Alignment in Gamma-Hadron Families Detected by Deep Lead X-Ray Emulsion Chambers

Abstract

Alignment of main fluxes of energy in a target plane is found in families of cosmic ray particles detected in deep lead X-ray emulsion chambers. The fraction of aligned events becomes unexpectedly large for superfamilies with the total energy of gamma-quanta exceeding $10^3$ TeV. This can be considered as an evidence of existence of coplanar scattering of secondary particles in interactions of primary particles with superhigh energies ($E_0 \ga 10^{16}$ eV). Data analysis suggests that production of most superfamilies happens low above the chamber and is characterized by a coplanar scattering and quasiscaling spectrum of secondary particles in the fragmentation region.