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    Measurement of the Cosmic Ray Nickel Energy Spectrum from 10 GeV/n to 2 TeV/n with the DAMPE Space Mission

    F. Alemanno1,2, Q. An3,4,*, P. Azzarello5, F. C. T. Barbato6,7, P. Bernardini1,2, X. J. Bi8,9, H. V. Boutin5, I. Cagnoli6,7, M. S. Cai10,11 et al. (DAMPE Collaboration‡‡)

    M. S. Cai10,11, E. Casilli6,7, J. Chang10,11, D. Y. Chen10, J. L. Chen12, Z. F. Chen12, Z. X. Chen12,8, P. Coppin5, M. Y. Cui10, T. S. Cui13, I. De Mitri6,7, F. de Palma1,2, A. Di Giovanni6,7, T. K. Dong10, Z. X. Dong13, G. Donvito14, J. L. Duan12, K. K. Duan10, R. R. Fan9, Y. Z. Fan10,11, F. Fang12, K. Fang9, C. Q. Feng3,4, L. Feng10, S. Fogliacco6,7, J. M. Frieden5,†, P. Fusco14,15, M. Gao9, F. Gargano14, E. Ghose1,2, K. Gong9, Y. Z. Gong10, D. Y. Guo9, J. H. Guo10,11, S. X. Han13, Y. M. Hu10, G. S. Huang3,4, X. Y. Huang10,11, Y. Y. Huang10, M. Ionica16, L. Y. Jiang10, W. Jiang10, Y. Z. Jiang16,‡, J. Kong12, A. Kotenko5, D. Kyratzis6,7, S. J. Lei10, B. Li10,11, M. B. Li5, W. L. Li13, W. H. Li10, X. Li10,11, X. Q. Li13, Y. M. Liang13, C. M. Liu16, H. Liu10, J. Liu12, S. B. Liu3,4, Y. Liu10, F. Loparco14,15, M. Ma13, P. X. Ma10, T. Ma10, X. Y. Ma13, G. Marsella1,2,§, M. N. Mazziotta14, D. Mo12, Y. Nie3,4, X. Y. Niu12, A. Parenti6,7,∥, W. X. Peng9, X. Y. Peng10, C. Perrina5,†, E. Putti. Garcia5, R. Qiao9, J. N. Rao13, Y. Rong3,4, A. Serpolla5, R. Sarkar6,7, P. Savina6,7, Z. Shangguan13, W. H. Shen13, Z. Q. Shen10, Z. T. Shen3,4, L. Silveri6,7,¶, J. X. Song13, H. Su12, M. Su17, H. R. Sun3,4, Z. Y. Sun12, A. Surdo2, X. J. Teng13, A. Tykhonov5, G. F. Wang3,4, J. Z. Wang9, L. G. Wang13, S. Wang10, X. L. Wang3,4, Y. F. Wang3,4, D. M. Wei10,11, J. J. Wei10, Y. F. Wei3,4, D. Wu9, J. Wu10,11,*, S. S. Wu13, X. Wu5, Z. Q. Xia10, Z. Xiong6,7, E. H. Xu3,4, H. T. Xu13, J. Xu10, Z. H. Xu12, Z. Z. Xu3,4, Z. L. Xu10, G. F. Xue13, M. Y. Yan3,4, H. B. Yang12, P. Yang12, Y. Q. Yang12, H. J. Yao12, Y. H. Yu12, Q. Yuan10,11, C. Yue10, J. J. Zang10,**, S. X. Zhang12, W. Z. Zhang13, Y. Zhang10, Y. P. Zhang12, Y. Zhang10,11, Y. J. Zhang12, Y. Q. Zhang10, Y. L. Zhang3,4, Z. Zhang10, Z. Y. Zhang3,4, C. Zhao3,4, H. Y. Zhao12, X. F. Zhao13, C. Y. Zhou13, X. Zhu10,††, and Y. Zhu13 (DAMPE Collaboration‡‡)

    • 1Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica E. De Giorgi, Università del Salento, I-73100, Lecce, Italy
    • 2Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN)—Sezione di Lecce, I-73100, Lecce, Italy
    • 3State Key Laboratory of Particle Detection and Electronics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
    • 4Department of Modern Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
    • 5Department of Nuclear and Particle Physics, University of Geneva, Geneva CH-1211, Switzerland
    • 6Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI), Via Iacobucci 2, I-67100 L’Aquila, Italy
    • 7Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN)—Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, I-67100 Assergi, L’Aquila, Italy
    • 8University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    • 9Particle Astrophysics Division, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    • 10Key Laboratory of Dark Matter and Space Astronomy, Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210023, China
    • 11School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
    • 12State Key Laboratory of Heavy Ion Science and Technology, Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
    • 13National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanertiao 1, Zhongguancun, Haidian district, Beijing 100190, China
    • 14Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Bari, via Orabona 4, I-70126 Bari, Italy
    • 15Dipartimento di Fisica “M. Merlin,” dell’Università e del Politecnico di Bari, Via Amendola 173, I-70126 Bari, Italy
    • 16Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN)—Sezione di Perugia, I-06123 Perugia, Italy
    • 17Department of Physics and Laboratory for Space Research, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

    • *Deceased.
    • †Present address: Institute of Physics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
    • ‡Also at Dipartimento di Fisica e Geologia, Università degli Studi di Perugia, I-06123 Perugia, Italy.
    • §Present address: Dipartimento di Fisica e Chimica “E. Segrè,” Università degli Studi di Palermo, via delle Scienze ed. 17, I-90128 Palermo, Italy.
    • ∥Present address: Inter-university Institute for High Energies, Universitè Libre de Bruxelles, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium.
    • Present address: New York University Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi 129188, United Arab Emirates.
    • **Also at School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Linyi University, Linyi 276000, China.
    • ††Also at School of Computing, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210023, China.
    • ‡‡Contact author: dampe@pmo.ac.cn

    Phys. Rev. Lett. 137, 051001 – Published 28 July, 2026

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/p9zs-g8ky

    Abstract

    Nickel, one of the most tightly bound nuclei alongside iron, is the most abundant heavy element beyond iron in cosmic rays. With DAMPE’s excellent charge resolution and broad energy range, a high-precision energy spectrum provides valuable insights into the acceleration sources of heavy nuclei and their propagation through the interstellar medium. In this analysis, we report the direct measurement of cosmic-ray nickel spectrum from 10 GeV/n to 2 TeV/n with nine years of flight data. The nickel spectrum is consistent with a single power law with spectral index −2.60±0.03 from 40 GeV/n to 1 TeV/n. This Letter provides an accurate measurement of differential flux of nickel with kinetic energy extending to TeV/n for the first time.

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