PERDaix

PERDaix (Proton Electron Radiation Detector Aix-la-Chapelle) is a novel, small and light weight magnetic spectrometer to measure the charge and mass dependent solar modulation periodically for deeper understanding of cosmic rays. For a better understanding of sources and acceleration of cosmic particles direct measurements of cosmic rays are necessary. Also for a better understanding of the solar modulation which is expected to follow the 22-year solar cycle, time dependent measurements are needed. PERDaix is a newly designed detector which is constructed by the Department of Physics 1b, RWTH Aachen University. Being proposed to the German Space Agency in November 2009 for a participation in the BEXUS Program (Rocket and Balloon Experiments for University Students) after a first canceled flight attempt in October 2010 the actual flight took place as a post-BEXUS-campaign flight opportunity in November 2010. The detector is able to measure charged particles in the energy range of 0.5 GeV to 5 GeV. PERDaix uses a time of flight system, a scintillating fiber tracker with silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) readout, and a transition radiation detector in combination with a permanent magnet to measure particle fluxes. The BEXUS balloons are launched at Esrange Space Center near Kiruna, Sweden.…

PERDaix (Proton Electron Radiation Detector Aix-la-Chapelle) is a novel, small and light weight magnetic spectrometer to measure the charge and mass dependent solar modulation periodically for deeper understanding of cosmic rays. For a better understanding of sources and acceleration of cosmic particles direct measurements of cosmic rays are necessary. Also for a better understanding of the solar modulation which is expected to follow the 22-year solar cycle, time dependent measurements are needed. PERDaix is a newly designed detector which is constructed by the Department of Physics 1b, RWTH Aachen University. Being proposed to the German Space Agency in November 2009 for a participation in the BEXUS Program (Rocket and Balloon Experiments for University Students) after a first canceled flight attempt in October 2010 the actual flight took place as a post-BEXUS-campaign flight opportunity in November 2010. The detector is able to measure charged particles in the energy range of 0.5 GeV to 5 GeV. PERDaix uses a time of flight system, a scintillating fiber tracker with silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) readout, and a transition radiation detector in combination with a permanent magnet to measure particle fluxes. The BEXUS balloons are launched at Esrange Space Center near Kiruna, Sweden. In November 2010 PERDaix reached a top altitude of 33.3 km at which it kept floating for 1.5 hours. The time of flight system (TOF) is the upper- and lowermost layer of the detector. It consists of scintillators with an SiPM readout. It is used as a trigger signal and to discriminate against particles entering the detector from below. With a design time resolution of approximately 300 picoseconds (ps) it can be used to distinguish between positrons and electrons in the momentum range below 1 GeV. Protons can be distinguished from positrons for momenta below 1 GeV if their velocity is lower than β = 1.

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