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The size dependence of high energy muons and the size spectrum obtained in the air shower experiment suggest that the mean mass of cosmic rays remains nearly constant at approx 15 up to 5 x 1000,000 GeV and becomes one beyond. The composition model in which nuclei are removed spectrum steepens at 6.7 x 10 power GeV due to leakage from the galaxy, which explains the data which are consistent with data from other experiments.
Changes of cosmic ray intensity determined with eleven year solar activity cycle
Recent experiments led to conflicting results with regard to the absolute electron intensity around 10 GeV. The data in this energy region are usually not limited by statistical accuracy, but systematic uncertainties must be responsible for electron fluxes that vary by at least a factor of two between individual observations. Because of the significant implications of the electron flux for the interpretation of other measurements (such as measurements of the galactic synchrotron emission, or measurements of the electron-positron ratio), the measurement of the electron spectrum was analyzed with emphasis on the 10 GeV region. It was found that the resulting electron flux remains relatively high, at a level of about 0.3 electron/sq m sec ster GeV at 10 GeV.
Characteristics of albedo, or backscatter current, providing a 'background' for calorimeter experiments in high energy cosmic rays are analyzed. The comparison of experimental data obtained in the flights of the ATIC spectrometer is made with simulations performed using the GEANT 3.21 code. The influence of the backscatter on charge resolution in the ATIC experiment is discussed.
The Energetic Trans-Iron Composition Experiment (ENTICE) experiment is one of two experiments which comprise the Heavy Nuclei Explorer (HNX) mission. The experimental goal of ENTICE is to measure with high precision the elemental abundances of all nuclei with 10LZL82. This will enable us to determine if the injection mechanism for the cosmic ray accelerator is controlled by FIP or Volatility and to study the mix of nucleosynthetic processes that contribute to the galactic cosmic ray source. The ENTICE experiment utilizes the dE/dx-C method of charge determination and consists of silicon dE/dx detectors, Cherenkov detectors with two different refractive indices, and a scintillating fiber hodoscope. The geometrical factor of the instrument is approximately 8m2sr. We will present a description of the instrument and its expected performance based on beam tests and a balloon flight of a prototype instrument.
Three-dimensional shielding effects on cosmic ray charged particle fluences were measured with plastic nuclear track detectors in the P0006 experiment on Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF). The azimuthal and polar angle distributions of the galactic cosmic ray particles (mostly relativistic iron) were measured in the main stack and in four side stacks of the P0006 experiment, located on the west end of the LDEF satellite. A shadowing effect of the shielding of the LDEF satellite is found. Total fluence of stopping protons was measured as a function of the position in the main and side stacks of the P0006 experiment. Location dependence of total track density is explained by the three-dimensional shielding model of the P0006 stack. These results can be used to validate 3D mass model and transport code calculations and also for predictions of the outer radiation environment for the Space Station Freedom.
The ENTICE experiment is one of two instruments which make up the HNX mission. The experimental goal of ENTICE is to measure with high precision the elemental abundances of all nuclei with 10<=Z<=82. This will enable us to distinguish between possible injection mechanisms for the galactic cosmic ray accelerator such-as those dependent upon volatility or first ionization potential, and to study the mix of nucleosynthetic processes that contribute to the galactic cosmic ray source. The ENTICE experiment utilizes the dE/dx-C method of charge determination and consists of silicon dE/dx detectors, Cherenkov detectors with two different refractive indices, and a scintillating fiber hodoscope. The geometrical factor of the instrument is 8m2.sr. We will present a description of the instrument and its expected performance based on beam tests and a balloon flight of a prototype instrument.
The ENTICE experiment is one of two instruments that make up the HNX mission. The experimental goal of ENTICE is to measure with high precision the elemental abundances of all nuclei with Z between 10 and 82. This will enable us to determine if the injection mechanism for the cosmic ray accelerator is controlled by FIP or Volatility and to study the mix of nucleosynthetic processes that contribute to the galactic cosmic ray source. The ENTICE experiment utilizes the dE/dx-C method of charge determination and consists of silicon dE/dx detectors, Cherenkov detectors with two different refractive indices, and a fiber hodoscope. We will describe the instrument and its performance based on beam tests of a prototype instrument.
ATIC (Advanced Thin Ionization Calorimeter) is a balloon borne experiment designed to measure cosmic ray composition for elements from hydrogen to iron and their energy spectra from 30 GeV to near 100 TeV. It is comprised of a fully active BGO calorimeter, a carbon interaction target, scintillator hodoscopes, and a silicon matrix that is used as a charge detector in the experiment. ATIC had two successful balloon flights in Antarctica: from 28 Dec 2000 to 13 Jan 2001 (ATIC-1) and from 29 Dec 2002 to 18 Jan 2003 (ATIC-2). Preliminary rigidity spectra of protons and helium nuclei and their ratio are presented for the test flight (ATIC-1). Particular attention is given to problems associated with measuring energy.
The contribution of r-process and s-process nucleosynthesis to the Cameron (1980) solar system (SS) abundances for Z at least 33 has been derived. In the interval Z equals 34-40 HEAO-3 data extrapolated to the cosmic-ray source (CRS) fit the solar system mix better than r-process. In the interval Z between 26-40 the HEAO-3 results for CRS/SS follow the same general correlation with first ionization potential as for the lighter elements although there are deviations in detail.
