Launch of the Space experiment PAMELA

PAMELA is a satellite borne experiment designed to study with great accuracy cosmic rays of galactic, solar, and trapped nature in a wide energy range protons: 80 MeV-700 GeV, electrons 50 MeV-400 GeV). Main objective is the study of the antimatter component: antiprotons (80 MeV-190 GeV), positrons (50 MeV-270 GeV) and search for antimatter with a precision of the order of 10^-8). The experiment, housed on board the Russian Resurs-DK1 satellite, was launched on June, 15, 2006 in a 350*600 km orbit with an inclination of 70 degrees. The detector is composed of a series of scintillator counters arranged at the extremities of a permanent magnet spectrometer to provide charge, Time-of-Flight and rigidity information. Lepton/hadron identification is performed by a Silicon-Tungsten calorimeter and a Neutron detector placed at the bottom of the device. An Anticounter system is used offline to reject false triggers coming from the satellite. In self-trigger mode the Calorimeter, the neutron detector and a shower tail catcher are capable of an independent measure of the lepton component up to 2 TeV. In this work we describe the experiment, its scientific objectives and the performance in the first months after launch.Comment: Accepted for publication on Advances in Space Researc

The high energy cosmic ray particle spectra measurements with the PAMELA calorimeter

Abstract Up until now there has been limited, contradictive data on the high energy range of the cosmic ray electron-positron, proton and helium spectra. Due to the limitations of the use of a magnetic spectrometer, over 8 years experimental data was processed using information from a sampling electro-magnetic calorimeter, a neutron detector and scintillator detectors. The use of these devices allowed us to successfully obtain the high energy cosmic ray particle spectra measurements. The results of this study clarify previous findings and greaten our understanding of the origin of cosmic rays

Deuteron spectrum measurements under radiation belt with PAMELA instrument

Abstract In this work the results of data analysis of the deuteron albedo radiation obtained in the PAMELA experiment are presented. PAMELA is an international space experiment carried out on board of the satellite Resurs DK-1. The high precision detectors allow to register and identify cosmic ray particles in a wide energy range. The albedo deuteron spectrum in the energy range 70 – 600 MeV/nucleon has been measured

Energetic particle influence on the Earth's atmosphere

This manuscript gives an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of the effects of energetic particle precipitation (EPP) onto the whole atmosphere, from the lower thermosphere/mesosphere through the stratosphere and troposphere, to the surface. The paper summarizes the different sources and energies of particles, principally galactic cosmic rays (GCRs), solar energetic particles (SEPs) and energetic electron precipitation (EEP). All the proposed mechanisms by which EPP can affect the atmosphere are discussed, including chemical changes in the upper atmosphere and lower thermosphere, chemistry-dynamics feedbacks, the global electric circuit and cloud formation. The role of energetic particles in Earth’s atmosphere is a multi-disciplinary problem that requires expertise from a range of scientific backgrounds. To assist with this synergy, summary tables are provided, which are intended to evaluate the level of current knowledge of the effects of energetic particles on processes in the entire atmosphere