Progress towards a measurement of the UHE cosmic ray electron flux using the CREST Instrument
Abstract
Electrons of energy beyond about 3 TeV have never been detected in the flux of cosmic rays at Earth despite strong evidence of their presence in a number of supernova remnants (e.g., SN 1006). The detection of high energy electrons at Earth would be extremely significant, yielding information about the spatial distribution of nearby cosmic ray sources. With the Cosmic Ray Electron Synchrotron Telescope (CREST), our collaboration has adopted a novel approach to the detection of electrons of energies between 2 and 50 TeV which results in a substantial increase in the acceptance and sensitivity of the apparatus relative to its physics size. The first LDB flight of the CREST detector took place in January 2012, with a float duration of approximately 10 days. In this paper we describe the flight performance of the instrument, and progress in the analysis of the data obtained in this flight.
- Publication:
-
39th COSPAR Scientific Assembly
- Pub Date:
- July 2012
- Bibcode:
- 2012cosp...39.1309M