Speaker
Description
Highly energetic astrophysical processes are studied through measurements of cosmic radiation, yet the mechanisms responsible for accelerating particles to high energies remain unconfirmed. New isotope measurements of long-lived unstable nuclei can provide unique constraints on Galactic cosmic-ray propagation and the size of the Milky Way halo. In particular, the clock isotopes 10Be (radioactive, with a 1.4 Myr half-life) and 9Be (stable), offer a direct probe of these effects.
The High Energy Light Isotope eXperiment (HELIX) is a balloon-borne superconducting magnet spectrometer designed to measure abundances of light Galactic cosmic-ray isotopes from approximately 0.2 GeV/n to 10 GeV/n. HELIX adopts a staged approach to studying Galactic cosmic-ray propagation by directly measuring particle charge, magnetic rigidity, and velocity. Magnetic rigidity is measured with a high-precision drift chamber tracker inside a 1 T magnetic field, while charge and low-energy velocity are measured with time-of-flight scintillator paddles. At higher energies, velocity is measured with an aerogel-based ring-imaging Cherenkov detector.
HELIX completed a successful engineering flight from the Esrange Space Center in spring 2024, achieving approximately 6.3 days of flight time. Here, we present an overview of the payload, flight performance, the status of ongoing analysis, and preparation for future flights.
