Abstract Neutron monitors of standard design (IGY or NM64) are employed worldwide to study variations in the flux of galactic cosmic rays and solar energetic particles in the GeV range. The design minimizes detector response to neutrons below ∼10 MeV produced by cosmic ray interactions in the ambient medium. Increasingly, however, such neutrons are of interest as a means of obtaining spectral information on cosmic rays, for studies of soil moisture, and for nuclear threat detection. Bare neutron counters, a type of lead‐free neutron monitor, can detect such neutrons, but comparatively little work has been done to characterize the dependence of their count rate on cutoff rigidity. We analyze data from three bare neutron counters operated on a ship together with a three‐tube NM64 monitor from November 1995 to March 1996 over a wide range of magnetic latitude, that is, a latitude survey. The bare counter design used foamed‐in‐place polyurethane insulation to keep the temperature uniform and to some extent moderate high‐energy neutrons. When the ship was near land, the bare/NM64 count rate ratio was dramatically higher. Considering only data from open sea, the bare and NM64 pressure coefficients are not significantly different. We determine the response function of these bare counters, which is weighted to Galactic cosmic rays of lower energy than the NM64. This measurement of the response function may improve determination of the spectral index of solar energetic particles and Galactic cosmic rays from a comparison of bare and NM64 count rates.
Abstract Solar modulation refers to Galactic cosmic-ray variations with the ∼11 yr sunspot cycle and ∼22 yr solar magnetic cycle and is relevant to the space radiation environment and effects on Earth’s atmosphere. Its complicated dependence on solar and heliospheric conditions is only roughly understood and has been empirically modeled in terms of a single modulation parameter. Most analyses of solar modulation use neutron monitor (NM) data from locations with relatively low geomagnetic cutoff rigidity, i.e., the threshold for cosmic rays to penetrate Earth’s magnetic field. The Princess Sirindhorn Neutron Monitor at Doi Inthanon, Thailand, has the world’s highest cutoff rigidity (≈17 GV) where observations span a complete solar modulation cycle (since late 2007). The pattern of solar modulation at Doi Inthanon during 2011–2014 was qualitatively very different from that at a low geomagnetic cutoff and is not well described by the same modulation parameter. At other times, NM count rates from Doi Inthanon and McMurdo, Antarctica (cutoff ∼1 GV), were linearly correlated and confirm the observation from latitude surveys in the previous solar cycle that the slope of the correlation changes with solar magnetic polarity. Low solar magnetic tilt angles (<40° at negative polarity) were well correlated with variations at both NM stations, as predicted by drift models. At a higher tilt angle, the Doi Inthanon count rate is well correlated with the interplanetary magnetic field, which is consistent with an increase in diffusion at high rigidity short-circuiting the effects of drifts and the heliospheric current sheet.
In December 2015, we have installed neutron monitor at the Jang Bogo station in Antarctica. The Jang Bogo station is the second science station which is located at the coast (74° 37.4’S, 164° 13.7’E) of Terra Nova Bay in Northern Victoria Land of Antarctica. A neutron monitor is an instrument to detect neutrons from secondary cosmic rays collided by the atmosphere. The installation of neutron monitor at Jang Bogo station is a part of transferred mission for neutron monitor at McMurdo station of USA. Among 18 tubes of 18-NM64 neutron monitor, we have completed relocation of 6 tubes and the rest will be transferred in December 2017. Currently, comparison of data from both neutron monitors is under way and there is a good agreement between the data. The neutron monitor at Jang Bogo station will be quite useful to study the space weather when the installation is completed.
