Relationship of the spectrum of sea level muons to that of the primary cosmic rays

An analysis is presented of the use of the spectrum of near vertical cosmic ray muons in deriving the energy spectrum of primary cosmic ray nucleons. The model used for high energy interactions in the atmosphere is that derived from ISR measurements, which cover the range 2.5*102-1.5*103 GeV, and their extrapolation. The effect of variations from straightforward extrapolation is also examined. The nucleon spectrum is used to derive alternative spectra of primary nuclei for different assumptions about the primary mass composition. An analysis is also given of the distribution of primary nucleon energies and primary rigidities which contribute to muons of various threshold energies.