Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass Research Articles

Beam test of a dual layer silicon charge detector (SCD) for the CREAM experiment

The Cosmic Ray Energetics and Mass (CREAM) balloon-borne experiment is designed for direct measurement of high-energy cosmic rays. The experimental goal is to measure single-element fluxes of all cosmic-ray nuclei from hydrogen to iron with energies up to the “knee”, or spectral index change near 10 15 eV , observed in the all-particle spectrum. The dual layer Silicon Charge Detector (SCD) was designed to provide precise charge measurements. Each SCD layer has an active area of 77.9 cm × 79.5 cm and consists of 156 silicon sensors mounted on 24 ladders. Each sensor contains a 4 × 4 array of single-sided DC type silicon pixels with an active area of 2.1 cm 2 . The detector was flown on the second CREAM flight (December 2005–January 2006) and recovered successfully. The SCD was refurbished for the third CREAM flight and tested with high-energy electron and hadron beams at CERN. This paper reports on the performance of the SCD during the beam test.

The Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass (CREAM) instrument

The Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass (CREAM) experiment is designed to investigate high-energy (10 12∼10 15 eV) cosmic rays over the elemental range from hydrogen to iron (1⩽ Z⩽26), through a series of long balloon flights. Originally planned to be flown on the first of the new Ultra Long Duration Balloons (ULDB) being developed by NASA, the CREAM instrument was launched as a Long Duration Balloon (LDB) payload from McMurdo Station, Antarctica on December 16, 2004 and flew for a record-breaking 42 days. A second CREAM flight one year later lasted 28 days. The CREAM design is unique in that it obtains two independent energy measurements using a tungsten/scintillator sampling calorimeter and a Transition Radiation Detector (TRD) with up to four independent charge measurements of incident particles using a novel Timing-based scintillator Charge Detector (TCD), a plastic Cherenkov Detector (CD), scintillating fiber hodoscopes, and a Silicon Charge Detector (SCD). The energy limits are determined by trigger efficiency and telemetry bandwidth at the low end and by statistics at the high end.

Preliminary results from the second flight of CREAM

Launched from McMurdo (Antarctica) in December 2005, the balloon experiment CREAM (cosmic ray energetics and mass) collected about 15 million triggers during its second flight of 28 days. Redundant charge identification, by two pixelated silicon arrays and a time resolved pulse shaping technique from a scintillator system, allowed a clear signature of the primary nuclei. The energy was measured with a tungsten/SciFi calorimeter preceded by a graphite target. Preliminary results from the analysis of the data of the second flight are presented.

Design and performance in the first flight of the transition radiation detector and charge detector of the CREAM balloon instrument

The Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass (CREAM) instrument flew on a high altitude balloon in Antarctica in 2004–2005 for a record breaking 42 days. An array of detectors was deployed to identify cosmic rays and measure their energies up to several hundred TeV. A major science goal is the measurement of secondary nuclei at high energy (produced by spallation reactions of heavier cosmic rays in the interstellar medium). This is done with a transition radiation detector using xenon-filled proportional tubes, and charge identification devices comprising plastic scintillator and Cherenkov counters. Accurate and stable performance of these detectors is necessary for the reliable identification of the secondary nuclei. The design of these detectors and their performance in flight are discussed, and preliminary data presented.

Silicon charge detector for the CREAM experiment

The Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass (CREAM) payload had its first successful flight in December 2004 from McMurdo Station, Antarctica as a Long Duration Balloon mission. Its aim is to explore the supernova acceleration limit of cosmic rays, the relativistic gas of protons, electrons and heavy nuclei arriving at Earth from outside of the solar system. The instrument is equipped with several systems to measure charge and energy spectra for Z = 1 – 26 nuclei over the energy range 10 11 – 10 15 eV . The Silicon Charge Detector (SCD) is a precision device to measure the charge of incident cosmic rays. The design, construction, integration and preliminary performance of the SCD are detailed in this paper.

