Solar modulation of the cosmic-ray antiparticle and its significance for indirect dark matter searches
IFPU
29 April-3 May 2024
Recent years have seen the advent of sophisticated experiments that have provided a wealth of precise measurements of cosmic ray (CR) fluxes. In particular, measurements of CR antiparticle spectra have shown intriguing features that may indicate contributions from the annihilation or decay of dark matter (DM) particles.
A correct interpretation of these measurements requires an in-depth understanding of the astrophysical processes that affect CR particles and antiparticles. Especially significant for near- Earth measurements is the propagation of charged particles in the turbulent heliospheric magnetic field. Numerical models have become an essential tool to simulate the propagation of CRs through the Heliosphere and to evaluate their time variation caused by solar modulation. Our project aims to fine-tune a state-of-the-art numerical model for cosmic-ray propagation through the Heliosphere using different cosmic ray data sets from the PAMELA, HEPD, and AMS-02 space-born experiments. Subsequently, this model will be used to estimate the effect of solar modulation for the future CR antiparticle measurements expected by the GAPS experiment.
Organisers:
- Riccardo Munini (INFN, Trieste)
- Donald Ngobeni (North-West University, South Africa)
Participants:
- Mirko Boezio (INFN, Trieste)
- Riccardo Munini (INFN, Trieste)
- Dzivhuluwani Christopher Ndiitwani (North-West University, South Africa)
- Donald Ngobeni (North-West University, South Africa)
- Innocentia Itumeleng Ramokgaba (North-West University, South Africa)