Ten years of positron and electron solar modulation measured by the PAMELA experiment

Abstract

The satellite-borne PAMELA experiment was launched on the 15th June 2006 from the Baikonur cosmodrome. Till January 2016 PAMELA has detected the charged component of cosmic-rays (CRs) over a wide energy range. Due to its long flight duration PAMELA represents an ideal detector for cosmic-ray solar modulation studies. Moreover, the capability to measure particles of the same mass with opposite charge allows to investigate the charge-sign dependent solar modulation. The results on the positron and electron intensity variation at Earth over the 23rd solar minimum (July 2006 - January 2009) till the middle of the 24rd solar maximum (December 2015), will be presented. The positron to electron ratio shows a clear time variation interpreted as solar modulation sign-charge dependence introduced by particle drifts. The effect of the polarity reversal of the heliospheric magnetic field, which took place between 2013 and 2014, is also distinctly visible from the PAMELA data. These results provide the first clear indication of how drift effects unfold with time during different phases of the solar activity and their dependence on the particle rigidity and the cyclic polarity of the solar magnetic