arXiv subjects

P. Picozza

Publications and source records attributed to P. Picozza.

133 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

arXiv2001

In-flight performances of SilEye-2 Experiment and cosmic ray abundances inside space station Mir

Cosmic ray measurements performed with the instrument SilEye-2 on Mir space station are presented. SilEye-2 is a silicon detector telescope for the study of the causes of Light Flashes perception by astronauts. As a stand-alone device, it monitors in the short and long term the radiation composition inside Mir. The cosmic ray detector consists of an array of 6 active silicon strip detectors which allow nuclear identification of cosmic rays up to Iron. The device was operational for more than 1000 hours in the years 1998-2000, measuring also several Solar Particle Events. In this work we present the in-flight performance of the instrument and nuclear abundance data from Boron to Silicon above ~150 MeV/n inside Mir.

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arXiv2001

Light Isotope Abundances in Solar Energetic Particles measured by the Space Instrument NINA

This article reports nine Solar Energetic Particle events detected by the instrument NINA between October 1998 and April 1999. NINA is a silicon-based particle detector mounted on-board the Russian satellite Resurs-01-N4, which has flown at an altitude of about 800 km in polar inclination since July 1998. For every solar event the power-law He4 spectrum across the energy interval 10--50 MeV/n was reconstructed, and spectral indexes, gamma, from 1.8 to 6.8 extracted. Data of He3 and He4 were used to determine the He3/He4 ratio, that for some SEP events indicated an enrichment in He3. For the 1998 November 7 event the ratio reached a maximum value of 0.33+- 0.06, with spectral indexes of gamma = 2.5 +- 0.6 and gamma = 3.7 +- 0.3 for He3 and He4, respectively. The He3/He4 ratio averaged over the remaining events was 0.011 +- 0.004. For all events the deuterium-to-proton ratio was determined. The average value over all events was (3.9+-1.4) 10^{-5} across the energy interval 9--12 MeV/n. For one event (1998 November 24) this ratio yielded approximately 10 times higher than normal coronal values. Upper limits on the H3/H1 counting ratio for all events were determined. For the 1998 November 14 SEP event the high flux of heavy particles detected made it possible to reconstruct the carbon and oxygen flux.

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arXiv2001

Exotic Matter research in Space

The direct detection of annihilation products in cosmic rays offer an alternative way to search for dark matter particles candidates. Here we will see in particular that the study of the spectrum of antiproton and positrons offer good possibilities to perform this search and we will review our experimental effort in this direction.

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arXiv2000

In-Orbit Performance of the Space Telescope NINA and GCR Flux Measurements

The NINA apparatus, on board the Russian satellite Resurs-01 n.4, has been in polar orbit since 1998 July 10, at an altitude of 840 km. Its main scientific task is to study the galactic, solar and anomalous components of cosmic rays in the energy interval 10--200 MeV/n. In this paper we present a description of the instrument and its basic operating modes. Measurements of Galactic Cosmic Ray spectra will also be shown.

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arXiv1999

The AGILE Gamma-ray Astronomy Mission

We describe the AGILE gamma-ray astronomy satellite which has recently been selected as the first Small Scientific Mission of the Italian Space Agency. With a launch in 2002, AGILE will provide a unique tool for high-energy astrophysics in the 30 MeV - 50 GeV range before GLAST. Despite the much smaller weight and dimensions, the scientific performances of AGILE are comparable to those of EGRET.

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arXiv1999

The AGILE gamma-ray detector

The gamma-ray detector AGILE, operating in the energy range from 30 MeV to 50 GeV, is composed by a tracking part, a light calorimeter and an anticoincidence system. Here we describe the detector and its capabilities to determine the arrival direction and energy of the detected photons.

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arXiv1998

AGILE: a Gamma-Ray Mission for a Light Imaging Detector

AGILE is an innovative, cost-effective gamma-ray mission proposed to the ASI Program of Small Scientific Missions. It is planned to detect gamma-rays in the 30 MeV - 50 GeV energy band and operate as an {\bf Observatory} open to the international community. Primary scientific goals include the study of AGNs, gamma-ray bursts, Galactic sources, unidentified gamma-ray sources, solar flares, and diffuse gamma-ray emission. AGILE is planned to be operational during the year 2001 for a 3-year mission. It will ideally `fill the gap' between EGRET and GLAST, and support ground-based multiwavelength studies of high-energy sources.

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