177 research outputs found
The influence of the geomagnetic field and of the uncertainties in the primary spectrum on the development of the muon flux in the atmosphere
In this paper we study the sensitivity of the flux of atmospheric muons to
uncertainties in the primary cosmic ray spectrum and to the treatment of the
geomagnetic field in a calculation. We use the air shower simulation program
AIRES to make the calculation for two different primary spectra and under
several approximations to the propagation of charged particles in the
geomagnetic field. The results illustrate the importance of accurate modelling
of the geomagnetic field effects. We propose a high and a low fit of the proton
and helium fluxes, and calculate the muon fluxes with these different inputs.
Comparison with measurements of the muon flux by the CAPRICE experiment shows a
slight preference for the higher primary cosmic ray flux parametrization.Comment: 24 pages, 13 figures, submitted to Phys.Rev.
The Cosmic-Ray Proton and Helium Spectra measured with the CAPRICE98 balloon experiment
A new measurement of the primary cosmic-ray proton and helium fluxes from 3
to 350 GeV was carried out by the balloon-borne CAPRICE experiment in 1998.
This experimental setup combines different detector techniques and has
excellent particle discrimination capabilities allowing clear particle
identification. Our experiment has the capability to determine accurately
detector selection efficiencies and systematic errors associated with them.
Furthermore, it can check for the first time the energy determined by the
magnet spectrometer by using the Cherenkov angle measured by the RICH detector
well above 20 GeV/n. The analysis of the primary proton and helium components
is described here and the results are compared with other recent measurements
using other magnet spectrometers. The observed energy spectra at the top of the
atmosphere can be represented by (1.27+-0.09)x10^4 E^(-2.75+-0.02) particles
(m^2 GeV sr s)^-1, where E is the kinetic energy, for protons between 20 and
350 GeV and (4.8+-0.8)x10^2 E^(-2.67+-0.06) particles (m^2 GeV nucleon^-1 sr
s)^-1, where E is the kinetic energy per nucleon, for helium nuclei between 15
and 150 GeV nucleon^-1.Comment: To be published on Astroparticle Physics (44 pages, 13 figures, 5
tables
Extreme Energy Cosmic Rays (EECR) Observation Capabilities of an "Airwatch from Space'' Mission
The longitudinal development and other characteristics of the EECR induced
atmospheric showers can be studied from space by detecting the fluorescence
light induced in the atmospheric nitrogen. According to the Airwatch concept a
single fast detector can be used for measuring both intensity and time
development of the streak of fluorescence light produced by the atmospheric
shower induced by an EECR. In the present communication the detection
capabilities for the EECR observation from space are discussed.Comment: 3 pages (LaTeX). To appear in the Proceedings of TAUP'9
NEMO: A Project for a km Underwater Detector for Astrophysical Neutrinos in the Mediterranean Sea
The status of the project is described: the activity on long term
characterization of water optical and oceanographic parameters at the Capo
Passero site candidate for the Mediterranean km neutrino telescope; the
feasibility study; the physics performances and underwater technology for the
km; the activity on NEMO Phase 1, a technological demonstrator that has
been deployed at 2000 m depth 25 km offshore Catania; the realization of an
underwater infrastructure at 3500 m depth at the candidate site (NEMO Phase 2).Comment: Proceeding of ISCRA 2006, Erice 20-27 June 200
The small satellite NINA-MITA to study galactic and solar cosmic rays in low-altitude polar orbit
Abstract The satellite MITA, carrying on board the scientific payload NINA-2, was launched on July the 15th, 2000 from the cosmodrome of Plesetsk (Russia) with a Cosmos-3M rocket. The satellite and the payload are currently operating within nominal parameters. NINA-2 is the first scientific payload for the technological flight of the Italian small satellite MITA. The detector used in this mission is identical to the one already flying on the Russian satellite Resurs-O1 n.4 in a 840-km sun-synchronous orbit, but makes use of the extensive computer and telemetry capabilities of MITA bus to improve the active data acquisition time. NINA physics objectives are to study cosmic nuclei from hydrogen to iron in the energy range between 10 MeV/n and 1 GeV/n during the years 2000–2003, that is the solar maximum period. The device is capable of charge identification up to iron with isotope sensitivity up to oxigen. The 87.3 degrees, 460 km altitude polar orbit allows investigations of cosmic rays of solar and galactic origin, so to study long and short term solar transient phenomena, and the study of the trapped radiation at higher geomagnetic cutoff
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 SPACE TELESCOPE NINA: RESULTS OF A BEAM TEST CALIBRATION
Abstract In June 1998 the telescope NINA will be launched in space on board of the Russian satellite Resource-01 n.4. The main scientific objective of the mission is the study of the anomalous, galactic and solar components of the cosmic rays in the energy interval 10–200 MeV/n. The core of the instrument is a silicon detector whose performances have been tested with a particle beam at the GSI Laboratory in Germany in 1997; we report here on the results obtained during the beam calibration
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