The East-West Asymmetry of Positive and of Negative Mesons and the Excess of the Positives as a Function of Zenith Angle and Altitude

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Abstract
The east-west asymmetry of positive and of negative mesons of energies around 800 Mev has been determined at altitudes of 260 and 4300 meters at a geomagnetic latitude of 50° north for zenith angles of 24 and 58 degrees. It is found that more positive mesons arrive from the west than from the east and more negative mesons arrive from the east than from the west, the asymmetries being equal but of opposite sign. From the magnitude of the asymmetries it can be concluded that the majority of the mesons observed under the above-mentioned conditions are produced in the top layer of the atmosphere. An increase of the positive excess for mesons of around 800 Mev is observed with an increase of the altitude from 260 to 4300 meters.