Experimental study of muon bundles observed in the Fréjus detector

Abstract

The present study is based on a sample of 407 775 single muons and 12 559 muon bundles with zenith angles smaller than 60\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}, observed in the 12.3m\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}6m\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}6m Fr\'ejus proton-decay detector, at a depth of 4850 hg/${\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$. The variation of the vertical muon intensity with depth is given. Using a maximum-likelihood method, the muon lateral distribution of underground bundles is investigated as a function of muon multiplicity and zenith angle. The same method yields the true multiplicity distribution at the site depth, corrected for all detection effects.