Determination of the Characteristics of Inelastic Interaction of Light Nuclei with Tungsten by Measuring Cosmic Rays in the PAMELA Experiment
The article presents the energy dependence of the cross section for the inelastic interaction of light nuclei (protons, helium, lithium) with energies of several hundred megaelectronvolts with tungsten nuclei, obtained using the data of the PAMELA space experiment. The PAMELA instrument is intended for precision measurements of cosmic ray fluxes of various natures and included a set of detector systems for reliable determination of particle characteristics (type and energy). In this work, the particles were identified using a track system in a magnetic field, a time-of-flight system, and an anti-coincidence system. A position-sensitive calorimeter with a tungsten absorber, in turn, makes it possible to study the characteristics of the interaction of particles inside it, in particular, to calculate the cross section of their inelastic interaction.