Status of the GAMMA-400 Project

The preliminary design of the new space gamma-ray telescope GAMMA-400 for the energy range 100 MeV - 3 TeV is presented. The angular resolution of the instrument, 1-2{\deg} at E{\gamma} ~100 MeV and ~0.01^{\circ} at E{\gamma} > 100 GeV, its energy resolution ~1% at E{\gamma} > 100 GeV, and the proton rejection factor ~10E6 are optimized to address a broad range of science topics, such as search for signatures of dark matter, studies of Galactic and extragalactic gamma-ray sources, Galactic and extragalactic diffuse emission, gamma-ray bursts, as well as high-precision measurements of spectra of cosmic-ray electrons, positrons, and nuclei.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, 1 table, submitted to Advances in Space Researc

High-energy gamma- and cosmic-ray observations with future space-based GAMMA-400 gamma-ray telescope

The future space-based GAMMA-400 gamma-ray telescope will be installed on the Navigator platform of the Russian Astrophysical Observatory. A highly elliptical orbit will provide observations for 7-10 years of many regions of the celestial sphere continuously for a long time (~ 100 days). GAMMA-400 will measure gamma-ray fluxes in the energy range from ~ 20 MeV to several TeV and electron + positron fluxes up to ~ 20 TeV. GAMMA-400 will have an excellent separation of gamma rays from the background of cosmic rays and electrons + positrons from protons and an unprecedented angular (~ 0.01° at Eγ = 100 GeV) and energy (~ 1% at Eγ = 100 GeV) resolutions better than for Fermi-LAT, as well as ground-based facilities, by a factor of 5-10. Observations of GAMMA-400 will provide new fundamental data on discrete sources and spectra of gamma-ray emission and electrons + positrons, as well as the nature of dark matter

High-energy gamma- and cosmic-ray observations with future space-based GAMMA-400 gamma-ray telescope

The future space-based GAMMA-400 gamma-ray telescope will be installed on the Navigator platform of the Russian Astrophysical Observatory. A highly elliptical orbit will provide observations for 7-10 years of many regions of the celestial sphere continuously for a long time (~ 100 days). GAMMA-400 will measure gamma-ray fluxes in the energy range from ~ 20 MeV to several TeV and electron + positron fluxes up to ~ 20 TeV. GAMMA-400 will have an excellent separation of gamma rays from the background of cosmic rays and electrons + positrons from protons and an unprecedented angular (~ 0.01° at Eγ = 100 GeV) and energy (~ 1% at Eγ = 100 GeV) resolutions better than for Fermi-LAT, as well as ground-based facilities, by a factor of 5-10. Observations of GAMMA-400 will provide new fundamental data on discrete sources and spectra of gamma-ray emission and electrons + positrons, as well as the nature of dark matter

New stage in high-energy gamma-ray studies with GAMMA-400 after Fermi-LAT

Fermi-LAT has made a significant contribution to the study of high-energy gamma-ray diffuse emission and the observations of 3000 discrete sources. However, one third of all gamma-ray sources (both galactic and extragalactic) are unidentified, the data on the diffuse gamma-ray emission should be clarified, and signatures of dark matter particles in the high-energy gamma-ray range are not observed up to now. GAMMA-400, the currently developing gamma-ray telescope, will have angular (∼0.01∘ at 100 GeV) and energy (∼1% at 100 GeV) resolutions in the energy range of 10–1000 GeV which are better than Fermi-LAT (as well as ground gamma-ray telescopes) by a factor of 5–10. It will observe some regions of the Universe (such as the Galactic Center, Fermi Bubbles, Crab, Cygnus, etc.) in a highly elliptic orbit (without shading the telescope by the Earth) continuously for a long time. It will allow us to identify many discrete sources, to clarify the structure of extended sources, to specify the data on the diffuse emission, and to resolve gamma rays from dark matter particles

New stage in high-energy gamma-ray studies with GAMMA-400 after Fermi-LAT

Fermi-LAT has made a significant contribution to the study of high-energy gamma-ray diffuse emission and the observations of 3000 discrete sources. However, one third of all gamma-ray sources (both galactic and extragalactic) are unidentified, the data on the diffuse gamma-ray emission should be clarified, and signatures of dark matter particles in the high-energy gamma-ray range are not observed up to now. GAMMA-400, the currently developing gamma-ray telescope, will have angular (∼0.01∘ at 100 GeV) and energy (∼1% at 100 GeV) resolutions in the energy range of 10–1000 GeV which are better than Fermi-LAT (as well as ground gamma-ray telescopes) by a factor of 5–10. It will observe some regions of the Universe (such as the Galactic Center, Fermi Bubbles, Crab, Cygnus, etc.) in a highly elliptic orbit (without shading the telescope by the Earth) continuously for a long time. It will allow us to identify many discrete sources, to clarify the structure of extended sources, to specify the data on the diffuse emission, and to resolve gamma rays from dark matter particles

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

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