Speaker
Description
The General Antiparticle Spectrometer (GAPS) is specifically designed to
identify low-energy (<0.25 GeV/n) cosmic antinuclei, in particular antideuterons,
as a signature of dark matter annihilation or decay. This low energy channel is very
promising since beyond-the-Standard Model physics predicts a signal from dark matter that is several orders of magnitude higher than the antideuteron flux
produced by cosmic rays during their propagation through the Galaxy. Using a novel detection approach that relies on exotic atom formation and decay, GAPS will provide
unprecedented sensitivity to cosmic antideuterons, a high-statistics
antiproton spectrum in an unexplored energy range, and leading sensitivity to
cosmic antihelium. The GAPS instrument consists of a large-area scintillator time-of-flight, ten planes of silicon detectors with dedicated ASIC readout, and a novel
oscillating heat pipe cooling approach. GAPS is currently under integration and preparing for the first Antarctic balloon flight while two follow-up flights are planned.
This talk will review the current progress of construction and the overall status of the
instrument, discuss the latest sensitivity estimates and present the path forward to the first
flight.
