Engineering topics

Stephens, S. A.

Publications and source records attributed to Stephens, S. A..

58 records · Page 4

NASA NTRS1975

A determination of the sea level muon spectrum using accelerator data and some implications

The differential sea-level muon spectrum is calculated from first principle for a pure beam of cosmic-ray protons cascading in the atmosphere by using a representation of the invariant cross section that describes the observed data from 6 GeV to 1500 GeV. This spectrum is compared with the observed muon spectrum to deduce information on the interaction characteristics of nuclei-nuclei collisions.

Badhwar, G. D.↗

NASA NTRS1975

An experiment to measure cosmic ray 2H and 3He in the 4-10 GV range

It is known that the mean matter traversed by cosmic rays, X, can be obtained from the observed ratio of the flux of daughter nuclei to that of the parent nuclei provided X is much less than the attenuation mean free of the daughter nuclei. This condition is well satisfied in the case of 2H and 3He. We propose to measure the 2H/1H and 3He/4He ratios, using a multiwire proportional counter array and a superconducting magnet to measure the rigidity, and a set of aerogel Cerenkov counters to measure the velocity, thus yielding the mass of the particle. Results of a Monte-Carlo calculation based on actual experimental conditions are presented to show the resolution of the instrument. The area solid angle of the telescope is 90 sq cm sr with an average maximum detectable momentum of 140 GV.

Badhwar, G. D.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Energetics of monopole production

The relativistic kinematics of monopole production and mechanisms of energy loss and gain for monopoles in free space and in the upper atmosphere are studied. It is shown that a monopole produced in a nuclear interaction must have a laboratory energy greater than about 200,000 GeV if its mass is greater than 600 GeV per sq cm. A study of energy loss mechanisms of such an energetic monopole in the earth's magnetic field and atmosphere rules out the possibility of observing such a monopole with the parameters observed by Price et al. (1975). The very low velocity of the observed monopole also makes an extraterrestrial production mechanism very unlikely.

Badhwar, G. D.↗

NASA NTRS1974

Propagation of cosmic rays in the galaxy

The characteristics of a model for analyzing the propagation of cosmic rays are discussed. The requirements for analyzing the relevant observational data on cosmic rays are defines as: (1) the chemical and isotopic composition of cosmic rays as a function of energy, (2) the flux and energy spectrum of the individual nucleonic components, (3) the flux and energy spectrum of the electronic component, (4) the cosmic ray prehistory, and (5) the degree of isotropy in their arrival directions as a function of energy. It is stated that the model which has been able to bring to pass the greatest measure of success is the galactic confinement model.

Daniel, R. R.↗