Simulation study on the effects of diffractive collisions on the prediction of the observables in ultra-high-energy cosmic ray experiments. (arXiv:2005.12594v3 [astro-ph.HE] UPDATED)
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Ohashi_K/0/1/0/all/0/1">Ken Ohashi</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Menjo_H/0/1/0/all/0/1">Hiroaki Menjo</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Itow_Y/0/1/0/all/0/1">Yoshitaka Itow</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Sako_T/0/1/0/all/0/1">Takashi Sako</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Kasahara_K/0/1/0/all/0/1">Katsuaki Kasahara</a>
The mass composition of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays is important for
understanding their origin. Owing to our limited knowledge of the hadronic
interaction, the interpretations of the mass composition from observations
include several open problems, such as the inconsistent interpretations of
$langle X_{mathrm{max}}rangle $ and $langle X_{mathrm{max}}^{mu}rangle
$. Futhermore, the large difference between the predictions exists by the
hadronic interaction models. Diffractive collision is one of the proposed
sources of the uncertainty. In this paper, we discuss the effect of the
detailed characteristics of diffractive collisions to the observables of
ultra-high-energy cosmic-ray experiments, focusing on three detailed
characteristics. These are the cross-sectional fractions of different collision
types, diffractive-mass spectrum, and diffractive-mass-dependent particle
productions from the diffractive dissociation system. We demonstrated that the
current level of the uncertainty in the cross-sectional fraction can affect 8.9
$mathrm{g/cm^2}$ of $langle X_{mathrm{max}}rangle $ and 9.4
$mathrm{g/cm^2}$ of $langle X_{mathrm{max}}^{mu}rangle $, whereas the
other details of the diffractive collisions exhibit relatively minor effects.
The mass composition of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays is important for
understanding their origin. Owing to our limited knowledge of the hadronic
interaction, the interpretations of the mass composition from observations
include several open problems, such as the inconsistent interpretations of
$langle X_{mathrm{max}}rangle $ and $langle X_{mathrm{max}}^{mu}rangle
$. Futhermore, the large difference between the predictions exists by the
hadronic interaction models. Diffractive collision is one of the proposed
sources of the uncertainty. In this paper, we discuss the effect of the
detailed characteristics of diffractive collisions to the observables of
ultra-high-energy cosmic-ray experiments, focusing on three detailed
characteristics. These are the cross-sectional fractions of different collision
types, diffractive-mass spectrum, and diffractive-mass-dependent particle
productions from the diffractive dissociation system. We demonstrated that the
current level of the uncertainty in the cross-sectional fraction can affect 8.9
$mathrm{g/cm^2}$ of $langle X_{mathrm{max}}rangle $ and 9.4
$mathrm{g/cm^2}$ of $langle X_{mathrm{max}}^{mu}rangle $, whereas the
other details of the diffractive collisions exhibit relatively minor effects.
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