Monte Carlo Simulation on Propagation of Cosmic-Rays in the Atmosphere

Abstract

A simulation study is made on propagation and multiplication of the high energy cosmic-ray components in their passage through the atmosphere. The study is planned to simulate observation of high energy cosmic-ray phenomena by the emulsion chambers exposed at high altitude laboratories and to make clear how the observation of such kind will disclose unknown mechanism of the extremely high energy interactions-multiple production of mesons. In particular, the following two models of the multiple meson production are examined in the present simulation: 1) Two-fire-ball model,l> abbreviated as 2F; 2) H-quantum model,2> abbreviated as HQ. The outline of our simulation is as follows. A high energy primary cosmic-ray particle collides with an air nucleus of the upper atmosphere and causes the multiple meson production according to mechanism of the assumed models. The secondary nuclear-active particles, charged n-mesons and an outgoing nucleon, among the generated particles collide in their turn with air nuclei and they develop the so-called nuclear cascade processes while passing through the atmosphere. Gamma-rays, being the decay products of n°-mesons produced by the successive nuclear collisions, are the source of the atmospheric electromagnetic cascade showers. We make a record of particles with energies above a certain threshold energy both of the nuclear-active component and of the electro-magnetic component, which arrived at the observation level. The record consists of data of the arriving particles together with those on the primary particle. The present simulation calculation corresponds to observation of high energy cosmic-ray particles by the emulsion chamber exposed at the mountain altitudes. In particular, it provides us data of the artificial families: identity, energy and spatial distribution of member particles of the families. It is instructive to learn what kind of pattern the artificial families show at the observation plane under a certain assumption. This is indispensable for