Abstract The energy spectrum of Galactic cosmic-ray (GCR) ions at Earth varies with solar activity as these ions cross the heliosphere. Thus, this “solar modulation” of GCRs provides remote sensing of heliospheric conditions throughout the ∼11 yr sunspot cycle and ∼22 yr solar magnetic cycle. A neutron monitor (NM) is a stable ground-based detector that measures cosmic-ray rate variations above a geomagnetic or atmospheric cutoff rigidity with high precision (∼0.1%) over such timescales. Furthermore, we developed electronics and analysis techniques to indicate variations in the cosmic-ray spectral index using neutron time-delay data from a single station. Here we study solar modulation using neutron time-delay histograms from two high-altitude NM stations: (1) the Princess Sirindhorn Neutron Monitor at Doi Inthanon, Thailand, with the world’s highest vertical geomagnetic cutoff rigidity, 16.7 GV, from 2007 December to 2018 April; and (2) the South Pole NM, with an atmosphere-limited cutoff of ∼1 GV, from 2013 December to 2018 April. From these histograms, we extract the leader fraction L , i.e., inverse neutron multiplicity, as a proxy of a GCR spectral index above the cutoff. After correction for pressure and precipitable water vapor variations, we find that L roughly correlates with the count rate but also exhibits hysteresis, implying a change in spectral shape after a solar magnetic polarity reversal. Spectral variations due to Forbush decreases, 27 day variations, and a ground-level enhancement are also indicated. These methods enhance the high-precision GCR spectral information from the worldwide NM network and extend it to higher rigidity.
The Galactic cosmic ray spectrum exhibits subtle variations over the 22 yr solar magnetic cycle
in addition to the more dramatic variations over the 11 yr sunspot cycle. Neutron monitors are
large ground-based detectors that provide accurate measurements of variations in the cosmic ray
flux at the top of the atmosphere above the detector. At any given location the magnetic field of
the Earth excludes particles below a well-defined rigidity (momentum per unit charge) known as
the cutoff rigidity, which can be accurately calculated using detailed models of the geomagnetic
field. By carrying a neutron monitor to different locations, e.g., on a ship, the Earth itself serves
as a magnet spectrometer. By repeating such latitude surveys with identical equipment a sensitive
measurement of changes in the spectrum can be made. In this work, we analyze data from the
1994 through 2007 series of latitude surveys conducted by the Bartol Research Institute, the University
of Tasmania, and the Australian Antarctic Division. We confirm the curious crossover
in spectra measured near solar minima during epochs of opposite solar magnetic polarity, and
show that it is related directly to a sudden change in the spectral behavior of solar modulation at
the time of the polarity reversal, as revealed from contemporaneous variations in the survey data
and a fixed station. We suggest that the spectral change and crossover result from the interaction
of effects due to gradient/curvature drifts with a systematic change in the interplanetary diffusion
coefficient caused by turbulent magnetic helicity.
The Galactic cosmic ray spectrum exhibits subtle variations over the 22 yr solar magnetic cycle in addition to the more dramatic variations over the 11 yr sunspot cycle. Neutron monitors are large ground-based detectors that provide accurate measurements of variations in the cosmic ray flux at the top of the atmosphere above the detector. At any given location the magnetic field of the Earth excludes particles below a well-defined rigidity (momentum per unit charge) known as the cutoff rigidity, which can be accurately calculated using detailed models of the geomagnetic field. By carrying a neutron monitor to different locations, e.g., on a ship, the Earth itself serves as a magnet spectrometer. By repeating such latitude surveys with identical equipment, a sensitive measurement of changes in the spectrum can be made. In this work, we analyze data from the 1994 through 2007 series of latitude surveys conducted by the Bartol Research Institute, the University of Tasmania, and the Australian Antarctic Division. We confirm the curious "crossover" in spectra measured near solar minima during epochs of opposite solar magnetic polarity, and show that it is directly related to a sudden change in the spectral behavior of solar modulation at the time of the polarity reversal, as revealed from contemporaneous variations in the survey data and a fixed station. We suggest that the spectral change and crossover result from the interaction of effects due to gradient/curvature drifts with a systematic change in the interplanetary diffusion coefficient caused by turbulent magnetic helicity.
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