Observation of a Significant Flow of Neutral Galactic Particles in the Stratosphere at Energies in the Range of 1013–1015 eV

Abstract

A reanalysis of experimental data from the RUssia-Nippon JOint Balloon (RUNJOB) emulsion experiment on the basis of a new method aimed at searches for primary galactic particles in events identified as those of nucleon-nucleus interaction confirmed the original result that consisted in the absence of a large number (about 50%) of tracks of incident particles. A comparative analysis of such events where there is a detected primary track and where there is no primary track was performed in terms of the energy, angular distribution, and depth of penetration into x-ray emulsion chambers (XREC). The hypothesis that a neutral component is present in cosmic rays at the XREC exposure level is discussed.