Composition of the flux of cosmic-ray hadrons at mountain altitudes at energies E>0. 5 TeV

An apparatus combining an ionization calorimeter with an x-ray transition radiation detector has been used to carry out direct measurements of the composition of the flux of single cosmic-ray hadrons. Quantitative data are obtained for the dependence of the ..pi../p and n/p ratios on the energy of the hadrons for various values of the density of the atmospheric accompaniment. In the analysis of the data we have taken into account various background processes which influence both the accuracy of identification and the observed density of the accompaniment. Comparison of the experimental and theoretical values permits us to state that the inclusive spectra of hadrons in hadron-nucleus interactions at energies E>500 GeV do not differ appreciably from the spectra in hadron-hadron interactions in the fragmentation region.