Speaker
Description
The Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder for the International Space Station (TIGERISS) is being fabricated to determine the source(s) of galactic cosmic rays by measuring the individual elemental abundances from 5B to 82Pb. In particular, TIGERISS will make definitive measurements of Ultra-Heavy Galactic Cosmic Rays (UHGCRs; Z >29). Thus, TIGERISS measurements will be sensitive to the s-process, r-process, and rp-processes of nucleosynthesis and will provide a critical aspect of multi-messenger studies to determine the relative contributions of supernovae (SN) and Neutron Star Mergers (NSMs) to the production of galactic matter. TIGERISS is planned to be launched in 2027 and attached at the SOX location on the Columbus module. The TIGERISS instrument has heritage from the TIGER and SuperTIGER long-duration balloon (LDB) experiments. TIGERISS has a geometry factor of 1.3 m$^2$ sr and is comprised of four layers of single-sided silicon strip detectors (SSDs) arranged with X-Y layers above and below two large-area Cherenkov detectors, one with an acrylic radiator (n = 1.49) and another with aerogel radiators (n =1.03). The combination of the Cherenkov velocity measurements with the precise measurements of the ionization and trajectory of the traversing cosmic rays leads to highly accurate charge measurements of < 0.25 c.u. over the entire elemental range of 5B to Pb82. The science goals of TIGERISS, mission status, instrument design and performance with a focus on the SSD design and performance will be discussed.
