Study of single muons with the Large Volume Detector at the Gran Sasso Laboratory

Abstract

The present study is based on the sample of 2.9×10 6 single muons observed by the Large Volume Detector (LVD) at the underground Gran Sasso Laboratory during 36 500 live hours from June 1992 to February 1998. We have measured the muon intensity at slant depths from 3 to 20 km w.e. Most events are high-energy downward muons produced by meson decay in the atmosphere. The analysis of these muons has revealed the power index γ of the π and K spectrum: γ =2.76±0.05. The remainders are horizontal muons produced by the neutrino interactions in the rock surrounding the LVD. The value of this flux near 90° is (6.1±2.7)×10 −13 cm −2 s −1 sr −1 . The results are compared with the Monte Carlo simulations and the world data.