论文标题
从太阳中搜索2-45 au的MEV电子，并在New Horizons上使用Alice仪器微通道板检测器
The Search for MeV Electrons 2-45 AU from the Sun with the Alice Instrument Microchannel Plate Detector Aboard New Horizons
论文作者
论文摘要
NASA的New Horizons任务上的Alice UV光谱仪对穿透仪器的薄铝制外壳并与其微通道板检测器相互作用的MEV电子敏感。我们已经在2-45 au的HeliePentric距离处搜索了穿透性电子，在Jovian磁层外没有发现离散事件的证据。但是，我们确实发现，爱丽丝仪器的全球黑暗计数速率逐渐增加，每年约1.5％，这可能是由于航天器的放射性分测热发电机燃料的老化γ射线背景而引起的。如果这个假设是正确的，那么爱丽丝仪器的全球黑暗计数率应该会变平，然后在未来5 - 10年内降低。
The Alice UV spectrograph aboard NASA's New Horizons mission is sensitive to MeV electrons that penetrate the instrument's thin aluminum housing and interact with its microchannel plate detector. We have searched for penetrating electrons at heliocentric distance of 2-45 AU, finding no evidence of discrete events outside of the Jovian magnetosphere. However, we do find a gradual long-term increase in the Alice instrument's global dark count rate at a rate of ~1.5% per year, which may be caused by a heightened gamma-ray background from aging of the spacecraft's radioisotope thermoelectric generator fuel. If this hypothesis is correct, then the Alice instrument's global dark count rate should flatten and then decrease over the next 5-10 years.
