Longitudinal profile of Nμ/Ne in extensive air showers: Implications for cosmic rays mass composition study

Nµ/Ne، muon to electron population ratio in extensive air showers at high altitudes has been shown to be a suitable estimator of primary cosmic rays mass composition. This study is based on simulated extensive air showers. The Nµ/Ne ratio has been obtained in 100 depths from the top of the atmosphere to the sea level for different primary particle masses and energies. An empirical relation between cosmic ray atomic mass and Nµ/Ne has been obtained. The relation has then been used for estimation of atomic masses of progenitors of another set of simulated showers. Although the estimated masses are rough، the accuracy of the estimation improves with observation altitude.