The cross section for one-proton knockout from 16C with a large neutron-proton separation energy asymmetry on a carbon target has been measured at an intermediate beam energy of around 240 MeV/nucleon. The measured cross section is compared to the predictions based on the eikonal reaction model with shell-model structure inputs. The beam-energy dependence of the reduction on the extracted spectroscopic strength for strongly bound nucleon removal is derived from combining the existing intermediate-energy data with the present measurement. The deduced reduction factor Rs, defined as the ratio of the measured and theoretical cross sections, for the strongly bound nucleon removal at around 240 MeV/nucleon is consistent with the systematics observed from knockout reactions induced by light nuclear targets at intermediate energies of around 80 MeV/nucleon.

The precise measurement of the spectrum of protons, the most abundant component of the cosmic radiation, is necessary to understand the source and acceleration of cosmic rays in the Milky Way. This work reports the measurement of the cosmic ray proton fluxes with kinetic energies from 40 GeV to 100 TeV, with 2 1/2 years of data recorded by the DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE). This is the first time that an experiment directly measures the cosmic ray protons up to ~100 TeV with high statistics. The measured spectrum confirms the spectral hardening at ~300 GeV found by previous experiments and reveals a softening at ~13.6 TeV, with the spectral index changing from ~2.60 to ~2.85. Our result suggests the existence of a new spectral feature of cosmic rays at energies lower than the so-called knee and sheds new light on the origin of Galactic cosmic rays.

The cross sections for two-neutron removal from 15,16C on a carbon target have been measured at around 240 MeV/nucleon. The measured cross section for 15C is smaller than for 16C. The trends of the cross sections for 15,16C are inconsistent with the previously reported experimental data, but in agreement with the theoretical predictions based on eikonal-model calculations. Based on the present results of 15,16C combined with the available experimental data on 17–20C, an odd-even staggering of the two-neutron removal cross sections along the neutron-rich carbon isotopic chain from 15C to 20C is observed, and this feature is well reproduced by the theoretical calculations.

A Time-Of-Flight Wall (TOFW) detector has been designed and constructed at the External Target Facility (ETF) of HIRFL-CSR. The detector covers a sensitive area of 1.2 × 1.2 m2 and consists of 30 modules. Each module is composed of a long plastic scintillator bar with two photo-multiplier tubes coupled at both ends for readout. The design and manufacture details are described and the test results are reported. The performance of the TOFW detector has been tested and measured with cosmic rays and a 310 MeV/u 40Ar beam. The results show that the time resolutions of all the TOFW modules are better than 128 ps, satisfying the requirements of the experiments which will be carried out at the ETF.

A drift chamber array at the External Target Facility in HIRFL-CSR has been constructed for three-dimensional particle tracking in high-energy radioactive ion beam experiments. The design, readout, track reconstruction program and calibration procedures for the detector are described. The drift chamber array was tested in a 311 AMeV 40Ar beam experiment. The detector performance based on the measurements of the beam test is presented. A spatial resolution of 230μm is achieved.

The DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) is a general purpose satellite-borne high energy γ−ray and cosmic ray detector. Among the scientific objectives of DAMPE are the search for the origin of cosmic rays and an understanding of the Dark Matter particles. As one of the four detectors in DAMPE, the Plastic Scintillator Detector (PSD) plays an important role in the particle charge measurement and the photons/electrons discrimination. It can identify the atomic number Z/charge states of relativistic ions from H to Fe and the detection efficiency for Z = 1 particles can reach 0.9999. The PSD has been working reliably since the successfully launching of DAMPE on December 17, 2015. In this paper, the design, assembly, qualification tests of the PSD and some of the performance measured on the ground are presented in detail.

A prototype of a new CsI(Tl) telescope, which will be used in the reaction studies of light isotopes with energy of several hundred AMeV, was constructed and tested at the Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The telescope has a multi-layer structure, and the range information was obtained to improve the particle identification performance. This prototype has seven layers of different thickness. An energy resolution of 5.0% (FWHM) was obtained for one of the layers in a beam test experiment. Positive improvement for the identification of 14O and 15O isotopes was achieved using the range information.

High-energy cosmic-ray electrons and positrons (CREs), which lose energy quickly during their propagation, provide a probe of Galactic high-energy processes1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and may enable the observation of phenomena such as dark-matter particle annihilation or decay8,9,10. The CRE spectrum has been measured directly up to approximately 2 teraelectronvolts in previous balloon- or space-borne experiments11,12,13,14,15,16, and indirectly up to approximately 5 teraelectronvolts using ground-based Cherenkov γ-ray telescope arrays17,18. Evidence for a spectral break in the teraelectronvolt energy range has been provided by indirect measurements17,18, although the results were qualified by sizeable systematic uncertainties. Here we report a direct measurement of CREs in the energy range 25 gigaelectronvolts to 4.6 teraelectronvolts by the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE)19 with unprecedentedly high energy resolution and low background. The largest part of the spectrum can be well fitted by a ‘smoothly broken power-law’ model rather than a single power-law model. The direct detection of a spectral break at about 0.9 teraelectronvolts confirms the evidence found by previous indirect measurements17,18, clarifies the behaviour of the CRE spectrum at energies above 1 teraelectronvolt and sheds light on the physical origin of the sub-teraelectronvolt CREs.

The DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE), one of the four scientific space science missions within the framework of the Strategic Pioneer Program on Space Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is a general purpose high energy cosmic-ray and gamma-ray observatory, which was successfully launched on December 17th, 2015 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The DAMPE scientific objectives include the study of galactic cosmic rays up to  ∼ 10 TeV and hundreds of TeV for electrons/gammas and nuclei respectively, and the search for dark matter signatures in their spectra. In this paper we illustrate the layout of the DAMPE instrument, and discuss the results of beam tests and calibrations performed on ground. Finally we present the expected performance in space and give an overview of the mission key scientific goals.

The Plastic Scintillator Detector (PSD) is one of the main sub-detectors in the DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) project. It will be operated over a large temperature range from −10 to 30 °C, so the temperature effect of the whole detection system should be studied in detail. The temperature dependence of the PSD system is mainly contributed by the three parts: the plastic scintillator bar, the photomultiplier tube (PMT), and the Front End Electronics (FEE). These three parts have been studied in detail and the contribution of each part has been obtained and discussed. The temperature coefficient of the PMT is −0.320(±0.033)%/°C, and the coefficient of the plastic scintillator bar is −0.036(±0.038)%/°C. This result means that after subtracting the FEE pedestal, the variation of the signal amplitude of the PMT-scintillator system due to temperature mainly comes from the PMT, and the plastic scintillator bar is not sensitive to temperature over the operating range. Since the temperature effect cannot be ignored, the temperature dependence of the whole PSD has been also studied and a correction has been made to minimize this effect. The correction result shows that the effect of temperature on the signal amplitude of the PSD system can be suppressed.