On the total charm production cross section in hadronic interactions at high energies surds>18TeV

Results of processing experimental data on charm production in hadron-hadron interactions are presented. The paper discusses three channels of charm production: (1) single diffractive dissociation, (2) double diffractive dissociation, (3) hard processes. The analysis of single diffractive dissociation is carried out within the frame of the phenomenological model of diffractive production and quark statistics based on the additive quark model (AQM). In a low-energy region surds=20--40GeV, the cross sections sigma/sub pNrightward arrowccmacronXlogarithmic function with parameters connected by the AQM relationship. At collider energies of 200, 540, 900, 1800 GeV, the values of sigmastatistics method from the data on diffractive dissociation. The estimation of the double diffractive dissociation contribution is carried out by the same method. The expected contribution of hard processes is estimated on the basis of TEVATRON data on dsigma/dp/sub perp to/ at surds=1.96TeV, 5.5 less-than-or- equal p/sub perp toenergy surds=1.96TeV and sigma/sub pprightward arrowccmacronX/simeq1590±540mub at LHC energy surds=14TeV. Opportunities of the use of the obtained results for calibration of a flux of 'prompt' muons in the high-energy component of cosmic rays are discussed.