Trapping of strangelets in the geomagnetic field

Paulucci, L.; Horvath, J. E.; Medina‐Tanco, G.

doi:10.1103/physrevd.77.043003

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 59 publications

(81 reference statements)

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“…Strangelets with kinetic energies per baryon number lower than hundreds of MeV to some GeV will have their flux at the surface of the earth lowered due to the local geomagnetic cutoff. Also, if the rigidity is above the local cutoff but E/A is of order of tens to few hundreds of MeV, depending on the strangelet mass, it is more likely that they will become trapped in the geomagnetic field lines, if their pitch angles are adequate [34]. Therefore, the possibility of showers generated by low energy strangelets is substantially reduced.…”

Section: Atmospheric Showers Initiated By Strangeletsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interaction of strangelets with ordinary nuclei

Paulucci¹,

Horvath²

2009

J. Phys. G: Nucl. Part. Phys.

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Strangelets (hypothetical stable lumps of strange quark matter) of astrophysical origin may be ultimately detected in specific cosmic ray experiments. The initial mass distribution resulting from the possible astrophysical production sites would be subject to reprocessing in the interstellar medium and in the earth atmosphere. In order to get a better understanding of the claims for the detection of this still hypothetic state of hadronic matter, we present a study of strangelet-nucleus interactions including several physical processes of interest (abrasion, fusion, fission, excitation and de-excitation of the strangelets), to address the fate of the baryon number along the strangelet path. It is shown that, although fusion may be important for low energy strangelets in the interstellar medium (thus increasing the initial baryon number A), in the earth atmosphere the loss of baryon number should be the dominant process. The consequences of these findings are briefly addressed.

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Section: Atmospheric Showers Initiated By Strangeletsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interaction of strangelets with ordinary nuclei

Paulucci¹,

Horvath²

2009

J. Phys. G: Nucl. Part. Phys.

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“…Indeed, the magnetic spectrometer, together with the TOF system allows to probe very efficiently the range of light mass (4 ≤ A ≤ 10 5 ). In case of SQM produced by the collision of Strange Quark Stars and subsequent fragmentation in the Galaxy, this mass range should be the one most favoured and potentially the one with the highest flux, even though models disagree on the expected flux [5,6,43,44,45]. Rigidity dependent upper limits on the SQM flux can thus constrain several models of strangelets production and propagation in the Galaxy.…”

Section: The Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

New upper limit on strange quark matter flux with the PAMELA space experiment

Ricci¹

2016

Proceedings of the 34th International Cosmic Ray Conference — PoS(ICRC2015)

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In this work we present results for direct search of Strange Quark Matter in cosmic rays with the PAMELA space spectrometer. If this state of matter exists it may be present in cosmic rays as particles, called strangelets, having an anomalously high mass-to-charge (A/Z) ratio. A direct search in space is complementary to those from ground based spectrometers. Furthermore, it has the advantage of being potentially capable of directly identifying these particles, without any assumption on their interaction model with Earth's atmosphere and the long term stability in terrestrial and lunar rocks. In the energy range from 1 to ∼ 1.0 × 10 3 GV no such particles were found in the data collected by PAMELA between 2006 and 2009. An upper limit on the strangelet flux in cosmic rays was therefore set for particles with charge 1 ≤ Z ≤ 8 and in mass 4 ≤ A ≤ 1.2 × 10 5 . This limit as a function of mass and as a function of magnetic rigidity allows to constrain models of SQM production and propagation in the Galaxy.

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Charges on strange quark nuggets in space

et al. 2009

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Since Witten's seminal 1984 paper on the subject, searches for evidence of strange quark nuggets (SQNs) have proven unsuccessful. In the absence of experimental evidence ruling out SQNs, the validity of theories introducing mechanisms that increase their stability should continue to be tested. To stimulate electromagnetic SQN searches, particularly space searches, we estimate the net charge that would develop on an SQN in space exposed to various radiation baths (and showers) capable of liberating the SQN's less strongly bound electrons, taking into account recombination with ambient electrons. We consider, in particular, the cosmic microwave background , radiation from the sun, and diffuse galactic and extragalactic ultraviolet backgrounds. The largest charge,for the settings considered, develops on a solar system SQN exposed to a solar X-ray flare. A possible dramatic signal of SQNs in explosive astrophysical events is noted.

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Trapping of strangelets in the geomagnetic field

Cited by 4 publications

References 59 publications

Interaction of strangelets with ordinary nuclei

Interaction of strangelets with ordinary nuclei

New upper limit on strange quark matter flux with the PAMELA space experiment

Charges on strange quark nuggets in space

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