The Balloon-borne Experiment with a Superconducting Spectrometer (BESS) collaboration has made precise measurements of the spectra of cosmic ray antiprotons and light nuclei and conducted a sensitive search for antinuclei. Ten BESS high-latitude flights, eight from Canada and two from Antarctica, span more than a Solar cycle between 1993 and 2007/2008. BESS measurements of low-energy antiprotons constrain candidate models for dark matter including the possible signature of primordial black hole evaporation. The stringent BESS measurements of antiprotons and the elemental and isotopic spectra of H and He provide strong constraints on models of cosmic-ray transport in the Galaxy and Solar System. BESS has also reported the first antideuterium upper limit. BESS employs a superconducting magnetic-rigity spectrometer with time-of-flight and aerogel Cherenkov detectors to identify incident particles by charge, charge sign, mass, and energy. The BESS-Polar long-duration instrument has reduced lower energy limit of 100 MeV (top of the atmosphere) to increase its sensitivity to possible primary antiproton sources. BESS-Polar II was rebuilt with extended magnet lifetime, improved detector and electronic performance, and greater data storage capacity. It was flown fro Antarctica December 2007-January 2008, recording about 4.6 bission events during 24.5 days at float altitude with the magnet on. During the flight the influence of a high-speed stream in the Solar wind was observed. Details of the BESS-Polar II instrument and flight performance are reported elsewhere at this conference. The successful BESS-Polar II flight at Solar minimum is especially important. Most cosmic-ray antiprotons are secondary products of nuclear interactions of primary cosmic-ray nuclei with the interstellar gas, giving a spectrum that peaks at about 2 GeV and falls rapidly to higher and lower energies. However, BESS data taken in the previous Solar minimum show a small excess over secondary expectations at low energies, possibly suggesting the presence of an additional component that may be masked at higher levels of Solar modulation. The high-statistics Solar minimum data obtained by BESS-Polar II will provide a difinitive test of this component. We will review the BESS program and report the latest results including the antiproton and proton spectra measured in the BESS-Polar I flight, the search for cosmic antinuclei, and the status of the BESS-Polar II analysis.
Design of experiments and systems for HEAO to determine composition and spectra of high energy cosmic rays
The Pioneer Venus Orbiter gamma burst detector is an astrophysics experiment for monitoring cosmic gamma-ray bursts. It is included in this planetary mission to provide a long baseline for accurately locating the sources of these bursts in order to identify them with specific astronomical objects. Responses to 14 gamma-ray burst events were examined; these events were verified from data acquired by other systems. Preliminary locations are proposed for three events, based on data from the Pioneer Venus Orbiter, ISEE C, and Vela spacecraft. These locations will be improved, and additional locations will be determined by including in the analyses data from Helios B and the Russian Venera 11, Venera 12, and Prognoz 7 spacecraft.
This paper describes the measurements of the ultraheavy cosmic ray abundances obtained by the Heavy Nuclei Experiment aboard the NASA High Energy Astronomy Observatory-3. It is found that the cosmic ray abundances are in broad agreement with solar system abundances with a step-FIP fractionation model applied although in detail there are some differences. In particular, Ge and Pb appear to be underabundant in the cosmic radiation. Although the platinum/lead ratio and the actinides are consistent with some r-process enhancement, the cosmic ray source is not dominated by the r-process up through the 50s as evidenced by the Sr/Rb ratio and by the abundance of Sn and Ba. The actinides are not greatly enhanced, ruling out freshly synthesized r-process production as the primary source of the heavy cosmic rays.
It has been clearly established by several different experiments that following the last solar maximum (about 1969), there was a significant phase lag or hysteresis effect between changes in the low rigidity galactic cosmic rays and the high rigidity components. It was possible to explain this in terms of the diffusion-convection-modulation theory by varying either the diffusion coefficient or the size of the modulation region as a function of time. During the ensuing recovery phase of the solar modulated spectra, at the mid point toward the minimum of the solar activity, new striking features have been observed, and these new observations are discussed.
Ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) are the messengers of the most extreme physics in the cosmos; however, efforts to identify their origins have thus far been thwarted by the fact that they don’t point back to their sources. Using statistical studies cross-correlating UHECR arrival directions with astrophysical catalogs, the ground-based Pierre Auger Observatory has reported hints of a correlation with nearby starburst galaxies, as well as lower-significance correlations with other classes of astrophysical sources. Space-based UHECR experiments, such as POEMMA and ZAP, will monitor large interaction volumes on the Earth or the Moon. Within a few years of mission operation time, both missions will achieve unprecedented exposures at energies above40EeV across the entire sky. In this contribution, we present studies of the cross-correlation between UHECR event arrival directions and astrophysical catalogs as motivated by expectations for the detector performance for POEMMA and ZAP. We find that both POEMMA and ZAP will achieve 5σ discovery reach for many plausible astrophysical scenarios.
New observations of low energy (approximately 1 to 200 MeV/nuc) cosmic rays measured by three newly launched experiments on Solar, Anomalous, and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX) during 1992 and 1993 show the strong presence of anomalous cosmic ray (ACR) nitrogen and oxygen, well before the approaching solar minimum. When compared with ACR temporal variations over the past two solar cycles we find that the 1992-1993 fluxes are approximately 5 to 10 times their level at corresponding neutron monitor counting rates in 1969-1970 and 1985.
We describe a dedicated cosmic-ray telescope that explores a new method for detecting Cerenkov radiation from high-energy primary cosmic rays and the large particle air shower they induce upon entering the atmosphere. Using a camera comprising 16 multi-anode photomultiplier tubes for a total of 256 pixels, the Track Imaging Cerenkov Experiment (TrICE) resolves substructures in particle air showers with 0.086deg resolution. Cerenkov radiation is imaged using a novel two-part optical system in which a Fresnel lens provides a wide-field optical trigger and a mirror system collects delayed light with four times the magnification. TrICE records well-resolved cosmic-ray air showers at rates ranging between 0.01-0.1 Hz.