Electron, muon, and hadron lateral distributions measured in air showers by the KASCADE experiment

Measurements of electron, muon and hadron lateral distributions of extensive air showers as recorded in the Karlsruhe shower core and array detector experiment are presented. The data cover the energy range from 5 x 10(14) eV up to almost 10(17) eV and extend from the inner core region to distances of 200 m. The electron and muon distributions are corrected for mutual contaminations by taking into account the detector properties in the experiment. All distributions are well described by NKG functions. The scale radii describing the electron and hadron data best are similar or equal to 30 and similar or equal to 10 m, respectively. We discuss the correlation between the scale radii and the 'age' parameter as well as their dependence on shower size, zenith angle, and particle energy threshold. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.