CREAM-Pushing the high energy frontier of directly measured cosmic rays

After nearly a century since their discovery, much is still uncertain about cosmic rays, including their source, acceleration mechanism, and propagation. Direct measurement of cosmic-ray elemental spectra in the critical energy range of 1012–1015 eV offers a promising avenue to answering these questions. The Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass (CREAM) experiment was launched from McMurdo Station, Antarctica, under a NASA research balloon on December 16, 2004. Floating for nearly 42 days at altitudes between 36 and 39 km, CREAM collected over 4 × 107 events. Preliminary results show great promise for this dataset. CREAM-II launched on December 16, 2005 and ew for 28 days. A refurbished CREAM is planned to y again in 2007. This presentation will examine the experimental context of CREAM, describe the detector, and show preliminary results from accelerator beam tests and the first ight.

Design, Implementation, and Performance of CREAM Data Acquisition Software

Cosmic Ray Energetics and Mass (CREAM) is a balloon-borne experiment scheduled for launching from Antarctica in late 2004. Its aim is to measure the energy spectrum and composition of cosmic rays from proton to iron nuclei at ultra high energies from 1 to 1,000 TeV. Ultra long duration balloons are expected to fly about 100 days. One special feature of the CREAM data acquisition software (CDAQ) is the telemetric operation of the instrument using satellites. During a flight the science event and housekeeping data are sent from the instrument to a ground facility. Likewise, commands for controlling both the hardware and the software are uploaded from the ground facility. This requires a robust, reliable, and fast software system. CDAQ has been developed and tested during three beam tests at CERN in July, September, and November 2003. Recently the interfaces to the transition radiation detector (TRD) and to the timing-based charge detector (TCD) have been added. These new additions to CDAQ will be checked at a thermal/vacuum test of the instrument at NASA. The design, implementation, and performance of CDAQ are reported.

Performance of CREAM Calorimeter: Results of Beam Tests

The Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass (CREAM), a balloon-borne experiment, is under preparation for a flight in Antarctica at the end of 2004. CREAM is planned to measure the energy spectrum and composition of cosmic rays directly at energies between 1 TeV and 1000 TeV. Incident particle energies will be measured by a transition radiation detector and a sampling calorimeter. The calorimeter was constructed at the University of Maryland and tested at CERN in 2003. Performance of the calorimeter during the beam tests is reported.

Cosmic Ray Energetics and Mass (CREAM)

The CREAM instrument was flown on a Long Duration Balloon in Antarctica in December 2004 and January 2005, achieving a flight duration record of nearly 42 days. It detected and recorded cosmic ray primary particles ranging in type from hydrogen to iron nuclei and in energy from 1 TeV to several hundred TeV. With the data collected we will have the world's best measurement of the energy spectra and mass composition of nuclei in the primary cosmic ray flux at these energies, close to the astrophysical knee . The instrument utilized a thin calorimeter, a transition radiation detector and a timing charge detector, which also provided time-of-flight information. The responsibilities of our group have been with the timing charge detector (TCD), and with the data acquisition electronics and ground station support equipment. The TCD utilized fast scintillators to measure the charge of the primary cosmic ray before any interactions could take place within the calorimeter. The data acquisition electronics handled the output of the various detectors, in a fashion fully integrated with the payload bus. A space-qualified flight computer controlled the acquisition, and was used for preliminary trigger information processing and decision making. Ground support equipment was used to monitor the health of the payload, acquire and archive the data transmitted to the ground, and to provide real-time control of the instrument in flight.

Heavy ion beam test results of the silicon charge detector for the CREAM cosmic ray balloon mission

The Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass (CREAM) experiment is designed to measure cosmic ray elemental spectra to help understand the source and acceleration mechanisms of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. The payload is planned to launch in December 2004 from McMurdo Station, Antarctica as a balloon mission. A Silicon Charge Detector (SCD) was designed and constructed for the CREAM experiment to provide precision charge measurements of incident cosmic rays with a resolution of 0.2 charge unit or better. The SCD was exposed to heavy ion beams at CERN's H2 beam line in November 2003. The results reported here show the SCD performs as designed.

