observational window into primary cosmic rays from tens of TeV up to the PeV scale and beyond. This distinctive feature also enables detailed studies of charged hadron production in the earliest stages of shower development. Using 1,338.6 live days of data collected with a one-ton prototype detector for the Jinping Neutrino Experiment, we measured the underground muon flux originating from air showers. The results show discrepancies of about 40\% corresponding to significances of more than 2$σ$, relative to predictions from several leading hadronic interaction models. We interpret these findings from two complementary perspectives: (i) by adopting the expected cosmic-ray spectra, we constrain the modeling of the first hadronic interactions in air showers and provide novel insights into resolving the long-standing \textit{muon puzzle}; and (ii) by assuming specific hadronic interaction models, we infer the mass composition of cosmic rays, and our data favor a lighter component in the corresponding energy range. Our study demonstrates the potential of deep underground laboratories to provide new experimental insights into air shower physics and cosmic rays. |
| title | Investigating Production of TeV-scale Muons in Extensive Air Shower at 2400 Meters Underground |
| topic | High Energy Physics - Experiment High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.16341 |