LIP is part of the international collaboration that designed and operates the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS). The project had two distinct phases: a prototype was built and flown aboard the space shuttle in 1998; and the final detector was installed in the international space station (ISS) in May 2011.  AMS is collecting an impressive set of data, at a continuous rate of around 45 million events per day, and has now over 130 billion events recorded. Data taking is expected to continue at least until 2024.

The LIP group took a leading role in the design, desenvolvimento, simulation and reconstruction algorithms of the AMS RICH sub-detector, aiming at measuring particle’s velocity very precisely. Today, the group keeps the responsibility for the development, implementation and maintenance of a set of algorithms for reconstructing the electric charge and velocity of particles in the RICH. The group is also involved in data analysis, with emphasis on the relations between particle flux variability and solar activity, having already published several papers not only on the correlation between the sun and the cosmic-ray flux but also on the intrinsic propagation mechanisms present in solar modulation.

Group Leader:  

Fernando Barão

barao@lip.pt