Prescriptions on antiproton cross section data for precise theoretical antiproton flux predictions

2017/04/30 by Fiorenza Donato, Michael Korsmeier, Mattia Di Mauro
Chemistry · Physics and Astronomy · #Antiproton #Astronomy #Chemistry #Computer science #Cross section (physics) #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #Flux (metallurgy) #High-Energy Particle Collisions Research #Nuclear physics #Operating system #Particle Detector Development and Performance #Particle physics #Physics #Proton #Section (typography) #astro-ph.HE #hep-ex #hep-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevd.96.043007

published as Phys. Rev. D 96, 043007 (2017) · 15 pages, 13 figures, matches published version

openalex publication_date 2017/08/15 · arxiv created 2018/06/04 · arxiv updated 2018/06/05 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

After the breakthrough from the satellite-borne PAMELA detector, the flux of cosmic-ray (CR) antiprotons has been provided with unprecedented accuracy by AMS-02 on the International Space Station. Its data spans an energy range from below 1 GeV up to 400 GeV and most of the data points contain errors below the amazing level of 5%. The bulk of the antiproton flux is expected to be produced by the scatterings of CR protons and helium off interstellar hydrogen and helium atoms at rest. The modeling of these interactions, which requires the relevant production cross sections, induces an uncertainty in the determination of the antiproton source term that can even exceed the uncertainties in the CR p data itself. The aim of the present analysis is to determine the uncertainty required for p+p\ensuremath→p+X cross section measurements such that the induced uncertainties on the p flux are at the same level. Our results are discussed both in the center-of-mass reference frame, suitable for collider experiments, and in the laboratory frame, as occurring in the Galaxy. We find that cross section data should be collected with accuracy better than few percent with proton beams from 10 GeV to 6 TeV and a pseudorapidity \ensuremathη ranging from 2 to almost 8 or, alternatively, with p_T from 0.04 to 2 GeV and x_R from 0.02 to 0.7. Similar considerations hold for the pHe production channel. The present collection of data is far from these requirements. Nevertheless, they could, in principle, be reached by fixed target experiments with beam energies in the reach of CERN accelerators.

Citations

• PAMELA Measurements of Cosmic-Ray Proton and Helium Spectra
• Galactic antiproton spectrum at high energies: Background expectation versus exotic contributions
• ORIGIN OF THE COSMIC-RAY SPECTRAL HARDENING
• First Result from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station: Precision Measurement of the Positron Fraction in Primary Cosmic Rays of 0.5–350 GeV
• Electron and Positron Fluxes in Primary Cosmic Rays Measured with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station
• Production of Mesons and Baryons at High Rapidity and HighpTin Proton-Proton Collisions ats=200 GeV

Cited by

• Constraining heavy dark matter with cosmic-ray antiprotons