Study of High-Altitude Coplanarity Phenomena in Super-High-Energy EAS Cores with a Thick Calorimeter

A number of phenomena were observed in experiments on the study of cosmic rays at mountain altitudes and in the stratosphere at ultra-high energies; in particular, the coplanarity of the most energetic particles and local subcascades in the so-called families of γ-rays and hadrons in the cores of extensive air showers at E0 ≳ 2·1015 eV (√s ≳ 2 TeV). These effects are not described by theoretical models. To explain this phenomenon, it may be necessary to introduce a new process of generating the most energetic particles in the interactions of hadrons with the nuclei of atmospheric atoms. A new experimental array of cosmic ray detectors, including the ADRON-55 ionization calorimeter, has been created to study processes in EAS cores at ultra-high energies. The possibility of using it to study the coplanarity effect is being considered.