Searching for Bumps in the High Energy Electron Spectrum and Other Results from the CALET Experiment on the International Space Station
Michael L. Cherry
Department of Physics & Astronomy, Louisiana State University
The CALorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET) is a high-energy astroparticle physics mission on the International Space Station (ISS). The primary goals of the CALET mission include investigating possible nearby sources of high energy electrons, studying the details of galactic particle propagation, and searching for dark matter signatures.
During a five-year mission, CALET will observe the flux of cosmic-ray electrons (including positrons) to 20 TeV, gamma-rays to 10 TeV, and nuclei (Z=1 to 40) up to 1,000 TeV.
The instrument contains a deep (27 radiation lengths) lead-tungstate calorimeter designed to contain high-energy showers and allow for a clear separation between hadrons and electrons and between charged particles and gamma rays. CALET was launched on August 19, 2015 to the ISS. Results will be described since then on the:
- electron energy spectrum,
- proton and nuclear spectra, and
- gamma-ray observations, including the search for electromagnetic counterparts to LIGO-VIRGO gravitational wave events.