Latest results on cosmic ray physics from the ARGO-YBJ experiment
Latest results on cosmic ray physics from the ARGO-YBJ experiment
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DOI：
10.1016/j.nima.2013.11.089
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发表时间：
2014-04
影响因子：
1.4
通讯作者：
I. Mitri
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
I. Mitri
1012-1015eV 初级能量范围内的宇宙射线物理学是 ARGO-YBJ 实验的主要科学目标之一。该探测器位于海拔 4300 米的羊八井宇宙线观测站（中国西藏），是一个全覆盖的大范围空气淋浴阵列，由分布在超过 10 000 m2 区域的电阻板室 (RPC) 地毯组成。该设备的布局、性能和位置为详细研究能量窗口中宇宙射线通量的强子成分的几个特征提供了独特的机会，该能量窗口以从直接测量到间接测量的过渡为标志。此外，RPC信号的模拟读数确实提供了一个强大的工具，以前所未有的分辨率和无饱和度，研究距其轴几米的广泛的空气簇射时空结构。宇宙射线能谱、质量成分和到达方向研究的最新成果将与反质子信号搜索、质子-空气截面测量、行星际磁场研究以及地磁场对次级粒子的影响一起给出。此外，正在广泛研究靠近簇射轴的粒子分布，也在最前沿区域为目前用于理解粒子物理和高达最高能量的宇宙射线的强子相互作用模型提供新的输入。
Cosmic ray physics in the 1012–1015eV primary energy range is among the main scientific goals of the ARGO-YBJ experiment. The detector, located in the Cosmic Ray Observatory of Yangbajing (Tibet, China) at 4300 m a.s.l., is a full coverage extensive air shower array consisting of a carpet of Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) distributed over an area of more than 10 000 m2. The apparatus layout, performance and location offer a unique opportunity for a detailed study of several characteristics of the hadronic component of the cosmic ray flux in an energy window marked by the transition from direct to indirect measurements. Moreover, the analog readout of the RPC signals indeed provides a powerful tool to study, with unprecedented resolution and without saturation, the extensive air shower space–time structure down to few meters from its axis. Latest results concerning the study of cosmic ray energy spectrum, mass composition and arrival directions will be given together with the search for an antiproton signal, the proton–air cross-section measurement, the study of the interplanetary magnetic field, and the effects of the geomagnetic field on secondary particles. Furthermore, particle distributions close to the shower axis are being extensively studied, also giving new inputs, in the very forward region, to the hadronic interaction models currently used for understanding particle physics and cosmic rays up to the highest energies.