Influence of the LPM effect and dielectric suppression on particle air showers

Abstract

An analysis of the influence of the Landau-Migdal-Pomeranchuk (LPM) effect on the development of air showers initiated by astroparticles is presented. The theory of Migdal is studied and compared with other theoretical methods, particularly the Blankenbecler and Drell approach. By means of realistic computer simulations and using algorithms that emulate Migdal's theory, including also the so-called dielectric suppression, we study the behavior of the relevant observables in the case of ultra-high energy primaries. We find that the LPM effect can significantly modify the development of high energy electromagnetic showers in certain cases.

18 pages, 13 figures, 1 table. To appear in Phys. Rev. D