Lateral-angular and temporal characteristics of EAS optical radiation

Characteristics of the direct and scattered components of electron-photon shower optical radiation for distances R 500 m from the shower core to a detector, allowing for the Cerenkov and fluorescent mechanism of photon generation are presented. The results of calculations are employed to clarify the techniques for determination of the shower parameters detected by both installations registering fluorescent light and those recording Cerenkov light

Results and prospects on registration of reflected Cherenkov light of EAS from cosmic particles above 10^{15} eV

We give an overview of the SPHERE experiment based on detection of reflected Vavilov-Cherenkov radiation (Cherenkov light) from extensive air showers in the energy region E>10^{15} eV. A brief history of the reflected Cherenkov light technique is given; the observations carried out with the SPHERE-2 detector are summarized; the methods of the experimental datasample analysis are described. The first results on the primary cosmic ray all-nuclei energy spectrum and mass composition are presented. Finally, the prospects of the SPHERE experiment and the reflected Cherenkov light technique are given.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, Proc. PANIC-201

Alignment in Gamma-Hadron Families of Cosmic Rays

Alignment of main fluxes of energy in a target plane is found in families of cosmic ray particles detected in deep lead X-ray chambers. The fraction of events with alignment is unexpectedly large for families with high energy and large number of hadrons. This can be considered as evidence for the existence of coplanar scattering of secondary particles in interaction of particles with superhigh energy, $E_0 > 10^{16}$ eV. Data analysis suggests that production of most aligned groups occurs low above the chamber and is characterized by a coplanar scattering and quasiscaling spectrum of secondaries in the fragmentation region. The most elaborated hypothesis for explanation of alignment is related to the quark-gluon string rupture. However, the problem of theoretical interpretation of our results still remains open.Comment: 15 pages, 2 tables, 6 figures (not included), Stanford University preprint SU-ITP-94-2