On the estimate of the energy of the nuclei of primary cosmic radiation generating extensive air showers

The analysis of the systematic errors in the determination of the energy of the particles of primary cosmic radiation that are inherent in the method for measuring extensive air showers (EASs) indicates the necessity of the exact inclusion of fragmentation in the nuclear interactions. The application of such a model developed for describing the experiments at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider improves the agreement between the energy spectra of the ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays measured at giant EAS arrays. It has been shown that the difference between the measured primary cosmic radiation flux intensities and the energies of the primary particles is within the methodical and instrumental errors. The real accuracy of the EAS method of studying ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays has been estimated using the data from six arrays.