Dark Matter Particle Explorer
Names | Wukong,[1] TanSuo[2] |
---|---|
Mission type | High-energy Astronomy |
Operator | CAS |
COSPAR ID | 2015-078A[3] |
SATCAT no. | 41173 |
Mission duration | 3 years (planned)[4] Elapsed: 8 years, 4 months, 17 days |
Spacecraft properties | |
Payload mass | 1,400 kg (3,100 lb)[4] |
Power | 400 W [4] |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 17 December 2015 00:12 UTC |
Rocket | Long March 2D, No. 2D-Y31[5] |
Launch site | Jiuquan Launch Area 4, Launch Pad 603[4] |
Contractor | SAST |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Sun-synchronous orbit |
Periapsis altitude | 500 km (310 mi) [4] |
Inclination | 97.4° |
Main Gamma rays | |
Wavelengths | high energy gamma ray |
The Dark Matter Particle Explorer, or DAMPE, also known as Wukong (Chinese:
DAMPE is a space telescope used for the detection of high energy gamma rays, electrons and cosmic ray ions, to aid in the search for dark matter.[4][6] It was designed to look for the indirect decay signal of a hypothetical dark matter candidate called weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs).[7]
The project is the result of a collaboration among research institutions and universities in Italy, Switzerland and China under the leadership of the Purple Mountain Observatory (PMO) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
Objectives[edit]
The scientific objectives of the mission are:[4]
- the search and study of dark matter particles by conducting high-resolution observations of high-energy electrons and gamma rays.
- the study of the origin of cosmic rays by observing high energy electrons and heavy nuclei in the TeV energy range.
- the study of the propagation and acceleration mechanisms of cosmic rays through the observation of high-energy gamma rays.
Collaboration[edit]
The project is the result of a collaboration among research institutions and universities in Italy, Switzerland and China under the leadership of the Purple Mountain Observatory (PMO) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).[8] The DAMPE mission is funded by the strategic priority science and technology projects in space science of CAS.[9][10][11] The institutes that have been part of the collaboration are: IHEP (Institute of High Energy Physics), CAS (Chinese Academy of Sciences), Beijing, China; IMP (Institute of Modern Physics), CAS (Chinese Academy of Sciences), Lanzhou, China; NSSC (National Space Science Center), CAS (Chinese Academy of Sciences), Beijing, China; PMO (Purple Mountain Observatory), CAS (Chinese Academy of Sciences), Nanjing, China; USTC (University of Science and Technology of China), Hefei, China; INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare) and University of Perugia, Italy; INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare) and University of Bari, Italy; INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare) and University of Lecce, Italy; INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare) and Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI), L'Aquila, Italy; DPNC (Département de physique nucléaire et corpusculaire), University of Geneva, Switzerland.
Results[edit]
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The first scientific result of DAMPE came in November 2017 as the direct detection of a break in the cosmic electron plus positron energy spectrum at an energy of 0.9 TeV. [12] [13]
In October 2019, DAMPE released its measurement of the proton component of cosmic rays, confirming previous results while also hinting towards new features in the energy spectrum.[14]
Naming[edit]
The space observatory is nicknamed Wukong (Chinese:
The English name, DAMPE, was a backronym, which was named after a non-player character (NPC) in The Legend of Zelda, Dampé (ダンペイ).[15] In the game, the player needs Dampé to find the treasure, which matches with the mission of DAMPE (not finding dark matter, but finding the evidence that dark matter exists).
References[edit]
- ^ a b "China's new Monkey King set for journey into space". Xinhua. 16 December 2015. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
- ^ Li, Ye; Yuan, Qiang (29 August 2012). "Testing the 130 GeV gamma-ray line with high energy resolution detectors". Physics Letters B. 715 (1–3): 35–37. arXiv:1206.2241. Bibcode:2012PhLB..715...35L. doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2012.07.057. S2CID 59141316.
- ^ "DAMPE (Wukong)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Barbosa, Rui C. (16 December 2015). "Chinese Long March 2D lofts DAMPE – A Dark Matter Investigator". NASA Spaceflight. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
- ^ "CZ-2D (2) (Chang Zheng-2D (2))". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
- ^ Nowakowski, Tomasz (2 June 2015). "China to launch its first dark matter probe by the end of 2015". Spaceflight Insider. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
- ^ Normile, Dennis (29 November 2017). "China's dark matter space probe detects tantalizing signal". Science. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
- ^ "DArk Matter Particle Explorer". Department of Nuclear and Corpuscular Physics, University of Geneva. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
- ^ "First finding of China's DAMPE may shed light on dark matter research". Phys.org. 30 November 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
- ^ Dickinson, David (18 December 2015). "China Launches Dark Matter Probe". Sky & Telescope.
- ^ Shen, Zhongtao; Feng, Changqing; Gao, Shanshan; Zhang, Deliang; Jiang, Di; Liu, Shubin; An, Qi (2015). "Study on FPGA SEU Mitigation for the Readout Electronics of DAMPE BGO Calorimeter in Space". IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science. 62 (3): 1010. arXiv:1406.3928. Bibcode:2015ITNS...62.1010S. doi:10.1109/TNS.2015.2427293. S2CID 26666344.
- ^ Ambrosi, G.; An, Q.; Asfandiyarov, R.; Azzarello, P.; Bernardini, P.; Bertucci, B.; Cai, M. S.; Chang, J.; Chen, D. Y.; Chen, H. F.; Chen, J. L.; Chen, W.; Cui, M. Y.; Cui, T. S.; D'Amone, A.; De Benedittis, A.; De Mitri, I.; Di Santo, M.; Dong, J. N.; Dong, T. K.; Dong, Y. F.; Dong, Z. X.; Donvito, G.; Droz, D.; Duan, K. K.; Duan, J. L.; Duranti, M.; D'Urso, D.; Fan, R. R.; et al. (2017). "Direct detection of a break in the teraelectronvolt cosmic-ray spectrum of electrons and positrons". Nature. 552 (7683): 63–66. arXiv:1711.10981. Bibcode:2017Natur.552...63D. doi:10.1038/nature24475. PMID 29186110. S2CID 205261676.
- ^ "First finding of China's DAMPE may shed light on dark matter research".
- ^ An, Q.; Asfandiyarov, R.; Azzarello, P.; Bernardini, P.; Bi, X. J.; Cai, M. S.; Chang, J.; Chen, D. Y.; Chen, H. F.; Chen, J. L.; Chen, W.; Cui, M. Y.; Cui, T. S.; Dai, H. T.; d'Amone, A.; De Benedittis, A.; De Mitri, I.; Di Santo, M.; Ding, M.; Dong, T. K.; Dong, Y. F.; Dong, Z. X.; Donvito, G.; Droz, D.; Duan, J. L.; Duan, K. K.; d'Urso, D.; Fan, R. R.; Fan, Y. Z.; et al. (2019). "Measurement of the cosmic-ray proton spectrum from 40 GeV to 100 TeV with the DAMPE satellite". Science Advances. 5 (9): eaax3793. arXiv:1909.12860. Bibcode:2019SciA....5.3793A. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aax3793. PMC 6868675. PMID 31799401.
- ^ "
悟空 卫星英文 名 DAMPE竟源自 《塞 尔达传说》". Archived from the original on 2018-11-19. Retrieved 2018-11-19.