DETERMINATION OF THE ENERGY-DEPENDENCE OF THE PROTON-AIR AND PROTON-PROTON INELASTICITIES

We combine cosmic-ray information on the attenuation of the hadronic f lux in the atmosphere and accelerator results on proton-proton total c ross-sections to determine first the average proton-air inelasticity, Kp-air, and then, using Glauber model, the average proton-proton inela sticity, K-pp. At the LHC, Akeno, EASTOP, and Fly's Eye energies, root s approximate to (10-100) TeV, Kp-air shows a tendency to increase wi th energy, while K-pp remains practically constant. This suggests that minijets and large E-T production do not affect K-pp, but that the in creasing role of multiple interactions in p-air collisions makes Kp-ai r increase.