Atmospheric neutrinos and the knee of the Cosmic Ray spectrum. (arXiv:1906.05197v1 [astro-ph.HE])
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Mascaretti_C/0/1/0/all/0/1">Carlo Mascaretti</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Blasi_P/0/1/0/all/0/1">Pasquale Blasi</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Evoli_C/0/1/0/all/0/1">Carmelo Evoli</a>
The nature of the knee in the all-particle spectrum of cosmic rays remains
subject of much investigation, especially in the aftermath of recent
measurements claiming the detection of a knee-like feature in the spectrum of
the light component of cosmic rays at energy $sim$700 TeV, at odds with the
standard picture in which the knee in the all-particle spectrum is dominated by
light cosmic rays. Here we investigate the implications of this and other
scenarios in terms of the measured flux of atmospheric neutrinos. In particular
we discuss the possibility that the spectrum of atmospheric neutrinos in the
region $gtrsim$50 TeV may provide information about the different models for
the mass composition in the knee region. We investigate the dependence of the
predicted atmospheric neutrino flux on the shape of the light cosmic ray
spectra and on the interaction models describing the development of showers in
the atmosphere. The implications of all these factors for the identification of
the onset of an astrophysical neutrino component are discussed.
The nature of the knee in the all-particle spectrum of cosmic rays remains
subject of much investigation, especially in the aftermath of recent
measurements claiming the detection of a knee-like feature in the spectrum of
the light component of cosmic rays at energy $sim$700 TeV, at odds with the
standard picture in which the knee in the all-particle spectrum is dominated by
light cosmic rays. Here we investigate the implications of this and other
scenarios in terms of the measured flux of atmospheric neutrinos. In particular
we discuss the possibility that the spectrum of atmospheric neutrinos in the
region $gtrsim$50 TeV may provide information about the different models for
the mass composition in the knee region. We investigate the dependence of the
predicted atmospheric neutrino flux on the shape of the light cosmic ray
spectra and on the interaction models describing the development of showers in
the atmosphere. The implications of all these factors for the identification of
the onset of an astrophysical neutrino component are discussed.
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