Speaker
Description
The General Antiparticle Spectrometer (GAPS) is a balloon-borne experiment,
firstly optimized to identify low-energy (≲ 0.25 GeV/n) cosmic antinuclei from dark
matter annihilation or decay. With a novel detection approach that uses the uniquely
characterized atomic X-rays and charged particles from the decay of exotic atoms,
the GAPS program will deliver an unprecedented sensitivity to low-energy cosmic
antideuterons, an essentially background-free signature of dark matter. In addition,
GAPS will deliver a precise antiproton spectrum with high statistics in an unexplored
energy range and leading sensitivity to cosmic antihelium.
The GAPS detector instrument consists of a tracker of >1000 custom lithium-drifted
silicon detectors, which is cooled by a novel oscillating heat pipe thermal system;
and a precision-timing, large-area time-of-flight system. The GAPS project has
completed the on-ground commissioning in Antarctic and anticipates its first of three
Antarctic flights in late 2025. This talk will cover the overview of the GAPS mission
while highlighting results from the Antarctic ground testing campaign.
