Speaker
Description
NA61/SHINE is a fixed target experiment designed to study
hadron-proton, hadron-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus interactions at the
CERN Super-Proton-Synchrotron. In this contribution we will discuss
results from pion-carbon collisions recorded at beam momenta of 158
and 350 GeV/c. Hadron production measurements in this type of
interactions is of fundamental importance for the understanding of the
muon production in extensive air showers. In particular, production of
(anti)baryons is one of the mechanisms responsible for increasing the
number of muons in air shower. A possible underestimation of the
production rate of (anti)baryons in current hadronic interaction
models could be one of the sources of the excess of muons observed by
cosmic ray experiments, like Pierre Auger Observatory. The results on
the production spectra of $\pi^{\pm}$, K$^{\pm}$, $p(\bar{p})$,
$\Lambda(\bar{\Lambda})$ and K$_S^0$ will be presented, as well as
their comparison to predictions of hadronic interaction models
currently used in air shower simulations.
