Mutually compensative pseudo solutions of primary energy spectra in the knee region

The problem of the uniqueness of solutions during the evaluation of primary energy spectra in the knee region using an extensive air shower (EAS) data set and the EAS inverse approach is investigated. It is shown that the unfolding of primary energy spectra in the knee region leads to mutually compensative pseudo solutions. These solutions may be the reason for the observed disagreements in the elementary energy spectra of cosmic rays in the 1–100 PeV energy range obtained from different experiments.