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Precision Measurement of the Boron to Carbon Flux Ratio in Cosmic Rays from 1.9 GV to 2.6 TV with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station

  • AMS Collaboration
  • CIEMAT
  • RWTH Aachen University
  • National Institute for Nuclear Physics
  • Laboratório de Instrumentação e Física Experimental de Partículas
  • Jülich Research Centre
  • Université Grenoble Alpes
  • University of Geneva
  • CERN
  • University of Trento
  • CAS - Institute of High Energy Physics
  • University of Turku
  • ASI
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • University of Perugia
  • Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
  • University of Hawai'i at Mānoa
  • University of Milan - Bicocca
  • NASA Johnson Space Center
  • University of Rome La Sapienza
  • Universidade de São Paulo
  • Université Savoie Mont Blanc
  • National Research Council of Italy
  • Ewha Womans University
  • National Central University
  • Shandong University

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

366 Scopus citations

Abstract

Knowledge of the rigidity dependence of the boron to carbon flux ratio (B/C) is important in understanding the propagation of cosmic rays. The precise measurement of the B/C ratio from 1.9 GV to 2.6 TV, based on 2.3 million boron and 8.3 million carbon nuclei collected by AMS during the first 5 years of operation, is presented. The detailed variation with rigidity of the B/C spectral index is reported for the first time. The B/C ratio does not show any significant structures in contrast to many cosmic ray models that require such structures at high rigidities. Remarkably, above 65 GV, the B/C ratio is well described by a single power law RΔ with index Δ=-0.333±0.014(fit)±0.005(syst), in good agreement with the Kolmogorov theory of turbulence which predicts Δ=-1/3 asymptotically.

Original languageEnglish
Article number231102
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume117
Issue number23
DOIs
StatePublished - 28 Nov 2016

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