The spectrum of cosmic electrons with energies between 6 and 100 GeV

Abstract

view Abstract Citations (30) References (18) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS The spectrum of cosmic electrons with energies between 6 and 100 GeV. Meegan, C. A. ; Earl, J. A. Abstract Results are presented for an experimental determination of the spectrum of cosmic electrons with energies between 6 and 100 GeV. The balloon-borne hodoscope and detector are described, and separation of cosmic electrons from the nuclear background is outlined. The spectra of cosmic primary and ground-level secondary electrons are discussed, and the spectral intensities of both types of particles are found to have separate power-law dependences on the electron energy. On the basis of the steepness of the spectrum of cosmic electrons relative to that of nuclei, it is concluded that either the injection spectrum of electrons is steeper than that of nuclei, or the electron spectrum is steepened by Compton/synchotron losses in the examined energy range. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: April 1975 DOI: 10.1086/153505 Bibcode: 1975ApJ...197..219M Keywords: Balloon-Borne Instruments; Cosmic Ray Showers; Electron Energy; Energy Spectra; Hodoscopes; Background Noise; Compton Effect; Nuclear Radiation; Radiation Counters; Scintillation Counters; Secondary Cosmic Rays; Synchrotron Radiation; Space Radiation full text sources ADS |