Energy spectrum of cosmic rays and multiparticle generation of hadrons at ultrahigh energies

• Published in: Physics of atomic nuclei Vol. 67; no. 10; pp. 1900 - 1917
• Main Authors: Nikolsky, S. I., Sinitsyna, V. G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.10.2004
• Subjects: COSMIC PHOTONS; COSMIC PROTONS; ENERGY LOSSES; ENERGY SPECTRA; EXTENSIVE AIR SHOWERS; NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS; NUCLEAR STRUCTURE; PARTICLE PRODUCTION; PEV RANGE; TEV RANGE
• ISSN: 1063-7788; 1562-692X
• DOI: 10.1134/1.1811197

None of the presently known local sources of photons whose energy exceeds 10{sup 12} eV is incompatible with the universal energy spectrum F(>E{sub {gamma}}) {approx} E{sub {gamma}}{sup -1.36{+-}}{sup 0.15}. The power of extragalactic sources is 10{sup 6} to 10{sup 12} times higher than the power of galactic sources since the respective distances are longer in the former case, while the observed flux intensities are approximately identical in the two cases. A much higher power of extragalactic sources is indicative of an extragalactic cosmic-ray origin and of the existence of a universal (for all energies of protons and cosmic-ray nuclei) process that is responsible for the energy loss in the Metagalaxy and which forms the observed energy spectrum of protons and nuclei ({approx}E{sub 0}{sup -2.72}). It is shown that there is no break in the energy spectrum of primary protons in the energy range 10{sup 15}-10{sup 16} eV and that the break in the spectrum of extensive air showers with respect to the number of electrons is due to a change in the process of multiparticle hadron generation in the first event of extensive-air-shower production, this being confirmed by a change in the extensive-air-shower absorption length from {lambda}{sub a} < 90 g/cm{sup 2} before the break to {lambda}{sub a} > 150 g/cm{sup 2} after the break.