Elemental energy spectra of cosmic rays from the data of the ATIC-2 experiment

Abstract

This paper reports on the results of measurements performed in the course of the ATIC-2 balloon experiment (2002–2003) for the energy spectra of particles (such as protons; He, C, O, Ne, Mg, Si, and Fe nuclei; and some groups of nuclei) and the all-particle energy spectrum in primary cosmic rays at energies ranging from 50 GeV to 200 TeV. The conclusion is drawn that the energy spectra of protons and helium nuclei differ substantially (the spectrum of protons is steeper) and that the shape of the energy spectra of protons and heavy nuclei cannot be described by a power function.