Total cross sections at ultrahigh energy from cosmic ray experiments

The principles and experimental procedures of methods used to estimate proton-air inelastic cross sections (PAICSs) from cosmic-ray air-shower data at energies above 10 PeV are reviewed, and data are compiled in tables and graphs and characterized. The data show that the PAICSs at air-shower energies (sq rt s greater than about 15 TeV) are a factor of two greater than those at Fermilab energies (sq rt s = about 20 GeV). A technique for relating PAICSs to the total proton-proton cross sections is developed on the basis of Glauber theory, taking quasi-elastic excitation, diffractive dissociation, and screening due to diffractive inelastic processes into account. Measured PAICSs are compared with the predictions of four different models of the energy variation of proton-proton elastic parameters, and best agreement is obtained when the total cross sections vary as the square of log s. 39 references.