PARTICLE-PRODUCTION IN VERY-HIGH-ENERGY COSMIC-RAY EMULSION CHAMBER EVENTS - USUAL AND UNUSUAL EVENTS

We show that a simple scaling model of very forward particle productio n, consistent with accelerator and air shower data, can describe the o verall features of the very-high-energy interactions recorded with emu lsion chambers. The rapidity and transverse momentum distribution of t he secondaries are quantitatively reproduced. This is somewhat surpris ing after numerous claims that the same data implied large scaling vio lations or new dynamics. Interestingly, we cannot describe some of the Centauro events, suggesting that these events are anomalous independe ntly of their well-advertised unusual features such as the absence of neutral secondaries.