At an energy scale of 1015-1016 eV, a direct measurement of the energy carried by charged cosmic radiation is a real challenge for balloon-borne and space based instruments. As a consequence of the very small fluxes, a large collecting power is required which is difficult to accommodate with weight-limited instruments equipped with calorimeters. A different approach has been proposed that might allow for a sizeable reduction of the instrument mass. It is based on a kinematical technique, whereby the energy of the cosmic-ray is estimated on the basis of the measured angular distribution of the secondaries resulting from its interaction in a target. In this paper, we review the basic principles of the method and study the properties of different energy estimators by means of a full simulation of the interaction of the incident particle in a conceptual instrument. We also discuss the intrinsic limitations of the method and investigate its possible application to direct measurements of the cosmic-ray spectrum in the region of the 'knee'. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Batkov, K., Bigongiari, G., Maestro, P., Marrocchesi, P.S., Kim, M.Y., Zei, R. (2011). Direct measurements of cosmic-ray energy: the kinematical method revisited. ASTROPARTICLE PHYSICS, 35(2), 50-61 [10.1016/j.astropartphys.2011.06.002].

Direct measurements of cosmic-ray energy: the kinematical method revisited

BATKOV, K.;BIGONGIARI, G.;MAESTRO, P.;MARROCCHESI, P. S.;ZEI, R.
2011-01-01

Abstract

At an energy scale of 1015-1016 eV, a direct measurement of the energy carried by charged cosmic radiation is a real challenge for balloon-borne and space based instruments. As a consequence of the very small fluxes, a large collecting power is required which is difficult to accommodate with weight-limited instruments equipped with calorimeters. A different approach has been proposed that might allow for a sizeable reduction of the instrument mass. It is based on a kinematical technique, whereby the energy of the cosmic-ray is estimated on the basis of the measured angular distribution of the secondaries resulting from its interaction in a target. In this paper, we review the basic principles of the method and study the properties of different energy estimators by means of a full simulation of the interaction of the incident particle in a conceptual instrument. We also discuss the intrinsic limitations of the method and investigate its possible application to direct measurements of the cosmic-ray spectrum in the region of the 'knee'. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
2011
Batkov, K., Bigongiari, G., Maestro, P., Marrocchesi, P.S., Kim, M.Y., Zei, R. (2011). Direct measurements of cosmic-ray energy: the kinematical method revisited. ASTROPARTICLE PHYSICS, 35(2), 50-61 [10.1016/j.astropartphys.2011.06.002].
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11365/20520
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