Electromagnetic Interactions and Photon–Electron Cascades

Abstract

In this chapter we treat radio emission and detection in air showers. We offer in the introduction a historic review of the subject, from the early attempts in the fifties to the present activities. We then present the different mechanisms that are believed to be responsible for radio emission in showers and the accompanying theories, we discuss coherence and polarization, the relevance of the various mechanisms and their relative contribution to the total radio burst generated by a shower. This is followed by a summary of experimental and simulation data.