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Measurement of the Cosmic Ray Helium Energy Spectrum from 70 GeV to 80 TeV with the DAMPE Space Mission

F. Alemanno1,2, Q. An3,4, P. Azzarello5, F. C. T. Barbato1,2, P. Bernardini6,7, X. J. Bi8,9, M. S. Cai10,11, E. Catanzani12, J. Chang10,11 et al. (DAMPE Collaboration**)

J. Chang10,11, D. Y. Chen9,10, J. L. Chen13, Z. F. Chen10,11, M. Y. Cui10, T. S. Cui14, Y. X. Cui10,11, H. T. Dai3,4, A. D’Amone6,7, A. De Benedittis6,7, I. De Mitri1,2, F. de Palma6,7, M. Deliyergiyev5, M. Di Santo6,7,*, T. K. Dong10, Z. X. Dong14, G. Donvito15, D. Droz5, J. L. Duan13, K. K. Duan10, D. D’Urso12,†, R. R. Fan8, Y. Z. Fan10,11, K. Fang8, F. Fang13, C. Q. Feng3,4, L. Feng10, P. Fusco15,16, M. Gao8, F. Gargano15, K. Gong8, Y. Z. Gong10, D. Y. Guo8, J. H. Guo10,11, X. L. Guo10,11, S. X. Han14, Y. M. Hu10, G. S. Huang3,4, X. Y. Huang10,11, Y. Y. Huang10, M. Ionica12, W. Jiang10,11, J. Kong13, A. Kotenko5, D. Kyratzis1,2, S. J. Lei10, S. Li10, W. L. Li14, X. Li10, X. Q. Li14, Y. M. Liang14, C. M. Liu3,4, H. Liu10, J. Liu13, S. B. Liu3,4, W. Q. Liu13, Y. Liu10, F. Loparco15,16, C. N. Luo10,11, M. Ma14, P. X. Ma10, T. Ma10, X. Y. Ma14, G. Marsella6,7,‡, M. N. Mazziotta15, D. Mo13, X. Y. Niu13, X. Pan10,11, A. Parenti1,2, W. X. Peng8, X. Y. Peng10, C. Perrina5,§, R. Qiao8, J. N. Rao14, A. Ruina5, M. M. Salinas5, G. Z. Shang14, W. H. Shen14, Z. Q. Shen10, Z. T. Shen3,4, L. Silveri1,2, J. X. Song14, M. Stolpovskiy5, H. Su13, M. Su17, Z. Y. Sun13, A. Surdo7, X. J. Teng14, A. Tykhonov5, H. Wang14, J. Z. Wang8, L. G. Wang14, S. Wang10,11, X. L. Wang3,4, Y. Wang3,4, Y. F. Wang3,4, Y. Z. Wang10, Z. M. Wang1,2,∥, D. M. Wei10,11, J. J. Wei10, Y. F. Wei3,4, S. C. Wen3,4, D. Wu8, J. Wu10,11, L. B. Wu3,4, S. S. Wu14, X. Wu5, Z. Q. Xia10, H. T. Xu14, Z. H. Xu10,11, Z. L. Xu10, Z. Z. Xu3,4, G. F. Xue14, H. B. Yang13, P. Yang13, Y. Q. Yang13, H. J. Yao13, Y. H. Yu13, G. W. Yuan10,11, Q. Yuan10,11, C. Yue10, J. J. Zang10,¶, F. Zhang8, S. X. Zhang13, W. Z. Zhang14, Y. Zhang10, Y. J. Zhang13, Y. L. Zhang3,4, Y. P. Zhang13, Y. Q. Zhang10, Z. Zhang10, Z. Y. Zhang3,4, C. Zhao3,4, H. Y. Zhao13, X. F. Zhao14, C. Y. Zhou14, and Y. Zhu14 (DAMPE Collaboration**)

  • 1Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI), Via Iacobucci 2, I-67100 L’Aquila, Italy
  • 2Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN)–Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, I-67100 Assergi, L’Aquila, Italy
  • 3State Key Laboratory of Particle Detection and Electronics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
  • 4Department of Modern Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
  • 5Department of Nuclear and Particle Physics, University of Geneva, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland
  • 6Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica E. De Giorgi, Università del Salento, I-73100 Lecce, Italy
  • 7Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN)–Sezione di Lecce, I-73100 Lecce, Italy
  • 8Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yuquan Road 19B, Beijing 100049, China
  • 9University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yuquan Road 19A, Beijing 100049, China
  • 10Key Laboratory of Dark Matter and Space Astronomy, Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210023, China
  • 11School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
  • 12Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN)–Sezione di Perugia, I-06123 Perugia, Italy
  • 13Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanchang Road 509, Lanzhou 730000, China
  • 14National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanertiao 1, Zhongguancun, Haidian district, Beijing 100190, China
  • 15Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN)–Sezione di Bari, I-70125 Bari, Italy
  • 16Dipartimento di Fisica “M. Merlin” dell’Università e del Politecnico di Bari, I-70126 Bari, Italy
  • 17Department of Physics and Laboratory for Space Research, the University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China

  • *Present address: Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI), Via Iacobucci 2, I-67100 L’Aquila, Italy.
  • †Present address: Università di Sassari, Dipartimento di Chimica e Farmacia, I-07100 Sassari, Italy.
  • ‡Present address: Università degli Studi di Palermo, Dipartimento di Fisica e Chimica “E. Segrè,” via delle Scienze ed. 17, I-90128 Palermo, Italy.
  • §Also at Institute of Physics, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
  • ∥Present address: Shandong Institute of Advanced Technology (SDIAT), Jinan, Shandong 250100, China.
  • Also at School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Linyi University, Linyi 276000, China.
  • **dampe@pmo.ac.cn
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 201102 – Published 18 May, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.201102

Abstract

The measurement of the energy spectrum of cosmic ray helium nuclei from 70 GeV to 80 TeV using 4.5 years of data recorded by the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) is reported in this work. A hardening of the spectrum is observed at an energy of about 1.3 TeV, similar to previous observations. In addition, a spectral softening at about 34 TeV is revealed for the first time with large statistics and well controlled systematic uncertainties, with an overall significance of 4.3σ. The DAMPE spectral measurements of both cosmic protons and helium nuclei suggest a particle charge dependent softening energy, although with current uncertainties a dependence on the number of nucleons cannot be ruled out.

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synopsis

Confirming a Cosmic-Ray Bump

Published 18 May, 2021

The DArk Matter Particle Explorer has made the most precise measurements of galactic cosmic rays to date.

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 201102– Published 18 May, 2021
  • Received 5 January 2021
  • Revised 25 March 2021
  • Accepted 6 April 2021
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