A Study of Cosmic Ray Secondaries Induced by the Mir Space Station Using AMS-01

TL;DR

This study uses AMS-01 data to reconstruct the Mir space station from secondary cosmic ray emissions, providing insights into background signals for future AMS-02 cosmic ray measurements.

Contribution

First reconstruction of Mir space station using AMS-01 secondary cosmic ray data, aiding background understanding for AMS-02.

Findings

Reconstructed Mir space station image from secondary cosmic rays.

Identified background contributions relevant for AMS-02.

Demonstrated feasibility of cosmic ray induced secondary imaging.

Abstract

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) is a high energy particle physics experiment that will study cosmic rays in the $\sim 100 \mathrm{MeV}$ to $1 \mathrm{TeV}$ range and will be installed on the International Space Station (ISS) for at least 3 years. A first version of AMS-02, AMS-01, flew aboard the space shuttle \emph{Discovery} from June 2 to June 12, 1998, and collected $10^8$ cosmic ray triggers. Part of the \emph{Mir} space station was within the AMS-01 field of view during the four day \emph{Mir} docking phase of this flight. We have reconstructed an image of this part of the \emph{Mir} space station using secondary $\pi^-$ and $\mu^-$ emissions from primary cosmic rays interacting with \emph{Mir}. This is the first time this reconstruction was performed in AMS-01, and it is important for understanding potential backgrounds during the 3 year AMS-02 mission.