Measurement of the relative composition of the Cosmic-ray iron group with Lexan polycarbonate

Relative abundances for the VH group of Cosmic Radiation (20≤Z≤28) at energiesE≤600 MeV nucl^?1 have been measured by means of plastic detector LEXAN. The stack was exposed to cosmic rays during a 82 hr balloon flight at Sioux Falls (South Dakota) at an average altitude equivalent to 4 g cm^?2 of residual atmosphere. A total number of 1058 events have been analyzed, out of which 675 have been unambiguously identified. Two different discrimination methods have been applied in order to test their influence on final spectra. Extrapolation to the top of the atmosphere has been achieved in the frame of the regular model including an energy loss term that has led to corrections of the order of 60% in the extrapolated abundances. The relative abundances so obtained are in reasonable agreement with those reported by other authors using electronic detectors. Abnormal high abundances of manganese and cobalt can be attributed to wide temperature variations during the registration interval. In spite of the poor mass resolution, a high abundance of⁵⁴Fe has been evidenced, indicating a non-stellar origin for cosmic iron.