Measurement of boron and carbon fluxes in cosmic rays with the PAMELA experiment

TL;DR

This paper reports new measurements of boron and carbon cosmic ray fluxes and their ratio using PAMELA, providing insights into cosmic ray propagation mechanisms within our galaxy.

Contribution

It presents the first precise measurements of boron and carbon fluxes and their ratio over a broad energy range from the PAMELA experiment, advancing cosmic ray propagation studies.

Findings

Boron and carbon fluxes measured across 0.44 - 129 GeV/n

B/C ratio data enhances understanding of cosmic ray propagation

Results support existing propagation models

Abstract

The propagation of cosmic rays inside our galaxy plays a fundamental role in shaping their injection spectra into those observed at Earth. One of the best tools to investigate this issue is the ratio of fluxes for secondary and primary species. The boron-to-carbon (B/C) ratio, in particular, is a sensitive probe to investigate propagation mechanisms. This paper presents new measurements of the absolute fluxes of boron and carbon nuclei, as well as the B/C ratio, from the PAMELA space experiment. The results span the range 0.44 - 129 GeV/n in kinetic energy for data taken in the period July 2006 - March 2008.