No Arabic abstract
The DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) is a satellite-borne detector for high-energy cosmic rays and $gamma$-rays. To fully understand the detector performance and obtain reliable physical results, extensive simulations of the detector are necessary. The simulations are particularly important for the data analysis of cosmic ray nuclei, which relies closely on the hadronic and nuclear interactions of particles in the detector material. Widely adopted simulation softwares include the GEANT4 and FLUKA, both of which have been implemented for the DAMPE simulation tool. Here we describe the simulation tool of DAMPE and compare the results of proton shower properties in the calorimeter from the two simulation softwares. Such a comparison gives an estimate of the most significant uncertainties of our proton spectral analysis.
We report on the comparison of production characteristics of secondary protons and charged pions in the interactions of protons and charged pions with momentum between 3 GeV/c and 15 GeV/c with beryllium, copper, and tantalum nuclei, with simulations by the FLUKA and Geant4 Monte Carlo tool kits. Overall production cross-sections are reasonably well reproduced, within factors of two. In more detail, there are areas with poor agreement that are unsatisfactory and call for modelling improvements. Overall, the current FLUKA simulation fares better than the current Geant4 simulation.
The DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE), one of the four scientific space science missions within the framework of the Strategic Pioneer Program on Space Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is a general purpose high energy cosmic-ray and gamma-ray observatory, which was successfully launched on December 17th, 2015 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The DAMPE scientific objectives include the study of galactic cosmic rays up to $sim 10$ TeV and hundreds of TeV for electrons/gammas and nuclei respectively, and the search for dark matter signatures in their spectra. In this paper we illustrate the layout of the DAMPE instrument, and discuss the results of beam tests and calibrations performed on ground. Finally we present the expected performance in space and give an overview of the mission key scientific goals.
A BGO electromagnetic calorimeter (ECAL) is built for the DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) mission. The effect of temperature on the BGO ECAL was investigated with a thermal vacuum experiment. The light output of a BGO crystal depends on temperature significantly. The temperature coefficient of each BGO crystal bar has been calibrated, and a correction method is also presented in this paper.
A Lead Tungstate crystal produced for the electromagnetic calorimeter of the CMS experiment at the LHC was cut into three equal-length sections. The central one was irradiated with 290 MeV/c positive pions up to a fluence of (5.67 +- 0.46)x10^13 /cm^2, while the other two were exposed to a 24 GeV/c proton fluence of (1.17 +- 0.11) x 10^13/ cm^2. The damage recovery in these crystals, stored in the dark at room temperature, has been followed over two years. The comparison of the radiation-induced changes in light transmission for these crystals shows that damage is proportional to the star densities produced by the irradiation.
Northern Illinois University in collaboration with Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL) and Delhi University has been designing and building a proton CT scanner for applications in proton treatment planning. The Phase II proton CT scanner consists of eight planes of tracking detectors with two X and two Y coordinate measurements both before and after the patient. In addition, a range stack detector consisting of a stack of thin scintillator tiles, arranged in twelve eight-tile frames, is used to determine the water equivalent path length (WEPL) of each track through the patient. The X-Y coordinates and WEPL are required input for image reconstruction software to find the relative (proton) stopping powers (RSP) value of each voxel in the patient and generate a corresponding 3D image. In this Note we describe tests conducted in 2015 at the proton beam at the Central DuPage Hospital in Warrenville, IL, focusing on the range stack calibration procedure and comparisons with the GEANT~4 range stack simulation.