First detection of geomagnetically trapped antiprotons by the PAMELA experiment

We present the measurement of geomagnetically trapped antiprotons in the South Atlantic Anomaly performed by the PAMELA satellite-bourne experiment. The existence of an antiproton radiation belt, predicted by several models as the product of cosmic ray interactions with the residual terrestrial atmosphere, is evidenced for the first time. PAMELA measured the antiproton spectrum in the kinetic energy range between 60 and 750 MeV, reporting a trapped antiproton flux which exceeds by about 3 orders of magnitude the interplanetary cosmic ray antiproton flux. An estimation of the mean under-cutoff antiproton flux outside radiation belts has been also provided.