Search

In this paper we present a Monte Carlo study of a calorimeter response for an experiment to equip the magnetic facility of the USA space station. Main purpose in the design of such a calorimeter is the efficient discrimination between eloctromagnetic and hadronic showers. The estimated rejection power results to be better than 1·10−3p/e+for incident particles with energy between 10 GeV and 100GeV.

A two-coil toroid magnet is proposed for the ASTROMAG facility on the NASA space station. This field fulfils the requirement of zero net dipole moment and the magnet is designed to fit the boundary conditions connected with the use in space. In this paper the magnetic field of the twocoil toroid for the ASTROMAG facility is discussed and compared with that of an equivalent ideal continuous toroid. The volumes of the magnetic field regions are equal for these two extreme cases of toroid, in spite of the deformed shape in case of the two-coil design.

Among the several existent proposals for the cosmic antimatter search, the Wi#x005A-0304;ard project for the U.S. Space Station Freedom shows the greatest interest. A possible upgrading of the Wi#x005A-0304;ard apparatus, called Wi#x005A-0304;ard 2, is presented in order to sensibly improve the capability of detecting antihelium nuclei in the cosmic radiation.

The MASS-SAT Experiment (Matter-Antimatter Space Spectrometer on SATellite) presented here is conceived to search for an experimental answer to many open problems related to both Astrophysics and Physics, through the detection of positrons, antiprotons, nuclei and, overall, antinuclei if they exist. Among these problems there are the hypothesized presence of antigalaxies in the Universe (the matter-antimatter symmetry problem), the existence of black holes as possible antiproton sources (the Hawking effect), the existence of photinos as antiproton sources (related to the dark-matter problem), the understanding of the mechanism of cosmic-ray acceleration in the interstellar medium, the determination of the relative abundancies of isotopes in cosmic rays and many others. The choice of an orbit expecially appropriate for that (geostationary or polar orbit) as well as the choice of an apparatus composed only of solid-state detectors and permanent magnets (no gas and no liquid helium on board, avoiding complexity and the necessity of refilling) make it possible to conceive a long (4–5 years) period of data taking with unprecedented sensitivity in the low-energy region of the cosmic-ray spectrum. The MASS-SAT experiment shows itself as the prosecution of the MASS balloon-borne experiment and as the logical complement of the Astromag program on the Space Station Freedom.

In this paper the WiZard experiment to be performed at the U.S. Space Station Freedom is presented. The apparatus will operate at the Astromag facility as a magnetic spectrometer dedicated to the search of primordial antimatter in the cosmic radiation. Several additional questions in the field of astrophysics and cosmology like solar flares, the galactic anisotropy, spectra of heavier nuclei (from carbon to iron), gamma-ray astronomy and others will also be investigated with such an apparatus and are discussed as well. The configuration of the apparatus, its integration and the description of each detector is covered in detail. Ground and flight operations are described together with discussion on data reduction and analysis. Finally, the mission planning and the onboard crew operations are also outlined. In questo articolo viene presentato l’esperimento WiZard che sarà effettuato sulla Stazione Spaziale americana Freedom. L'apparato funzionerà sulla facility Astromag come uno spettrometro magnetico dedicato alla ricerca di antimateria primordiale nella radiazione cosmica. Con tale apparato saranno pure indagate, e sono qui discusse, varie altre questioni nel campo dell'astrofisica e della cosmologia come i solar flares, l'anisotropia galattica, gli spettri di nuclei piú pesanti (dal carbonio al ferro), l'astronomia a raggi gamma e altro. Si descrive inoltre la configurazione dell'apparato, la sua integrazione e la composizione di ogni rivelatore e si illustrano pure le operazioni a terra e in volo nonché la riduzione e l'analisi dei dati. Infine, si delineano la pianificazione della missione e le operazioni a bordo dell'equipaggio.

This paper describes the Monte Carlo program used for the simulation of antiproton interactions at intermediate energy inside a brass streamer-tube tracking calorimeter, to be used in a search for antimatter in cosmic rays, in the high atmosphere. The calorimeter is sensitive in the kinetic-energy range (100 ⧀v 5000) MeV and the Monte Carlo is tuned in this energy interval both for proton and antiproton interactions. The detector geometry, which consists of a set of plane slabs, may be easily extended to other calorimeter structures. Questo articolo descrive il programma Monte Carlo utilizzato per la simulazione di interazioni di antiprotoni ad energia intermedia all’interno di un calorimetro tracciante a tubi a streamer in ottone, da impiegare nella ricerca in alta atmosfera di antimateria nei raggi cosmici. Il calorimetro è sensibile nell’intervallo di energie cinetiche (100 ⧀v 5000) MeV ed il Monte Carlo è utilizzato in tale intervallo di energie sia per interazioni di protoni che di antiprotoni. La geometria del rivelatore, che consiste in una serie di piani soarapposti, può essere estesa in modo semplice a calorimetri diversamente strutturati. В этой статье описыва ется программа Монте-Карло для моделирования взаим одействия антипрото нов промежуточных энерг ий внутри трекового к алориметра, чтобы исп ользовать его для пои ска антивещес чтобы использовать е го для поиска антивещ ества в космических л учах в верхних слоях а тмосферы. Калориметр является чувствител ьным в области кинети космических лучах в в ерхних слоях атмосфе ры. Калориметр являет ся чувствительным в о бласти кинетических энергий от 100 МэВ до 5000 МэВ и Калориметр является чувствительным в обл асти кинетических эн ергий от 100 МэВ до 5000 МэВ и кинетических энерги й от 100 МэВ до 5000 МэВ и программа Монте-Карл о настроена на указан ный энергетический инте рвал для взаимодействий прот онов и антипротонов. Г еометрия детектора, который со стоит из системы плос копараллельных плас тин, может быть обобще на на плоскопараллельных пластин, может быть об общена на случай друг их структур. случай других структ ур.

Cosmic antimatter search needs transportation systems of the apparatus outside the atmosphere. The Astromag facility on the NASA space station will be a great opportunity for such a search in the next future. Here we discuss the advantages achievable from silicon-detector technology in space research and we propose a silicon calorimeter as an ideal option to work in connection with the Astromag facility itself.