On the measurement and interpretation of the fluxes of galactic cosmic-ray nuclei

Since their discovery at the beginning of the last century, the study of cosmic rays (CR) has been the source of important discoveries about how our Universe works. Still, the origins of such particles and the processes that govern their propagation in our Galaxy are open questions. In recent times, experiments such as the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02), a particle physics detector operating aboard the International Space Station since May 2011, have brought us to a precision era in studying these particles. The data provided by AMS-02 has allowed for the study of CR propagation processes and their origin and acceleration mechanisms. This thesis is divided into two parts. The first is dedicated to the phenomenological interpretation of the published AMS-02 data of nuclei with atomic numbers greater than two, carefully considering the uncertainties in the relevant nuclear cross sections. The results indicate that a simple diffusion model can reproduce the fluxes of all secondary species measured by AMS-02 with atomic numbers between 2 and 9. The second part was devoted to measuring the flux of CR deuterons, the most abundant secondary species in CRs. Several methods were developed for the different stages of the analysis: a multivariate method for background reduction, a parametric template fit for identifying particles, and an unfolding method for the deconvolution of the measured spectrum from instrumental effects. The measured deuteron flux covers the range between 0.2 and 10 GeV/n with unprecedented accuracy, providing the first ever data between 4 and 10 GeV/n

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) on the international space station:Part II - Results from the first seven years

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) is a precision particle physics detector on the International Space Station (ISS) conducting a unique, long-duration mission of fundamental physics research in space. The physics objectives include the precise studies of the origin of dark matter, antimatter, and cosmic rays as well as the exploration of new phenomena. Following a 16-year period of construction and testing, and a precursor flight on the Space Shuttle, AMS was installed on the ISS on May 19, 2011. In this report we present results based on 120 billion charged cosmic ray events up to multi-TeV energies. This includes the fluxes of positrons, electrons, antiprotons, protons, and nuclei. These results provide unexpected information, which cannot be explained by the current theoretical models. The accuracy and characteristics of the data, simultaneously from many different types of cosmic rays, provide unique input to the understanding of origins, acceleration, and propagation of cosmic rays

Cosmic-ray ransport parameters and fluorine source abundance from AMS-02 F/Si data

The AMS-02 collaboration recently released cosmic-ray data of unprecedented accuracy for F/Si. In this work, we have studied if this new data can be reproduced by propagation models tuned on lighter secondary-to-primary ratios (Li/C, Be/C, B/C), and how much F at source can be accommodated by the new data, using a 1D diffusion model (USINE code) and performing χ2 analyses accounting for several systematics (energy correlations in data, nuclear cross-sections, and solar modulation uncertainties). The model tuned on Li/C, Be/C, and B/C AMS-02 data overshoots F/Si data by 10-15%. However, this difference can be explained by the 19F production cross-sections uncertainties from a few dominant channels (60% of the produced F comes from the fragmentation of 20Ne, 24Mg, and 28Si). We concluded that all secondary species from Li to F can be explained by the same transport parameters. Additionally, we also draw limits on the F source abundance (relative to Si)

Cosmic-ray ransport parameters and fluorine source abundance from AMS-02 F/Si data

The AMS-02 collaboration recently released cosmic-ray data of unprecedented accuracy for F/Si. In this work, we have studied if this new data can be reproduced by propagation models tuned on lighter secondary-to-primary ratios (Li/C, Be/C, B/C), and how much F at source can be accommodated by the new data, using a 1D diffusion model (USINE code) and performing χ2 analyses accounting for several systematics (energy correlations in data, nuclear cross-sections, and solar modulation uncertainties). The model tuned on Li/C, Be/C, and B/C AMS-02 data overshoots F/Si data by 10-15%. However, this difference can be explained by the 19F production cross-sections uncertainties from a few dominant channels (60% of the produced F comes from the fragmentation of 20Ne, 24Mg, and 28Si). We concluded that all secondary species from Li to F can be explained by the same transport parameters. Additionally, we also draw limits on the F source abundance (relative to Si)

Periodicities in the Daily Proton Fluxes from 2011 to 2019 Measured by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station from 1 to 100 GV

We present the precision measurement of the daily proton fluxes in cosmic rays from May 20, 2011 to October 29, 2019 (a total of 2824 days or 114 Bartels rotations) in the rigidity interval from 1 to 100 GV based on 5.5 ×109 protons collected with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer aboard the International Space Station. The proton fluxes exhibit variations on multiple timescales. From 2014 to 2018, we observed recurrent flux variations with a period of 27 days. Shorter periods of 9 days and 13.5 days are observed in 2016. The strength of all three periodicities changes with time and rigidity. The rigidity dependence of the 27-day periodicity is different from the rigidity dependences of 9-day and 13.5-day periods. Unexpectedly, the strength of 9-day and 13.5-day periodicities increases with increasing rigidities up to ∼10 GV and ∼20 GV , respectively. Then the strength of the periodicities decreases with increasing rigidity up to 100 GV

Medida do fluxo de deutério nos raios cósmicos com o Espectrômetro Magnético Alfa na Estação Espacial Internacional

