Employing cherenkov radiation and fluorescence light in calibrating the energy of giant air showers

A classic procedure for estimating the energy of giant air showers in terms of the parameter s(600) (density of energy deposition in a scintillator at a distance of 600 m from the shower axis) is analyzed on the basis of the model of quark-gluon strings. A simulation of the signal s(600) by means of the CORSIKA code leads to estimates of energy that are approximately 1.6 times lower than those adopted at the Yakutsk array. Estimates of energy on the basis of Cherenkov radiation agree with experimental data within the errors. Calculations of the distributions of energy deposited in the atmosphere indicate that more than 20% of this energy can be deposited at distances in excess of 100 m from the shower axis.