PAMELA - A Payload for Antimatter Matter Exploration and Light-nuclei Astrophysics

• Published in: arXiv.org 2007-01
• Main Authors: Picozza, P, Galper, A M, Castellini, G, Adriani, O, Altamura, F, Ambriola, M, Barbarino, G C, Basili, A, Bazilevskaja, G A, Bencardino, R, Boezio, M, Bogomolov, E A, Bonechi, L, Bongi, M, Bongiorno, L, Bonvicini, V, Cafagna, F, Campana, D, Carlson, P, Casolino, M, De Marzo, C, De Pascale, M P, De Rosa, G, Fedele, D, Hofverberg, P, Koldashov, S V, S Yu Krutkov, Kvashnin, A N, Lund, J, Lundquist, J, Maksumov, O, Malvezzi, V, Marcelli, L, Menn, W, Mikhailov, V V, Minori, M, Misin, S, Mocchiutti, E, Morselli, A, Nikonov, N N, Orsi, S, Osteria, G, Papini, P, Pearce, M, Ricci, M, Ricciarini, S B, Runtso, M F, Russo, S, Simon, M, Sparvoli, R, Spillantini, P, Stozhkov, Yu I, Taddei, E, Vacchi, A, Vannuccini, E, Voronov, S A, Yurkin, Y T, Zampa, G, Zampa, N, Zverev, V G
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antimatter; Antiparticles; Astrophysics; Charged particles; Cosmic rays; Launching facilities; Matter & antimatter; Neutron counters; Nuclei (nuclear physics); Scintillation counters; Tungsten
• ISSN: 2331-8422
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.0608697

The PAMELA experiment is a satellite-borne apparatus designed to study charged particles in the cosmic radiation with a particular focus on antiparticles. PAMELA is mounted on the Resurs DK1 satellite that was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome on June 15th 2006. The PAMELA apparatus comprises a time-of-flight system, a magnetic spectrometer, a silicon-tungsten electromagnetic calorimeter, an anticoincidence system, a shower tail catcher scintillator and a neutron detector. The combination of these devices allows antiparticles to be reliably identified from a large background of other charged particles. This paper reviews the design, space qualification and on-ground performance of PAMELA. The in-orbit performance will be discussed in future publications.