Study of the hadronic component of extensive air showers at the Carpet-2 EAS array

A method for the detection of hadrons with a muon detector at the Carpet-2 EAS array (Baksan Neutrino Observatory, Institute for Nuclear Research, Russian Academy of Sciences) has been described. Events induced by cosmic-ray hadrons have a signature that makes it possible to reliably distinguish them from muons. The characteristics of the hadronic component of extensive air showers with $N_e\ge 10^5$ have been presented.