International Space Station, Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-02, AMS-02

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) is a State-of-the-Art Particle Physics Detector constructed, tested and operated by an International Team composed of 60 Institutes from 16 Countries and organized under United States Department of Energy (DOE) Sponsorship. The AMS-02 will use the unique Environment of Space to advance Knowledge of the Universe and lead to the understanding of the Universe's Origin by searching for Antimatter, Dark Matter and measuring Cosmic Rays. Experimental Evidence indicates that our Galaxy is made of Matter; however, there are more than 100 Hundred Million Galaxies in the Universe and the Big Bang Theory of the Origin of the Universe requires equal Amounts of Matter and Antimatter. Theories that explain this apparent Asymmetry violate other Measurements. Whether or not there is significant Antimatter is One of the Fundamental Questions of the Origin and Nature of the Universe. Any Observations of an Antihelium Nucleus would provide Evidence for the Existence of Antimatter. In 1999, AMS-01 established a new Upper Limit of 10^-6 for the Antihelium/Helium Flux Ratio in the Universe. AMS-02 will search with a Sensitivity of 10^-9, an Improvement of three Orders of Magnitude, sufficient to reach the Edge of the expanding Universe and resolve the Issue definitively. This Description has been excerpted from "Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer - A Physics Experiment on the International Space Station" by Dr. Sam Ting.

阿尔法磁谱仪（AMS-02）系由来自16个国家的60所研究院所组成的国际团队构建、测试并运营的尖端粒子物理探测器。该探测器在美利坚合众国能源部（DOE）的赞助下得以组织。AMS-02将利用太空的独特环境，推进对宇宙的认识，并通过搜寻反物质、暗物质以及测量宇宙射线，以期揭示宇宙的起源。实验证据表明，我们的银河系由物质构成；然而，宇宙中存在超过一百亿个星系，而关于宇宙起源的大爆炸理论要求物质与反物质的数量相等。解释这一明显不对称的理论违背了其他测量结果。是否存在显著的反物质是关于宇宙起源与本质的基本问题之一。对反氦核的任何观测都将为反物质的存在提供证据。1999年，AMS-01确立了宇宙中反氦/氦通量比的新上限，为10^-6。AMS-02将以10^-9的灵敏度进行搜索，相较于之前提高了三个数量级，足以触及膨胀宇宙的边缘，并最终解决这一问题。本描述摘自萨姆·丁博士所著《阿尔法磁谱仪——国际空间站上的物理实验》。