2005/11/30 by B. Keilhauer, J. Blümer, J. Bluemer +3 · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Atmospheric Ozone and Climate #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.astropartphys.2006.02.005
published as Astropart.Phys. 25 (2006) 259-268 · 21 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables, Astroparticle Physics in press
arxiv created 2006/02/20 · openalex publication_date 2006/03/21 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Several experiments measure the fluorescence light produced by extensive air showers in the atmosphere. This light is converted into a longitudinal shower profile from which information on the primary energy and composition is derived. The fluorescence yield, as the conversion factor between light profile measured by EAS experiments and physical interpretation of showers, has been measured in several laboratory experiments. The results, however, differ considerably. In this article, a model calculation of the fluorescence emission from relevant band systems of nitrogen in dependence on wavelength and atmospheric conditions is presented. Different calculations are compared to each other in combination with varying input parameters. The predictions are compared with measurements and the altitude-dependence of the fluorescence yield is discussed in detail.