Comparing an Analytical Cascade Spectrum of High Energy Gamma Rays to those found in a Monte Carlo simulation

Abstract

In this thesis we consider the analytical model for electromagnetic cascades initiated by very high energy gamma rays due to Berezinskii. We compare the analytical prediction that the spectral energy distribution is described in general terms by a broken power-law, to findings made using a Monte Carlo simulation of such electromagnetic cascades. Our findings are that the analytical model predicts the general energy dependence of the cascade spectrum very well, and that it is remarkably insensitive to the source parameters.