CaltechAUTHORS
Published November 1, 2022 | Version public
Journal Article Metadata-only

SuperTIGER instrument abundances of galactic cosmic rays for the charge interval 41 ⩽ Z ⩽ 56

Creators

  • 1. ROR icon Washington University in St. Louis
  • 2. ROR icon Waseda University
  • 3. ROR icon Goddard Space Flight Center
  • 4. ROR icon University of Maryland, Baltimore County
  • 5. ROR icon California Institute of Technology
  • 6. ROR icon Northern Kentucky University
  • 7. ROR icon University of Maryland, College Park
  • 8. ROR icon Catholic University of America
  • 9. ROR icon Jet Propulsion Lab

Abstract

We report preliminary elemental abundance results from the 55-day long-duration-balloon flight of SuperTIGER (Super Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder) during the 2012–2013 austral summer. SuperTIGER measured the relative abundances of Galactic cosmic-ray (GCR) nuclei with high statistical precision and well resolved individual element peaks from ₁₀Ne to ₄₀Zr. SuperTIGER also made exploratory measurements of the relative abundances up to 56Ba. Although the statistics are low for elements heavier than ₄₀Zr, we present, for the first time, relative abundance measurements of charges Z = 41 - 56 with individual element resolution. GCR measurements up to ₄₀Zr support a source acceleration model where supernovae in OB associations preferentially accelerate refractory elements that are more readily embedded in interstellar dust grains than volatiles. In addition, injection into the GCR for both refractory and volatile elements appears to follow a charge dependence consistent with their grain sputtering cross sections. By extending the GCR measurement range past ₄₀Zr, we can begin to further constrain these models.

Additional Information

This research was supported by NASA under grants NNX09AC17G, NNX14AB25G, NNX15AC23G and 80NSSC20K0405, by the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences at Washington University, and by the Peggy and Steve Fossett Foundation. We thank the NASA Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility, the NASA Balloon Program Office, and the NSF United States Antarctic Program for the excellent and highly professional efforts that resulted in two successful long-duration balloon flights for SuperTIGER.

Additional details

Identifiers

Eprint ID
117953
DOI
10.1016/j.asr.2022.04.063
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:20221121-712406200.18

Funding

NASA
NNX09AC17G
NASA
NNX14AB25G
NASA
NNX15AC23G
NASA
80NSSC20K0405
Washington University
Peggy and Steve Fossett Foundation

Dates

Created
2022-12-02
Created from EPrint's datestamp field
Updated
2022-12-02
Created from EPrint's last_modified field

Caltech Custom Metadata

Caltech groups
Space Radiation Laboratory , Astronomy Department