Measurements of cosmic-ray proton and helium spectra with the PAMELA calorimeter

We present a new measurement of the cosmic ray proton and helium spectra by the PAMELA experiment performed using the “thin” (in terms of nuclei interactions) sampling electromagnetic calorimeter. The described method, optimized by using Monte Carlo simulation, beam test and experimental data, allows the spectra to be measured up to 10 TeV, thus extending the PAMELA observational range based on the magnetic spectrometer measurement.