Engineering topics

Itazaki, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Itazaki, A..

5 records

DOE OSTI2016

MEASUREMENTS OF COSMIC-RAY PROTON AND HELIUM SPECTRA FROM THE BESS-POLAR LONG-DURATION BALLOON FLIGHTS OVER ANTARCTICA

The BESS-Polar Collaboration measured the energy spectra of cosmic-ray protons and helium during two long-duration balloon flights over Antarctica in 2004 December and 2007 December at substantially different levels of solar modulation. Proton and helium spectra probe the origin and propagation history of cosmic rays in the galaxy, and are essential to calculations of the expected spectra of cosmic-ray antiprotons, positrons, and electrons from interactions of primary cosmic-ray nuclei with the interstellar gas, and to calculations of atmospheric muons and neutrinos. We report absolute spectra at the top of the atmosphere for cosmic-ray protons in the kinetic energy range 0.2–160 GeV and helium nuclei in the range 0.15–80 GeV/nucleon. The corresponding magnetic-rigidity ranges are 0.6–160 GV for protons and 1.1–160 GV for helium. These spectra are compared to measurements from previous BESS flights and from ATIC-2, PAMELA, and AMS-02. We also report the ratio of the proton and helium fluxes from 1.1 to 160 GV and compare this to the ratios from PAMELA and AMS-02.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

NASA NTRS2013

Time Variations of Cosmic-Ray Helium Isotopes with BESS-Polar I

The Balloon-borne Experiment with a Superconducting Spectrometer (BESS) is configured with a solenoidal superconducting magnet and a suite of precision particle detectors, including time-of-flight hodoscopes based on plastic scintillators, a silica-aerogel Cherenkov detector, and a high resolution tracking system with a central jet-type drift chamber. The charges of incident particles are determined from energy losses in the scintillators. Their magnetic rigidities (momentum/charge) are measured by reconstructing each particle trajectory in the magnetic field, and their velocities are obtained by using the time-of-flight system. Together, these measurements can accurately identify helium isotopes among the incoming cosmic-ray helium nuclei up to energies in the GeV per nucleon region. The BESS-Polar I instrument flew for 8.5 days over Antarctica from December 13th to December 21st, 2004. Its long-duration flight and large geometric acceptance allow the time variations of isotopic fluxes to be studied for the first time. The time variations of helium isotope fluxes are presented here for rigidities from 1.2 to 2.5 GV and results are compared to previously reported proton data and neutron monitor data.

Cosmic-ray flux time variations↗

NASA NTRS2012

Search for Antihelium with the BESS-Polar Spectrometer

In two long-duration balloon flights over Antarctica, the BESS-Polar collaboration has searched for antihelium in the cosmic radiation with higher sensitivity than any reported investigation. BESSPolar I flew in 2004, observing for 8.5 days. BESS-Polar II flew in 2007-2008, observing for 24.5 days. No antihelium candidate was found in BESS-Polar I data among 8.4 x 10(exp 6) [Z] = 2 nuclei from 1.0 to 20 GV or in BESS-Polar II data among 4.0 x 10(exp 7) [Z] = 2 nuclei from 1.0 to 14 GV. Assuming antihelium to have the same spectral shape as helium, a 95% confidence upper limit of 6.9 x 10(exp -8) was determined by combining all the BESS data, including the two BESS-Polar flights. With no assumed antihelium spectrum and a weighted average of the lowest antihelium efficiencies from 1.6 to 14 GV, an upper limit of 1.0 x 10(exp -7) was determined for the combined BESS-Polar data. These are the most stringent limits obtained to date.

Sasaki, M.↗

NASA NTRS2011

Search for Cosmic-Ray Antiproton Origins and for Cosmological Antimatter with BESS

The balloon-borne experiment with a superconducting spectrometer (BESS) has performed cosmic-ray observations as a US-Japan cooperative space science program, and has provided fundamental data on cosmic rays to study elementary particle phenomena in the early Universe. The BESS experiment has measured the energy spectra of cosmic-ray antiprotons to investigate signatures of possible exotic origins such as dark matter candidates or primordial black holes. and searched for heavier antinuclei that might reach Earth from antimatter domains formed in the early Universe. The apex of the BESS program was reached with the Antarctic flight of BESS-Polar II, during the 2007- 2008 Austral Summer, that obtained over 4.7 billion cosmic-ray events from 24.5 days of observation. The flight took place at the expected solar minimum, when the sensitivity of the low-energy antiproton measurements to a primary source is greatest. Here, we report the scientific restults, focusing on the long-duration flights of BESS-Polar I (2004) and BESS-Polar II (2007-2008).

Yamamoto, A.↗

NASA NTRS2004

The BESS Program

In nine flights between 1993 and 2002, the Balloon Borne Experiment with a Superconducting Spectrometer (BESS) has measured the energy spectrum of cosmic-ray antiprotons between 0.18 and 4.20 GeV, and the spectra of protons and helium to several hundred GeV. BESS has also placed stringent upper limits on the existence of antihelium and antiduterons. Above about 1 GeV, models in which antiprotons are secondary products of the interactions of primary cosmic rays with the ISM agree with the BESS spectrum. Below 1 GeV, BESS data suggest the presence of an additional source of antiprotons. The antiproton/proton ratios measured between 1993 and 1999, during the Sun's positive-polarity phase, are consistent with simple models of solar modulation. Results from the 2000 flight, following the solar magnetic field reversal, show a sudden increase in the antiproton/proton ratio and tend to favor a charge-sign-dependent drift model. To extend BESS measurements to lower energies, a new instrument, BESS-Polar, is under construction for a flight from Antarctica in 2004.

Mitchell, J. W.↗