A Doujbee Gamma-Ray Spectromer to Search for Positrons in Space

Abstract

The advantages of the scintillation technique allow the development of experiments which can be made to respond preferentially to chosen types of particles. One such series of experiments requires the developlent of detectors which will identify single positrons mixed in a relatively high flux of other radiations. Directional detectors of positrons of energy between a few ev and a few Mev have been designed to search for admixtures of these particles in the cosmic radiation near the top of the atmosphere, in the electron population of the trapped radiation zone and in the solar particle streams and plasma clouds in interplanetary space. These detectors, which are scheduled for flight on balloons, sounding rockets and the Eccentric Geophysical Observatory satellite, are described. The scintillation techniques involved are discussed, and the analog and digital data-recovery instrumentation for each experiment is also outlined.