The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station-Prof. Sam C.C. Ting (Thomas Dudley Cabot Prof. of Phys., MIT Lab of Nuclear Physics)

by Prof. Sam C.C. Ting (Thomas Dudley Cabot Professor of Physics, MIT Lab of Nuclear Science, 1976 Nobel Laureate)

Thursday Dec 4, 2008, 3:30 PM → 4:30 PM Pacific/Honolulu

Rm 112 (UHM - Watanabe Hall)

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) is a precise particle physics instrument on the International Space Station, mostly built in Europe (Italy, Germany, Spain, France, Switzerland, Portugal, the Netherlands, Finland, Russia, Romania) and in Asia (China, Taiwan, Korea) with the support of the United States (NASA and DOE). In the cosmos there are neutral cosmic rays and charged cosmic rays. Neutral cosmic rays (light rays and neutrinos) have been studied extensively by satellites, ground-based telescopes and underground experiments for neutrinos. Charged cosmic rays (electrons, positrons, protons, antiprotons, nuclei and anti-nuclei) provide information on the existence of antimatter universe, the origin of dark matter and the origin of cosmic rays. These are the fundamental issues of modern physics: Grand Unified Theory, Electroweak Theory, Supersymmetry, CP Violation, Proton lifetime... To study charged cosmic rays requires a precision magnetic spectrometer. AMS is the first large magnetic spectrometer specifically designed for this purpose. The construction of AMS is completed. The science objectives and the properties of the detector will be presented.