First Results from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) Experiment
The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) Collaboration announces the publication of its first physics results in Physical Review Letters [ 110, 141102 (2013) ]. AMS is the most powerful and sensitive particle physics spectrometer ever deployed in space. As seen in the figure below, AMS is located on the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS) and, since its installation on May 19, 2011, until the present, it has measured over 30 billion cosmic rays at energies up to trillions of electron volts. The positron fraction spectrum obtained by the AMS Experiment implies the existence of an unknown common source of high energy electrons and positrons in the Universe, which is consistent with the dark matter assumption. Our High-Energy Experimental Group led by Dr. Shih-Chang Lee is an important member of the AMS Collaboration.
From its vantage point ~400 km above the Earth, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) collects data from primordial cosmic rays that traverse the detector.
Journal Links: http://www.phys.sinica.edu.tw/index_detail.php?id=research&newsid=342