DAMPE Mission Enhances Understanding of Cosmic-Ray Interactions

Recent findings from the DAMPE (Dark Matter Particle Explorer) space mission have provided significant insights into cosmic-ray interactions. The research, titled "Hadronic cross section measurements with the DAMPE space mission using 20GeV-10TeV cosmic-ray protons and $^4$He," was conducted by a large team of researchers led by F. Alemanno and includes contributions from over 150 authors.

The study presents an energy-dependent measurement of the inelastic cross section of protons and helium-4 nuclei (alpha particles) on a Bi$4$Ge$_3$O${12}$ target. This measurement utilized 88 months of data collection, covering a kinetic energy range of 18 GeV to 9 TeV for protons and 5 GeV/n to 3 TeV/n for helium-4 nuclei.

One of the key outcomes of this research is a notable improvement in cosmic-ray flux normalization, which is crucial for understanding the sources of energetic particles in our galaxy and the interstellar environment they traverse. The results also mark the first cross-section measurements on a heavy target material at energies exceeding 10 GeV/n for helium-4, addressing uncertainties in hadronic models that have previously limited the accuracy of cosmic-ray ion flux measurements.

These advancements are expected to enhance the precision of future cosmic-ray studies, which are vital for astrophysical research and our understanding of fundamental particle interactions in high-energy environments. The full paper is available for further reading at arXiv:2408.17224.