CORSIKA 8 – Towards a modern framework for the simulation of extensive air showers

Current and future challenges in astroparticle physics require novel simulation tools to achieve higher precision and more flexibility. For three decades the FORTRAN version of CORSIKA served the community in an excellent way. However, the effort to maintain and further develop this complex package is getting increasingly difficult. To overcome existing limitations, and designed as a very open platform for all particle cascade simulations in astroparticle physics, we are developing CORSIKA 8 based on modern C++ and Python concepts. Here, we give a brief status report of the project.

SLAC T-510: Experimental validation of particle-level simulations of radio emission from particle cascades

The SLAC T-510 experiment was designed to measure radio emission from particle cascades in a controlled laboratory setting and compare measurements with predictions from particle-level simulations. An electron beam incident upon a dense dielectric target produced a particle cascade in the presence of a strong magnetic field. We previously reported the agreement between data and simulations within systematic uncertainties, the largest being the reflection of radio emission within the target. A follow-up experiment has since been carried out to characterize the reflections and include them in simulations. In this contribution we report these new results. The uncertainties in the experiment are greatly reduced, and the features in the observed emission are well understood.

ANALYSIS OF THE MACRO EXPERIMENT DATA TO COMPARE PARTICLE ARRIVAL TIMES UNDER GRAN SASSO

The claim of a neutrino velocity different from the speed of the light, made in September 2011 by the Opera experiment, suggested the study of the time delays between TeV underground muons in the Gran Sasso laboratory using the old data of the MACRO experiment, ended in 2000. This study can also give hints on new physics in the particle cascade produced by the interaction of a cosmic ray with the atmosphere.