A. Dunaevsky

Observation Of Very High Energy Cosmic-ray Families In Emulsion Chambers At High Mountain Altitudes (i)

Characteristics of cosmic-ray hadronic interactions in the 1015 − 1017 eV range are studied by observing a total of 429 cosmic-ray families of visible energy greater than 100 TeV found in emulsion chamber experiments at high mountain altitudes, Chacaltaya (5200 m above sea level) and the Pamirs (4300 m above sea level). Extensive comparisons were made with simulated families based on models so far proposed, concentrating on the relation between the observed family flux and the behaviour of high-energy showers in the families, hadronic and electromagnetic components. It is concluded that there must be global change in characteristics of hadronic interactions at around 1016 eV deviating from thise known in the accelerator energy range, specially in the forwardmost angular region of the collision. A detailed study of a new shower phenomenon of small-pT particle emissions, pT being of the order of 10 MeV/c, is carried out and its relation to the origin of huge “halo” phenomena associated with extremely high energy families is discussed as one of the possibilities. General characteristics of such super-families are surveyed.

Observation of a high-energy cosmic-ray family caused by a Centauro-type nuclear interaction in the joint emulsion chamber experiment at the Pamirs

Abstract An exotic cosmic-ray family event is observed in the large emulsion chamber exposed by the joint at the Pamirs (4360 m above sea level). The family is composed of 120 γ -ray-induced showers and 37 hadron-induced showers with individual visible energy exceeding 1 TeV. The decisive feature of the event is the hadron dominance: ΣE γ , ΣE ( γ ) h , 〈 E γ , 〈 E ( γ ) h 〉, 〈 E γ · R γ 〉 and 〈 E ( γ ) · R h 〉 being 298 TeV, 476 TeV, 2.5 TeV, 12.9 TeV, 28.6 GeV m and 173 GeV m, respectively. Most probably the event is due to a Centauro interaction, which occured in the atmosphere at ∼700 m above the chamber. The event will constitute the second beautiful candidate for a Centauro observed at the Pamirs.