Dual MeV gamma-ray and dark matter observatory - GRAMS Project

• Published in: Astroparticle physics Vol. 114; no. C; pp. 107 - 114
• Main Authors: Aramaki, Tsuguo, Adrian, Per Ola Hansson, Karagiorgi, Georgia, Odaka, Hirokazu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.01.2020; Elsevier
• Subjects: AMS-02; Antideuterons; Antiheliums; Antimatter; Antiprotons; Dark matter; Fermi GCE; GAPS; GRAMS; LArTPC; MeV gamma rays; Antimatter; GRAMS; Fermi GCE; LArTPC; Dark matter; AMS-02; Antiprotons; Antideuterons; GAPS; Antiheliums; MeV gamma rays
• ISSN: 0927-6505; 1873-2852
• DOI: 10.1016/j.astropartphys.2019.07.002

GRAMS (Gamma-Ray and AntiMatter Survey) is a novel project that can simultaneously target both astrophysical observations with MeV gamma rays and an indirect dark matter search with antimatter. The GRAMS instrument is designed with a cost-effective, large-scale LArTPC (Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber) detector surrounded by plastic scintillators. The astrophysical observations at MeV energies have not yet been well-explored (the so-called “MeV-gap”) and GRAMS can improve the sensitivity by more than an order of magnitude compared to previous experiments. While primarily focusing on MeV gamma-ray observations, GRAMS is also optimized for cosmic ray antimatter surveys to indirectly search for dark matter. In particular, low-energy antideuterons will provide an essentially background-free dark matter signature. GRAMS will be a next generation experiment beyond the current GAPS (General AntiParticle Spectrometer) project for antimatter survey.