Speakers
Description
The nature of dark matter is one of the great open questions in physics. The General Antiparticle Spectrometer (GAPS) experiment is an Antarctic balloon mission optimized specifically for low energy (< 0.25 GeV/n) cosmic antinuclei as uniquely low-background signatures of dark matter. In particular, the production of low-energy astrophysical antideuterons is suppressed by the low abundance of high-energy cosmic rays and their relativistic kinematics, which favor producing high energy products. Moreover, cosmic antideuterons have not yet been detected, making any observation a potentially revolutionary discovery. GAPS will also deliver an antiproton spectrum between 0.1 and 0.3 GeV/n, an energy range below that of any other experiment, and provide unique sensitivity to cosmic antihelium. The GAPS experiment uses a novel exotic-atom-based technique to distinguish cosmic antinuclei from the abundant nuclei background without the need for a magnet. The GAPS payload consists of layers of plastic scintillator panels which make up the time-of-flight (TOF) system and surround a 10-layer Si(Li) tracker. An oscillating heat pipe radiator system is used to cool the tracker, and solar panels are used to power the instrument. GAPS is currently assembled in Antarctica and anticipates its first of three Antarctic flights in late 2025.
