Cosmic ray velocity and electric charge measurements with the AMS/RICH detector: prototype results

dc.creatorArruda, Luísa
dc.creatorBarão, Fernando
dc.creatorGonçalves, Patrícia
dc.creatorPereira, Rui
dc.date2008-01-31
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T08:57:33Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T08:57:33Z
dc.descriptionThe Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) to be installed on the International Space Station (ISS) will measure charged cosmic ray spectra of elements up to iron, in the rigidity range from 1 GV to 1 TV, for at least three years. AMS is a large angular spectrometer composed of different subdetectors, including a proximity focusing Ring Imaging CHerenkov (RICH) detector. This will be equipped with a mixed radiator made of aerogel and sodium fluoride (NaF), a lateral conical mirror and a detection plane made of 680 photomultipliers coupled to light guides. The RICH detector allows measurements of particle's electric charge up to iron, and particle's velocity. Two possible methods for reconstructing the Cherenkov angle and the electric charge with the RICH will be discussed. A RICH prototype consisting of a detection matrix with 96 photomultipliers, a segment of a conical mirror and samples of the radiator materials was built and its performance was evaluated using ion beam data. Results from the last test beam performed with ion fragments resulting from the collision of a 158 GeV/c/nucleon primary beam of indium ions (CERN SPS) on a lead target are reported. The large amount of collected data allowed to test and characterize different aerogel samples and the NaF radiator. In addition, the reflectivity of the mirror was evaluated. The data analysis confirms the design goals.
dc.description5 pages. Contribution to the 20th European Cosmic Ray Symposium in Lisbon, Portugal. September 5th-8th 2006. Presenter: Luisa Arruda
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/0801.4952
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/0801.4952
dc.identifierElectronic publication in Proceedings of the 20th European Cosmic Ray Symposium in Lisbon - http://www.lip.pt/events/2006/ecrs/proc/ecrs06-s0-159.pdf
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/147009
dc.subjectAstrophysics
dc.titleCosmic ray velocity and electric charge measurements with the AMS/RICH detector: prototype results
dc.typetext

Files

Collections