Topological aspects of age parameter

Abstract

The well known NKG function is a very useful tool to describe the lateral extension of the electromagnetic component in Extensive Air Showers (EAS); however, in spite of non-negligible qualities (simplicity, normalization by beta function), it doesn't correspond exactly to the natural shape of the lateral electron distribution. Several bias may occur in size estimation if NKG is used without correction. It is shown that the longitudinal age parameter s sub t can be correlated with the information obtained from the lateral electron densities according to the conditions of use of the NKG function.