A new method for studying cosmic ray anisotropy by means of muon bundle detection at the Earth’s surface is described. An important advantage of this method is a simple way to compensate the atmospheric effects in the counting rate of muon bundles. Seasonal and diurnal variations of the muon bundle counting rate are almost completely eliminated by using only one atmospheric parameter. For the first time, the muon multiplicity in the detected bundles was used to estimate the dependence of the anisotropy amplitude on the primary energy. Parameters of the cosmic ray dipole anisotropy were obtained for two average logarithmic values of primary energies of 1 and 5 PeV.

From 2012 to 2023, the PRISMA-32 array operated at the Experimental Complex NEVOD (MEPhI, Moscow). The purpose of the array was to study extensive air showers detecting their neutron and electron-photon components using unshielded neutron detectors. To expand the capabilities of this facility, including the study of cosmic and geophysical phenomena with a neutron flux, its upgrade was carried out. In this upgrade, a measurement channel to study the variations of the neutron background and the processes affecting them was added. To achieve this, the photomultipliers, the integrating amplifiers, the digitalizing electronics and the high-voltage power supply system were replaced. The paper describes the structure of the upgraded array, which was named PRISMA-36, and presents the results of studying the characteristics of the main elements of its "variation" channel. A method for identifying signals caused by neutron capture and the determined criteria for their selection are discussed. An example of a Forbush decrease, caused by a X1.1-class flare and recorded with the variation channel of the PRISMA-36 array, is given.

The authors describe a way of calibrating the URAN array with thin scintillation detectors using joint events of registration of extensive air showers with the NEVOD-EAS array. Results are presented from reconstructing parameters of extensive air showers based on data from the URAN array with allowance for coefficients of calibration.

A new algorithm for selecting signals caused by the detection of neutrons is described. The estimates of its effectiveness for the PRISMA-32 and URAN arrays are presented. Using this algorithm, for various air-shower sizes the number of neutrons was reconstructed, the time distributions of neutrons and their lateral distribution functions were obtained.

A comparison of the reconstruction accuracy of the shower size and coordinates of the axes of extensive air showers based on the response of the NEVOD-EAS array are presented. The reconstruction is based on various functions of the lateral distribution of particles. A comparison of the lateral distribution of EAS particles according to modeled and experimental data is given.

A trigger system of the Experimental Complex NEVOD (EC NEVOD) unique scientific facility is described. Detectors and setups that differ in area, physical principles of detection, and background counting rate are included in the EC NEVOD to detect various components of cosmic rays. Each detector is equipped with its own original data-acquisition and trigger system and is able to operate independently. In addition, the detectors are all combined by a single system of data triggering and synchronization. Features of the individual detector systems, their main characteristics and methods of their initialization and integration are presented.

In this paper, we describe the quasi-spherical optical module QSM-6M to detect Cherenkov radiation in water. The module is based on six photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) with flat photocathodes Hamamatsu R877. We discuss the results of the photomultiplier testing, as well as the choice of the high-voltage divider providing the PMT dynamic range from 1 to 105 photoelectrons. The techniques for studying QSM-6M characteristics, as well as the results of the underwater testing of the module for an 18-month period are presented. We also present the results of the analysis of the QSM-6M response to single-muon and multiparticle events detected by the installations of the Experimental Complex NEVOD.

Parameters of extensive air showers detected by the facilities of the NEVOD Experimental Complex are analyzed and compared with events simulated. The calibration and energy threshold of the NEVOD-EAS detector are discussed, as well as the results of retrieval of the axis directions from the NEVOD-EAS and DECOR data. An example of the event detected by all facilities of the complex is given.

The data of cosmic ray NEVOD-DECOR experiment on the investigation of inclined muon bundles for a long time period (May 2012 - March 2021) are presented. The analysis showed that the observed intensity of muon bundles at primary cosmic ray energies of about 1 EeV and higher can be compatible with the expectation in frame of widely used hadron interaction models only under the assumption of an extremely heavy mass composition. This conclusion is consistent with data of several experiments on investigations of muon content in air showers, but contradicts the available fluorescence data on X_{max} Xmax which favor a light mass composition at these energies. In order to clarify the nature of the "muon puzzle", investigations of the muon bundle energy deposit in the detector material were carried out. For the first time, experimental estimates of the average energy of muons in the bundles of inclined air showers initiated by primary particles with energies from 10 to 1000 PeV have been obtained.

In this paper we discuss the calibration of the NEVOD-EAS array which is a part of the Experimental Complex NEVOD, as well as the results of studying the response features of its scintillation detectors. We present the results of the detectors energy calibration, performed by comparing their response to different types of particles obtained experimentally and simulated with the Geant4 software package, as well as of the measurements of their timing resolution. We also discuss the results of studies of the light collection non-uniformity of the NEVOD-EAS detectors and of the accuracy of air-shower arrival direction reconstruction, which have been performed using other facilities of the Experimental Complex NEVOD: the muon hodoscope URAGAN and the muon tracking detector DECOR.