Construction and test of a scintillator hodoscope for the CREAM experiment

CREAM (Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass) is a balloon-borne experiment being prepared for the first flight which is scheduled for the end of 2004 from Antarctica. It is designed to perform direct measurements of cosmic ray composition over the elemental range from proton to iron to the supernova energy scale of 10 15 eV in a series of balloon flights using the new Ultra Long Duration Balloon (ULDB) capability under development by NASA. The instrument includes a sampling tungsten/scintillating fiber calorimeter preceded by a graphite target with scintillating fiber hodoscopes, a pixelated silicon charge detector, a transition radiation detector and a segmented timing-based particle-charge detector. The hodoscope system provides track reconstruction capability by means of 4 orthogonal layers of fibers (S0,S1) on top of the carbon target and 2 additional layers (S2) located in between the upper and lower target sections. Its construction technique and beam test results are presented.

Construction and test of a tungsten/Sci-Fi imaging calorimeter for the CREAM experiment

Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass (CREAM) is a balloon-borne experiment designed to perform direct measurements of cosmic ray composition over the elemental range from proton to iron to the supernova energy scale of 10 15 eV in a series of balloon flights using the new Ultra Long Duration Balloon (ULDB) capability under development by NASA. The first flight of CREAM will take place at the end of 2004 from Antarctica. The instrument includes a sampling tungsten/scintillating fiber calorimeter preceded by a graphite target with scintillating fiber hodoscopes, a pixelated silicon charge detector, a transition radiation detector and a segmented timing-based particle-charge detector. The thin ionization calorimeter has been designed to operate in the range of energies from a few hundred GeV to 1 PeV providing imaging capability in the reconstruction of the showers originating from the interaction of primary nuclei in the carbon target. A twin calorimeter for the second CREAM payload has been built and tested at CERN. Its construction technique and preliminary test results are presented.

Heavy ion beam test results of the silicon charge detector for the CREAM cosmic ray balloon mission

The Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass (CREAM) experiment is designed to measure cosmic ray elemental spectra to help understand the source and acceleration mechanisms of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. The payload is planned to launch in December 2004 from McMurdo Station, Antarctica as a balloon mission. A Silicon Charge Detector (SCD) was designed and constructed for the CREAM experiment to provide precision charge measurements of incident cosmic rays with a resolution of 0.2 charge unit or better. The SCD was exposed to heavy ion beams at CERN's H2 beam line in November 2003. The results reported here show the SCD performs as designed.

Cosmic-ray energetics and mass (CREAM) balloon project

The cosmic-ray energetics and mass (CREAM) investigation is designed to measure cosmic-ray composition to the supernova energy scale of 10 15 eV in a series of ultra long duration balloon (ULDB) flights. The first flight is planned to be launched from Antarctica in December 2004. The goal is to observe cosmic-ray spectral features and/or abundance changes that might signify a limit to supernova acceleration. The particle charge ( Z) measurements will be made with a timing-based charge detector and a pixelated silicon charge detector to minimize the effect of backscatter from the calorimeter. The particle energy measurements will be made with a transition radiation detector (TRD) for Z>3 and a sampling tungsten/scintillator calorimeter for Z⩾1 particles, allowing inflight cross calibration of the two detectors. The status of the payload construction and flight preparation are reported in this paper.

Cosmic-ray energetics and mass (CREAM) balloon project

The cosmic-ray energetics and mass (CREAM) investigation is designed to measure cosmic-ray composition to the supernova energy scale of 10 15 eV in a series of ultra long duration balloon (ULDB) flights. The first flight is planned to be launched from Antarctica in December 2004. The goal is to observe cosmic-ray spectral features and/or abundance changes that might signify a limit to supernova acceleration. The particle charge ( Z ) measurements will be made with a timing-based charge detector and a pixelated silicon charge detector to minimize the effect of backscatter from the calorimeter. The particle energy measurements will be made with a transition radiation detector (TRD) for Z >3 and a sampling tungsten/scintillator calorimeter for Z ⩾1 particles, allowing inflight cross calibration of the two detectors. The status of the payload construction and flight preparation are reported in this paper.

