A method of measuring energy of higher than 20 GeV protons with the help of thin (about 0.6 nuclear path lengths) discrete calorimeter

Calorimeters play an important role in cosmic-ray physics and, in particular, in experiments, which are carried out in the atmosphere with balloons and on satellites in space. This paper presents a method of energy measurement for protons (at energy higher than 20 GeV) with the help of a thin discrete calorimeter (using as an example the position-sensitive silicon-tungsten calorimeter of the PAMELA experiment) developed based on the data of simulation by the Monte-Carlo method and on the results of test experiment at an accelerator in charged particle beams. The method is based on measurement of the total released energy and on the criterion of event selection, which characterizes the beginning of particle cascade development in the calorimeter. The influence of insertion of additional parameters on the energy resolution obtained with the help of this method is also studied.