Abstract A brief description of the experiments carried out so far to measure the energy spectrum of antiprotons is made and the reason for the excitement in this field of research is elucidated. The observed spectrum appears to be different from the other components of cosmic rays. Various physical processes by which antiprotons could be created are summarised. The equilibrium spectrum of antiprotons in the Galaxy, arising from each of these processes, is derived for different propagation models. It is shown that no single model can predict correctly the observed data over the entire energy region. However, the recent data at low energies suggest that the conventional models with large amount of matter traversal by cosmic rays, either in the source region or during propagation, can reproduce the data closely. The implications of these propagation models for other components are discussed and the need for more observations is emphesized.
Antiprotons in cosmic rays and their implications
Advances in Space Research ; 9 , 12 ; 55-64
1989-01-01
10 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
Antiprotons in cosmic rays and their implications
NTRS | 1989
|Trapped antiprotons produced by cosmic rays in the Earth's magnetosphere
Online Contents | 2004
|Propagation of secondary antiprotons and cosmic rays in the Galaxy
Online Contents | 2005
|Propagation of secondary antiprotons and cosmic rays in the Galaxy
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2005
|Trapped Antiprotons Produced by Cosmic Rays in the Earth's Magnetosphere
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2004
|