Searching for Low-Energy Antihelium with the AMS-02 Experiment

Abstract

The search for antihelium nuclei in cosmic rays provides a new opportunity to learn about important problems in modern physics: antimatter asymmetry and the nature of dark matter. Measurements of cosmic rays are being done by the AMS-02 experiment since its installation on the International Space Station. A first-time discovery of cosmic antihelium would be a strong indicator of unknown antimatter sources in our Galaxy. This thesis studies the low-energy region where antihelium has the advantage of having a highly suppressed astrophysical background. This work discusses the techniques utilized for identifying low-energy antihelium and demonstrates how any potential source of background will be adequately suppressed. An antihelium exclusion limit for this low-energy antihelium analysis is set with the results obtained.