Time structure of the extensive air shower muon component measured by the KASCADE experiment

The temporal structure of the extensive air shower (EAS) muon component (E-thres = 2.4 GeV) is studied at sea level by measurements of the muon arrival time distributions using the muon detection facilities of the KASCADE central detector. Data have been analysed for EAS core distances up to 110 m for primary energies around the knee region. The time structure of the EAS muon component is represented by the distributions of the mean, median, first quartile and the third quartile of the muon arrival time distributions relative to the foremost muon. The EAS time profiles (variation with the distance from the EAS center) are studied along their dependencies on the angle of incidence and the energy-indicative muon number N-mu(tr). Effects of the fluctuation of the arrival time of the first registered muon are scrutinised and corrected. The experimental results are compared with EAS Monte Carlo (CORSIKA-GEANT) simulations, fully including the detector responses and illustrating the phenomenological features. The comparisons, though generally in fair global agreement, revealed that the simulations underestimate the shower thickness and show nearly no dependence on the mass composition if the time resolution of the apparatus is realistically taken into account. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.