This work presents the measurement of the deuterium flux, and the deuterium-to-hydrogen flux ratio from 0.6 to 10 GeV/n, using data collected between May 2011 and May 2015 by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02), a cosmic ray detector operating aboard the International Space Station (ISS) since May 2011. The isotope separation is performed by combining the measurements performed by the AMS-02 sub-detectors. In particular, the mass measurement is carried out by taking advantage of the precise momentum measurement provided by the silicon tracker and by the velocity measurement provided by the Cherenkov detector. The event counting method is performed using reference spectra of simulated signal and background events, where the agreement between data and Monte Carlo has been carefully checked and eventual differences have been mitigate by means of corrections based on the comparison between the resolution of the velocity and momentum as obtained from data and simulated vents. Production mechanisms, acceleration and propagation of cosmic rays are not completely clear, therefore precise measurements of the flux and composition of these particles may help to understand these phenomena. In the conventional model, supernova remnants are the sources of cosmic rays in the GeV to TeV energy range. The so called primaries, such as 1H, 4He, e- and C are believed to be produced and accelerated at the sources, while secondaries, such as e+, 2H, 3He and B originate from the collisions of primary cosmic rays with the interstellar medium. Hence, secondaries carry information about the propagation of cosmic rays in the galaxy, and, the measurement of their flux is used to constrain the parameters of cosmic ray propagation models; in particular, studying secondary-to-primary ratios is useful as it factors out the unknown source spectrum of the progenitor. One of such commonly studied ratios is the B/C ratio, but other ratios, such as 2H/1H and 3He/4He, can be used to probe a different A/Z regime and test the universality of the propagation mechanisms.Este trabalho apresenta a medida do fluxo de deutério e da razão deutério sobre hidrogênio nos raios cósmicos, de 0.6 até 10 GeV/n, utilizando dados coletados entre maio de 2011 e maio de 2015 pelo Espectrômetro Magnético Alfa (AMS-02), um detecto de raios cósmicos instalado na Estação Espacial Internacional desde maio de 2011. A separação dos isótopos é feita através da combinação de medidas feitas pelos subdetectores do AMS-02. Em particular, a medida da massa é feita utilizando as medidas do momento fornecidas pelo tracker de silício e a velocidade medida pelo detector Cherenkov. A contagem de eventos é feita através da utilização de espectros de referência obtidos a partir de simulações de eventos de sinal e fundo, os quais foram utilizados para checar a concordância entre dados e simulações de Monte Carlo, corrigindo eventuais diferenças através de correções baseadas em comparações das resoluções de velocidade e momento obtidas nos dados e em simulações. Mecanismos de produção, aceleração e propagação dos raios cósmicos partículas não são completamente claros, portanto medidas precisas dos fluxos e composição dessas partículas podem auxiliar na compreensão desses fenômenos. Remanescentes de supernovas são as fontes de raios cósmicos com energias entre GeV e TeV. Acredita-se que os chamados raios cósmicos primários, tais como 1H, 4He, e- e C são produzidos e acelerados nas fontes, enquanto os secundários, tais como e+, 2H, 3He e B, têm origem na colisão dos raios cósmicos primários com o meio interestelar. Portanto, os secundários carregam informação sobre a propagação dos raios cósmicos na galáxia, sendo as medidas dos seus fluxos utilizada para restringir os parâmetros de modelos de propagação de raios cósmicos; em particular, estudar a razão entre secundários e primários é útil pois remove o desconhecido espectro da fonte da espécie progenitora. Uma das razões comumente utilizadas é B/C, mas outras, tais como 2H/1H e 3He/4He podem ser utilizadas para estudar outro regime de A/Z e testar a universalidade dos mecanismos de propagação

Medida do fluxo de deutério nos raios cósmicos com o Espectrômetro Magnético Alfa na Estação Espacial Internacional

