Photonuclear production of cosmogenic beryllium-7 in the terrestrial atmosphere

Average N(γ,X)7Be, O(γ,X)7Be, and C(γ,X)7Be cross sections of the natural composition of target isotopes in an energy range from threshold to 90 MeV are measured. By using cross sections of the photoproduction of 7Be and a simulation of the nuclear-electromagnetic cascade in the atmosphere, the contribution from the photonuclear mechanism into the production of a cosmogenic 7Be radionuclide in the Earth's atmosphere is investigated. It is shown that the contribution from the photonuclear channel into the production of cosmogenic 7Be is to be taken into account in processes of the accumulation and transfer of 7Be in the ground layer.