Weekly seminars

Cosmic ray "anomaly'' in the positron fraction: data and interpretations

by Pasquale Serpico (CERN)

Europe/Paris
Auditorium

Auditorium

Description
In the last year, the PAMELA space detector has suggested a puzzling increase with energy of the positron fraction in cosmic rays. Other experiments (in particular ATIC and Fermi) have also provided new data on electrons and gamma-rays that seem to defy the simplest astrophysical models. I will give an overview of the present status of these "anomalies" and recapitulate the existing issues in interpreting the models (both via astrophysical and dark matter mechanisms), with an emphasis on the empirical ways to discriminate among alternative solutions.
Slides