The satellite-borne experiment PAMELA has been used to make a new measurement of the cosmic-ray antiproton flux and the antiproton-to-proton flux ratio which extends previously published measurements down to 60 MeV and up to 180 GeV in kinetic energy. During 850 days of data acquisition approximately 1500 antiprotons were observed. The measurements are consistent with purely secondary production of antiprotons in the galaxy. More precise secondary production models are required for a complete interpretation of the results.
Precision measurements of the electron component in the cosmic radiation provide important information about the origin and propagation of cosmic rays in the Galaxy. Here we present new results regarding negatively charged electrons between 1 and 625 GeV performed by the satellite-borne experiment PAMELA. This is the first time that cosmic-ray electrons have been identified above 50 GeV. The electron spectrum can be described with a single power law energy dependence with spectral index -3.18 +- 0.05 above the energy region influenced by the solar wind (> 30 GeV). No significant spectral features are observed and the data can be interpreted in terms of conventional diffusive propagation models. However, the data are also consistent with models including new cosmic-ray sources that could explain the rise in the positron fraction.
We report on a new measurement of the cosmic ray antiproton spectrum. The data were collected by the balloon-borne experiment CAPRICE98 which was flown on 28-29 May 1998 from Fort Sumner, New Mexico, USA. The experiment used the NMSU-WIZARD/CAPRICE98 balloon-borne magnet spectrometer equipped with a gas Ring Imaging Cherenkov (RICH) detector, a time-of-flight system, a tracking device consisting of drift chambers and a superconducting magnet and a silicon-tungsten calorimeter. The RICH detector was the first ever flown capable of mass-resolving charge-one particles at energies above 5 GeV. A total of 31 antiprotons with rigidities between 4 and 50 GV at the spectrometer were identified with small backgrounds from other particles. The absolute antiproton energy spectrum was determined in the kinetic energy region at the top of the atmosphere between 3.2 and 49.1 GeV. We found that the observed antiproton spectrum and the antiproton-to-proton ratio are consistent with a pure secondary origin. However, a primary component may not be excluded.
Precision measurements of the positron component in the cosmic radiation provide important information about the propagation of cosmic rays and the nature of particle sources in our Galaxy. The satellite-borne experiment PAMELA has been used to make a new measurement of the cosmic-ray positron flux and fraction that extends previously published measurements up to 300 GeV in kinetic energy. The combined measurements of the cosmic-ray positron energy spectrum and fraction provide a unique tool to constrain interpretation models. During the recent solar minimum activity period from July 2006 to December 2009 approximately 24500 positrons were observed. The results cannot be easily reconciled with purely secondary production and additional sources of either astrophysical or exotic origin may be required.
PAMELA is a satellite borne experiment designed to study with great accuracy cosmic rays of galactic, solar, and trapped nature in a wide energy range (protons: 80 MeV-700 GeV, electrons 50 MeV-400 GeV). Main objective is the study of the antimatter component: antiprotons (80 MeV-190 GeV), positrons (50 MeV-270 GeV) and search for antimatter with a precision of the order of $10^{-8}$). The experiment, housed on board the Russian Resurs-DK1 satellite, was launched on June, 15 2006 in a $350times 600 km$ orbit with an inclination of 70 degrees. The detector is composed of a series of scintillator counters arranged at the extremities of a permanent magnet spectrometer to provide charge, Time-of-Flight and rigidity information. Lepton/hadron identification is performed by a Silicon-Tungsten calorimeter and a Neutron detector placed at the bottom of the device. An Anticounter system is used offline to reject false triggers coming from the satellite. In self-trigger mode the Calorimeter, the neutron detector and a shower tail catcher are capable of an independent measure of the lepton component up to 2 TeV. In this work we describe the experiment, its scientific objectives and the performance in its first two years of operation. Data on protons of trapped, secondary and galactic nature - as well as measurements of the December 13 2006 Solar Particle Event - are provided.
Designed to be a successor of the previous flown space based gamma ray detectors, the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) is also an electron detector. Taking advantage of its capability to separate electromagnetic and hadronic signals it is possible to accurately measure the Cosmic Ray electron spectrum. The spectra of primary cosmic ray electrons below 20 GeV is influenced by many local effects such as solar modulation and the geomagnetic cutoff. For energies below a few GeV it is possible to observe the albedo population of electrons which are controlled by the local magnetic field. In this paper we present the LAT electron analysis in particular event selection and validation as well as the first results on the measurement of the electron spectrum below 20 GeV.
PAMELA Collaboration: O. Adriani
,G. C. Barbarino
,G. A. Bazilevskaya
.
(2010)
.
"PAMELA results on the cosmic-ray antiproton flux from 60 MeV to 180 GeV in kinetic energy"
.
Emiliano Mocchiutti
هل ترغب بارسال اشعارات عن اخر التحديثات في شمرا-اكاديميا