In this work, we use muon bundles, which are formed in extensive air showers and detected at the ground level, as a tool for searching for anisotropy in high-energy cosmic rays. Such choice is explained by the penetrating ability of muons that allows them to retain the direction of primary particles with good accuracy. In 2012–2022, we performed long-term muon-bundle detection with the coordinate-tracking detector DECOR, which is a part of the Experimental Complex NEVOD (MEPhI, Moscow). To search for cosmic-ray anisotropy, muon bundles arriving at zenith angles in the range from 15° to 75° in the local coordinate system are used. During the entire period of data taking, about 14 million of such events have been accumulated. In this paper, we describe some methods developed in the Experimental Complex NEVOD and implemented in our research, including: the method for compensating for the influence of meteorological conditions on the intensity of muon bundles at the Earth’s surface, the method for accounting for the design features of the detector and the inhomogeneity of the detection efficiency for different directions, as well as the method for estimating the primary energies of cosmic rays. Here we present the results of the search for the dipole anisotropy of cosmic rays with energies in the PeV region and also compare them with the results obtained at other scientific facilities.

Experimental Complex NEVOD (MEPhI, Moscow) includes several detectors and installations for measuring different components of extensive air showers (EAS). For the development of multicomponent EAS studies with the implementation of a complementary approach to the analysis of experimental information of the scientific facilities of the complex, a specialized hardware and software system is being created. This system will speed up the obtaining of new physical results by simplification of development and implementation of both traditional approaches and modern methods for data processing, including neural networks and algorithms for analyzing large amounts of data. The hardware and software architecture of the system, its features and prospects of the further development are discussed.

NEVOD-DECOR is the unique experiment where systematic studies of cosmic ray muon bundles in a wide range of zenith angles and, accordingly, the energies of primary cosmic rays are carried out. Impressive experimental material (more than 100 thousand events) has been accumulated over a long time period from May 2012 to December 2022. The earlier developed method of local muon density spectra allows us to compare experimental data on muon bundles with the results of the EAS muon component simulations. The analysis showed that the observed intensity of muon bundles at primary cosmic ray energies of about 1 EeV and higher can be compatible with the expectation (in frame of widely used hadronic interaction models) only under the assumption of an extremely heavy mass composition. It is consistent with data of several other experiments on investigations of air shower muon content, but contradicts the available measurements of the depth of the shower maximum in the atmosphere by means of fluorescent technique, which favor a light mass composition at these energies. This probably leads to the need to revise the existing hadronic interaction models.

Results are presented from measuring the energy characteristics of muon bundles in inclined extensive air showers in the NEVOD-DECOR experiment. Estimates of the average energy of muons in the bundles are obtained in the 10 to 1000 PeV range of primary particle energies and compared to values calculated under different assumptions about the composition of cosmic radiation and models of hadronic interactions. An excess of experimental values of the average muon energy relative to calculations is found for high local densities corresponding to primary particle energies above 100 PeV.

The Experimental complex NEVOD includes several different setups for studying various components of extensive air showers (EAS) in the energy range from 10 10 to 10 18 eV. The NEVOD-EAS array for detection of the EAS electron-photon component began its data taking in 2018. It is a distributed system of scintillation detectors installed over an area of about 10 4 m 2 . A distinctive feature of this array is its cluster organization with different-altitude layout of the detecting elements. The main goal of the NEVOD-EAS array is to obtain an estimation of the primary particle energy for events measured by various detectors of the Experimental complex NEVOD. This paper describes the design, operation principles and data processing of the NEVOD-EAS array. The criteria for the event selection and the accuracy of the EAS parameters reconstruction obtained on the simulated events are discussed. The results of the preliminary analysis of experimental data obtained during a half-year operation are presented.

Data of the NEVOD-DECOR experiment on investigations of inclined cosmic ray muon bundles for a long time period (May 2012 – March 2021) are presented. Their comparison with the results of calculations based on simulations of EAS muon component allows one to study the behavior of the energy spectrum and mass composition of primary cosmic rays and/or to check the validity of hadron interaction models in a wide energy range from about 10^16 to more than 10^18 eV. The analysis showed that the observed intensity of muon bundles at primary particle energies of about 10^18 eV and higher can be compatible with the expectation only under the assumption of an extremely heavy mass composition of cosmic rays. This conclusion is consistent with data of a number of other experiments investigating the muon component of air showers at ultra-high energies. On the contrary, measurements of the depth of the shower maximum in the atmosphere (Xmax) in the experiments using air fluorescence technique favor a light mass composition of primary cosmic rays at these energies. This contradiction (so-called “muon puzzle”) cannot be resolved without serious changes of the existing hadron interaction models.

The muon puzzle is an excess of muon bundles generated by primary cosmic rays (PCR) at energies above 10 $${}^{17}$$ eV compared to estimations that assume even a heavy composition of PCR. The appearance of such excess of muons can be caused both by cosmophysical (the change in the spectrum and composition of cosmic rays) and nuclear-physical (the changing features of the hadron interaction) reasons. To separate these two possibilities it is necessary to measure energy characteristics of muon bundles and their dependence on energy of primary particles. Today the complex NEVOD-DECOR is the only one for such type experiment conduction. To improve the conditions of this experiment a further development of the experimental complex is planned: construction of new coordinate-tracking detector TREK for increasing of the area and improving of spatial resolution of muon track detection, modernization of the Cherenkov water detector for optimization of its structure and improvement of accuracy of energy deposit of muon bundle measurement, inclusion of the installation NEVOD-EAS in the experiment for independent evaluation of primary particle energy.

Приводится описание алгоритма работы программы для моделирования процессов потерь энергии мюонов высоких энергий. Обсуждаются результаты моделирования спектра мюонов и образованных ими каскадных ливней на глубине воды 4.5–5.5 км.

An algorithm is described for the operation of a program that simulates processes of the energy loss of high-energy muons. Results from simulating the spectra of muons and cascade showers generated by muons at water depths of 4.5–5.5 km are discussed.