Cosmic Rays Investigation by the PAMELA experiment

Abstract

PAMELA (Payload for Antimatter Matter Exploration and Light-nuclei Astrophysics) is a satellite-borne experiment. It was launched on June 15th 2006 from the Baikonur space centre on board the Russian Resurs-DK1 satellite. For about 10 years PAMELA took data, giving a fundamental contribution to the cosmic ray physics. It made high-precision measurements of the charged component of the cosmic radiation challenging the standard model of the mechanisms of production, acceleration and propagation of cosmic rays in the galaxy and in the heliosphere. PAMELA gave results on different topics on a very wide range of energy. Moreover, the long PAMELA life gives the possibility to study the variation of the proton, electron and positron spectra during the last solar minimum. The time dependence of the cosmic-ray proton and helium nuclei from the solar minimum through the following period of solar maximum activity is currently being studied. Low energy particle spectra were accurately measured also for various solar events that occurred during the PAMELA mission. In this paper a review of main PAMELA results will be reported.