Study of the performances of the DAMPE silicon-tungsten tracker after five years of mission

Abstract

DAMPE (DArk Matter Particle Explorer) is a satellite-based experiment launched in December 2015 and smoothly taking data after five years of mission. The Silicon-Tungsten Tracker (STK) is characterized by 6 double layers of silicon micro-strip detectors, for a total detection area of 7 m2, and three 1 mm thick tungsten plates, placed in the mechanical support structure, aimed to the photon conversion in e± pairs. The STK has a double role: precise reconstruction of the track of charged particles with a spatial resolution around 40 μm for most incident angles of the incoming particles, identification of the charge of the incoming cosmic rays. The STK performances are excellent after five years of continuous operation in space: in this contribution the STK in-orbit calibration and performances during the whole DAMPE mission will be presented.