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Measurement of the Cosmic Ray B/C Ratio with the AMS-01 Experiment

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) is a particle physics detector designed for a high precision measurement of cosmic rays in space. AMS phase-2 (AMS-02) is scheduled to be installed on the ISS for at least three years from September 2010. The AMS-01 precursor experiment operated successfully during a 10-day NASA shuttle flight in June 1998. The orbital inclination was 51.7° at a geodetic altitude between 320 to 380 km. Nearly 200,000 Z>2 nuclei were observed by AMS-01 in the rigidity range 1-40 GV. Using these data, it is possible to investigate the relative abundances and the energy spectra of the primary cosmic rays, providing relations with their sources and propagation processes. Preliminary results on the B/C ratio in 0.4-19 GeV/nucleon kinetic energy are presented.