The PAMELA detector was launched on June 15th of 2006 on board the Russian Resurs-DK1 satellite and during ten years of continuous data-taking it has observed very interesting features in cosmic ...rays, especially in the fluxes of protons, helium and electrons. Moreover, PAMELA measurements of cosmic antiproton and positron fluxes and positron-to-all-electron ratio have set strong constraints to the nature of Dark Matter. Measurements of boron, carbon, lithium and beryllium (together with the isotopic fraction) have also shed new light on the elemental composition of the cosmic radiation. Search for signatures of more exotic processes (such as the ones involving Strange Quark Matter) has also been pursued. Furthermore, over the years the instrument has allowed a constant monitoring of the solar activity and a prolonged study of the solar modulation, improving the comprehension of the heliosphere mechanisms. PAMELA has also measured the radiation environment around the Earth, and detected for the first time the presence of an antiproton radiation belt surrounding our planet. In this highlight paper PAMELA main results will be reviewed.
The PAMELA space experiment is providing first direct observations of Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs) with energies from about 80 MeV to several GeV in near-Earth orbit, bridging the low energy ...measurements by other spacecrafts and the Ground Level Enhancement (GLE) data by the worldwide network of neutron monitors. Its unique observational capabilities include the possibility of measuring the flux angular distribution and thus investigating possible anisotropies associated to SEP events. The analysis is supported by an accurate back-tracing simulation based on a realistic description of the Earth's magnetosphere, which is exploited to estimate the SEP energy spectra as a function of the asymptotic direction of arrival with respect to the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF). In this work we report the results for the May 17, 2012 event.
Measurements of secondary-electron and secondary-positron fluxes below the geomagnetic cutoff in near-Earth space were performed by means of the PAMELA magnetic spectrometer installed on board the ...Resurs-DK1 satellite launched on June 15, 2006, in an elliptical orbit of inclination 70° and altitude 350 to 600 km. This spectrometer permits measuring the fluxes of electrons and positrons over a wide energy range, as well as determining their spatial distributions to a precision of about 2°. A calculation of particle trajectories in the geomagnetic field makes it possible to separate electrons and positrons originating from cosmic-ray interactions in the Earth’s magnetosphere. The spatial distributions of quasitrapped, trapped, and short-lived albedo positrons and electrons of energy above 70 MeV in the radiation belt were analyzed. The ratio of the electron-to-positron fluxes and the energy spectra of the electrons and positrons in question are indicative of different productionmechanisms for stably trapped and quasitrapped secondary particles.
PAMELA is a satellite borne experiment designed to study with great accuracy cosmic rays of galactic, solar, and trapped nature, with particular focus on the antimatter component. The detector ...consists of a permanent magnet spectrometer core to provide rigidity and charge sign information, a Time-of-Flight system for velocity and charge information, a Silicon–Tungsten calorimeter and a Neutron detector for lepton/hadron identification. The velocity and rigidity information allow the identification of different isotopes for Z=1 and Z=2 particles in the energy range 100MeV/n to 1GeV/n. In this work we will present the PAMELA results on the H and He isotope fluxes based on the data collected during the 23rd solar minimum from 2006 to 2007. Such fluxes carry relevant information helpful in constraining parameters in galactic cosmic rays propagation models complementary to those obtained from other secondary to primary measurements such as the boron-to-carbon ratio.
The satellite-borne PAMELA experiment has been continuously collecting data since 2006. This apparatus is designed to study charged particles in the cosmic radiation. The combination of a permanent ...magnet, a silicon strip tracker and a silicon-tungsten imaging calorimeter, and the redundancy of instrumentation allow very precise studies on the physics of cosmic rays in a wide energy range and with high statistics. This makes PAMELA a very suitable instrument for Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) observations. Not only does it span the energy range between the ground-based neutron monitor data and the observations of SEPs from space, but PAMELA also carries out the first direct measurements of the composition for the highest energy SEP events, including those causing Ground Level Enhancements (GLEs). In particular, PAMELA has registered many SEP events during solar cycle 24, offering unique opportunities to address the question of high-energy SEP origin. A preliminary analysis on proton spectra behaviour during this event is presented in this work.
Solar modulation of galactic protons with energies from 50 MeV up to dozens of GeV during July '06 - January '16 studied based on a data of the magnetic spectrometer PAMELA and scintillation ...spectrometer ARINA. This period is interesting because it covers the end of 23rd and current 24th cycles of solar activity, including the abnormally long transient period and change of the polarity of solar magnetic field.
Measurements of electron and positron spatial distributions in energy range from 80 MeV to several GeV below the geomagnetic cutoff rigidity were carried out using the PAMELA magnetic spectrometer. ...The instrument is installed on board the Resurs-DK satellite which was launched June 15th 2006 on an elliptical orbit with the inclination 70 degrees and the altitude 350-600 km. The procedure of trajectories calculations in the geomagnetic filed gives a way to separate stably trapped and short lived albedo components produced in interactions of cosmic ray protons with the residual atmosphere. The work presents spatial distributions of trapped, quasitrapped and short-lived albedo electrons and positrons in the near Earth space. Electron to positron ratio points out on different production mechanism of trapped and quasitrapped particles.
Magnetic spectrometer PAMELA was launched onboard a satellite Resurs-DK1 into low-Earth polar orbit with altitude 350-600 km to study cosmic ray antiparticle fluxes in a wide energy range from ∼ 100 ...MeV to hundreds GeV. This paper presents the results of observations of temporal variations of the positron and electron fluxes in the 2006-2015. The ratio of the positron and electron fluxes below 2 GV shows sharp increasing since 2014 due to changing of the polarity of the solar magnetic field.
At present the existing data on the cosmic ray electron energy spectra in the high energy range are fragmented, and the situation is exacerbated by their small number. In the satellite PAMELA ...experiment measurements at high energies are carried out by the calorimeter. The experimental data accumulated for more than 8 years of measurements, with the information of the calorimeter, the neutron detector and the scintillation counters made it possible to obtain the total spectrum of high-energy electrons and positrons in energy range 0.3-3 TeV.
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