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

PAMELA - A Payload for Antimatter Matter Exploration and Light-nuclei Astrophysics

The PAMELA experiment is a satellite-borne apparatus designed to study charged particles in the cosmic radiation with a particular focus on antiparticles. PAMELA is mounted on the Resurs DK1 satellite that was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome on June 15th 2006. The PAMELA apparatus comprises a time-of-flight system, a magnetic spectrometer, a silicon-tungsten electromagnetic calorimeter, an anticoincidence system, a shower tail catcher scintillator and a neutron detector. The combination of these devices allows antiparticles to be reliably identified from a large background of other charged particles. This paper reviews the design, space qualification and on-ground performance of PAMELA. The in-orbit performance will be discussed in future publications.The PAMELA experiment is a satellite-borne apparatus designed to study charged particles in the cosmic radiation with a particular focus on antiparticles. PAMELA is mounted on the Resurs DK1 satellite that was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome on June 15th 2006. The PAMELA apparatus comprises a time-of-flight system, a magnetic spectrometer, a silicon-tungsten electromagnetic calorimeter, an anticoincidence system, a shower tail catcher scintillator and a neutron detector. The combination of these devices allows antiparticles to be reliably identified from a large background of other charged particles. This paper reviews the design, space qualification and on-ground performance of PAMELA. The in-orbit performance will be discussed in future publications

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

Secondary electron and positron fluxes in the near-Earth space observed in the ARINA and PAMELA experiments

Secondary electron and positron fluxes in the energy range from 3 MeV to 7 GeV were measured with the ARINA and PAMELA spectrometers onboard the Resurs-DK satellite launched on June 15, 2006 into an elliptical orbit with an inclination of 70.4° and an altitude of 350-600 km. It is shown that positrons dominate over electrons by a factor of up to 4-5 in the geomagnetic equator region (L < 1.2 and B > 0.25). © Allerton Press, Inc. 2009

In-flight performances of the PAMELA satellite experiment

PAMELA is a satcllite-borne experiment designed to study with great accuracy charged particles in the cosmic radiation with a particular focus on antiparticles. The experiment, housed on board the Russian Resurs-DK1 satellite, was launched on June 15, 2006 in a 350 x 600 km orbit with an inclination of 70 degrees. The apparatus comprises a time-of-flight system, a silicon-microstrip magnetic spectrometer, a silicon-tungsten electromagnetic calorimeter, an anticoincidence system, a shower tail catcher scintillator and a neutron detector. The combination of these devices allows charged particle identification over a wide energy range. In this work, the detector design is reviewed and the in-orbit performances in the first months after the launch are presented. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

PAMELA mission: heralding a new era in cosmic ray physics

After seven years of data taking in space, the experiment PAMELA is showing very interesting features in cosmic rays, namely in the fluxes of protons, helium, electrons, that might change our basic vision of the mechanisms of production, acceleration and propagation of cosmic rays in the galaxy. In addition, PAMELA measurements of cosmic antiproton and positron fluxes are setting strong constraints to the nature of Dark Matter. The continuous particle detection is allowing a constant monitoring of the solar activity and detailed study of the solar modulation for a long period, giving important improvements to the comprehension of the heliosphere mechanisms. PAMELA is also measuring the radiation environment around the Earth, and has recently discovered an antiproton radiation belt

PAMELA mission: heralding a new era in cosmic ray physics

After seven years of data taking in space, the experiment PAMELA is showing very interesting features in cosmic rays, namely in the fluxes of protons, helium, electrons, that might change our basic vision of the mechanisms of production, acceleration and propagation of cosmic rays in the galaxy. In addition, PAMELA measurements of cosmic antiproton and positron fluxes are setting strong constraints to the nature of Dark Matter. The continuous particle detection is allowing a constant monitoring of the solar activity and detailed study of the solar modulation for a long period, giving important improvements to the comprehension of the heliosphere mechanisms. PAMELA is also measuring the radiation environment around the Earth, and has recently discovered an antiproton radiation belt

Positrons and electrons in primary cosmic rays as measured in the PAMELA experiment

The PAMELA experiment is being carried out on board the Russian satellite Resurs DK1 placed in the near-earth near-polar orbit on June 15, 2006. The apparatus comprising a silicon-strip magnetic spectrometer and an electromagnetic calorimeter allows measurement of electron and positron fluxes in cosmic rays in a wide energy interval from ∼100 MeV to hundreds of GeV. The high-energy electron and positron separation technique is discussed and the data on positron-to-electron ratio in primary cosmic rays up to E ≃ 10 GeV from the 2006 - 2007 measurements are reported in this work. © Allerton Press, Inc. 2009

Cosmic ray measurements with Pamela experiment

PAMELA is a satellite borne experiment designed to study with great accuracy cosmic rays of galactic, solar, and trapped nature hi 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 antinuclei with a precision of the order of 10(-8)). The experiment, housed on board the Russian Resurs-DK1 satellite, was launched on June, 15(th) 2006 in a 350 X 600 km orbit with an inclination of 70 degrees. In this work we describe the scientific objectives awl the performance of PAMELA in its first two years of operation. Data oil protons of trapped, secondary and galactic nature - as well as measurements of the December 13(th) 2006 Solar Particle Event - are also provided