Study of the penetrating component of cosmic rays underground using large scintillation detectors

Abstract

Abstract. The study of penetrating component of cosmic ray underground using large scintillation detectors situated in Russia and Italy is carried out during more than 40 years. The main results obtained at the different depths from 25 m w.e. to 5200 m w.e. are presented in this report. IntroductionThe term "Underground Physics" was introduced by prof. C. Castagnoli during the 1 st symposium on Underground physics in Saint-Vincent (UP-85) dedicated to the opening ceremony of the russianitalian LSD detector under MontBlanc [1]. In this year we can celebrate 30 years of Underground Physics (UP). UP as physics in general is the experimental science. The mother of the truth in physics is the experiment. Therefore paying tribute to the wonderful works of theoreticians in this field of knowledge we will say here about the experiments carried out by collaborators of Russian Academy of Science and collaborators of RAS with their Italian colleagues in UP during that time: ASD (Arteomovsk Scintillation Detector) [2], BUST (Baksan Underground Scintillation Telescope) [3], LSD (Liquid Scintillation Detector) [4,5], LVD (Large Volume Detector) [6,7], SAGE (Ga-Ge experiment for solar neutrino detection in Baksan) [8], Baikal underwater experiment [9].The main problems of UP are: 1. Study of neutrino radiation (atmospheric neutrinos; solar neutrinos; neutrinos from collapsing stars); 2. Construction of underground detectors; 3. Detection of neutrino radiation from SN1987A; 4. Study of penetrating component of cosmic rays (energy spectrum; study of deep inelastic scattering of muons; generation of nuclear active component underground; depth-intensity curve of muons; depth-intensity curve of neutrons; seasonal modulation of the cosmic ray muon flux and neutron flux from muons; μ+/μ-ratio).