Results of the ultra-long duration balloon flight support system development

NASA/Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) developed an Ultra-Long Duration Balloon (ULDB) balloon support system that was flown on a balloon test flight at Fort Sumner, NM in May of 2001. The objectives were to develop a flight support system that would meet the generic requirements of supporting ULDB missions for up to 100 days. The flight system consists of hardware and software elements including RF communications, power system, attitude control, command and data handling, thermal control and mechanical structures. An overview of the flight support systems is presented along with the results from the balloon test flight. A key result of this test flight was the proven capability to transmit 150 kbps through a newly developed TDRSS high gain antenna. In addition, the balloon flight support system is currently being reconfigured to support the Cosmic Ray Energetics and Mass (CREAM) mission scheduled for launch out of Antarctica in December 2003. The technical capabilities and performance of the flight support system has been analyzed in light of limited resources to support the CREAM mission. A discussion of the technical trade-offs that has resulted in a baseline design to meet the CREAM mission requirements will be presented.

Results of the ultra-long duration balloon flight support system development

NASA/Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) developed an Ultra-Long Duration Balloon (ULDB) balloon support system that was flown on a balloon test flight at Fort Sumner, NM in May of 2001. The objectives were to develop a flight support system that would meet the generic requirements of supporting ULDB missions for up to 100 days. The flight system consists of hardware and software elements including RF communications, power system, attitude control, command and data handling, thermal control and mechanical structures. An overview of the flight support systems is presented along with the results from the balloon test flight. A key result of this test flight was the proven capability to transmit 150 kbps through a newly developed TDRSS high gain antenna. In addition, the balloon flight support system is currently being reconfigured to support the Cosmic Ray Energetics and Mass (CREAM) mission scheduled for launch out of Antarctica in December 2003. The technical capabilities and performance of the flight support system has been analyzed in light of limited resources to support the CREAM mission. A discussion of the technical trade-offs that has resulted in a baseline design to meet the CREAM mission requirements will be presented.

Low-energy beam test results of a calorimeter prototype for the CREAM experiment

CREAM (Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass) is an experiment under construction for a direct measurement of high energy cosmic rays (1012 to > 5 · 1014 eV) over the elemental range from proton to iron. The first flight of CREAM is intended to demonstrate the new Ultra Long Duration Balloon (ULDB) capability under development by NASA. A prototype of a tungsten-SciFi imaging calorimeter designed for CREAM has been tested at CERN with electron beam energies ranging from 5 to 100 GeV. Although the calorimeter module is optimized for cosmic-ray spectral measurements in the multi-TeV region, the response of its electromagnetic section to low energy electrons has been studied with this dedicated prototype. Results show good agreement with the expected behaviour in terms of linearity and energy resolution.

Cosmic-ray energetics and mass (CREAM) balloon experiment

The Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass (CREAM) Ultra Long Duration Balloon (ULDB) mission will investigate ultra high energy (10 12 to > 5 × 10 14 eV) cosmic rays over the elemental range from protons to iron. The measurements will be made with an instrument that consists of a sampling tungsten/scintillator calorimeter preceded by a graphite target with scintillator layers for trigger and track-reconstruction purposes, a transition radiation detector (TRD) for observing heavy nuclei, and a segmented timing-based particle-charge detector. A key feature of the instrument is its ability to obtain simultaneous measurements of the energy and charge of a subset of nuclei by the complementary calorimeter and TRD techniques, thereby allowing in-flight inter-calibration of their energy scales. The energy extent will depend on a series of ULDB flights of identical instruments: three flights will reach 5 × 10 14 eV. The different flights can be carried out at essentially any latitude, including the polar regions of either hemisphere. CREAM will be ready for flight one year after the TIGER (Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder) ULDB demonstration flight, which is currently scheduled for launch in December 2001.