This work presents the measurement of the deuterium flux, and the deuterium-to-hydrogen flux ratio from 0.6 to 10 GeV/n, using data collected between May 2011 and May 2015 by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02), a cosmic ray detector operating aboard the International Space Station (ISS) since May 2011. The isotope separation is performed by combining the measurements performed by the AMS-02 sub-detectors. In particular, the mass measurement is carried out by taking advantage of the precise momentum measurement provided by the silicon tracker and by the velocity measurement provided by the Cherenkov detector. The event counting method is performed using reference spectra of simulated signal and background events, where the agreement between data and Monte Carlo has been carefully checked and eventual differences have been mitigate by means of corrections based on the comparison between the resolution of the velocity and momentum as obtained from data and simulated vents. Production mechanisms, acceleration and propagation of cosmic rays are not completely clear, therefore precise measurements of the flux and composition of these particles may help to understand these phenomena. In the conventional model, supernova remnants are the sources of cosmic rays in the GeV to TeV energy range. The so called primaries, such as 1H, 4He, e- and C are believed to be produced and accelerated at the sources, while secondaries, such as e+, 2H, 3He and B originate from the collisions of primary cosmic rays with the interstellar medium. Hence, secondaries carry information about the propagation of cosmic rays in the galaxy, and, the measurement of their flux is used to constrain the parameters of cosmic ray propagation models; in particular, studying secondary-to-primary ratios is useful as it factors out the unknown source spectrum of the progenitor. One of such commonly studied ratios is the B/C ratio, but other ratios, such as 2H/1H and 3He/4He, can be used to probe a different A/Z regime and test the universality of the propagation mechanisms.Este trabalho apresenta a medida do fluxo de deutério e da razão deutério sobre hidrogênio nos raios cósmicos, de 0.6 até 10 GeV/n, utilizando dados coletados entre maio de 2011 e maio de 2015 pelo Espectrômetro Magnético Alfa (AMS-02), um detecto de raios cósmicos instalado na Estação Espacial Internacional desde maio de 2011. A separação dos isótopos é feita através da combinação de medidas feitas pelos subdetectores do AMS-02. Em particular, a medida da massa é feita utilizando as medidas do momento fornecidas pelo tracker de silício e a velocidade medida pelo detector Cherenkov. A contagem de eventos é feita através da utilização de espectros de referência obtidos a partir de simulações de eventos de sinal e fundo, os quais foram utilizados para checar a concordância entre dados e simulações de Monte Carlo, corrigindo eventuais diferenças através de correções baseadas em comparações das resoluções de velocidade e momento obtidas nos dados e em simulações. Mecanismos de produção, aceleração e propagação dos raios cósmicos partículas não são completamente claros, portanto medidas precisas dos fluxos e composição dessas partículas podem auxiliar na compreensão desses fenômenos. Remanescentes de supernovas são as fontes de raios cósmicos com energias entre GeV e TeV. Acredita-se que os chamados raios cósmicos primários, tais como 1H, 4He, e- e C são produzidos e acelerados nas fontes, enquanto os secundários, tais como e+, 2H, 3He e B, têm origem na colisão dos raios cósmicos primários com o meio interestelar. Portanto, os secundários carregam informação sobre a propagação dos raios cósmicos na galáxia, sendo as medidas dos seus fluxos utilizada para restringir os parâmetros de modelos de propagação de raios cósmicos; em particular, estudar a razão entre secundários e primários é útil pois remove o desconhecido espectro da fonte da espécie progenitora. Uma das razões comumente utilizadas é B/C, mas outras, tais como 2H/1H e 3He/4He podem ser utilizadas para estudar outro regime de A/Z e testar a universalidade dos mecanismos de propagação

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) on the international space station: Part II - Results from the first seven years

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) is a precision particle physics detector on the International Space Station (ISS) conducting a unique, long-duration mission of fundamental physics research in space. The physics objectives include the precise studies of the origin of dark matter, antimatter, and cosmic rays as well as the exploration of new phenomena. Following a 16-year period of construction and testing, and a precursor flight on the Space Shuttle, AMS was installed on the ISS on May 19, 2011. In this report we present results based on 120 billion charged cosmic ray events up to multi-TeV energies. This includes the fluxes of positrons, electrons, antiprotons, protons, and nuclei. These results provide unexpected information, which cannot be explained by the current theoretical models. The accuracy and characteristics of the data, simultaneously from many different types of cosmic rays, provide unique input to the understanding of origins, acceleration, and propagation of cosmic rays

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) on the international space station:Part II - Results from the first seven years

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) is a precision particle physics detector on the International Space Station (ISS) conducting a unique, long-duration mission of fundamental physics research in space. The physics objectives include the precise studies of the origin of dark matter, antimatter, and cosmic rays as well as the exploration of new phenomena. Following a 16-year period of construction and testing, and a precursor flight on the Space Shuttle, AMS was installed on the ISS on May 19, 2011. In this report we present results based on 120 billion charged cosmic ray events up to multi-TeV energies. This includes the fluxes of positrons, electrons, antiprotons, protons, and nuclei. These results provide unexpected information, which cannot be explained by the current theoretical models. The accuracy and characteristics of the data, simultaneously from many different types of cosmic rays, provide unique input to the understanding of origins, acceleration, and propagation of cosmic rays

Cosmic-ray ransport parameters and fluorine source abundance from AMS-02 F/Si data

The AMS-02 collaboration recently released cosmic-ray data of unprecedented accuracy for F/Si. In this work, we have studied if this new data can be reproduced by propagation models tuned on lighter secondary-to-primary ratios (Li/C, Be/C, B/C), and how much F at source can be accommodated by the new data, using a 1D diffusion model (USINE code) and performing χ2 analyses accounting for several systematics (energy correlations in data, nuclear cross-sections, and solar modulation uncertainties). The model tuned on Li/C, Be/C, and B/C AMS-02 data overshoots F/Si data by 10-15%. However, this difference can be explained by the 19F production cross-sections uncertainties from a few dominant channels (60% of the produced F comes from the fragmentation of 20Ne, 24Mg, and 28Si). We concluded that all secondary species from Li to F can be explained by the same transport parameters. Additionally, we also draw limits on the F source abundance (relative to Si)