The Secondary Cosmic Radiation

Abstract

The interaction of a primary particle at the top of the atmosphere produces a complex secondary radiation, whose composition and properties are discussed in this chapter. Electrons and positrons, gammas, muons, charged hadrons and neutrons are the main components of the secondary cosmic ray radiation. The relative abundance of these species at the various altitudes along the atmosphere, their intensity profile, as well as the energy and angular distribution of each component constitute an important part of the cosmic ray physics on Earth. A collection of experimental data originating from pioneer measurements of these quantities, compared to most recent findings is presented along the chapter. Different parameterizations of the muon flux at the sea level are also discussed and compared in Appendix L.