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Solar Cycle in the Heliosphere and Cosmic Rays

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Abstract

Manifestations of the 11-year solar cycle and longer time-scale variability in the heliosphere and cosmic rays are considered. We briefly review the cyclic variability of such heliospheric parameters as solar wind speed and density and heliospheric magnetic field, open magnetic flux and latitude variations of the heliospheric current sheet. It is discussed whether the local in-situ observation near Earth can represent the global 3D heliospheric pattern. Variability of cosmic rays near Earth provides an indirect useful tool to study the heliosphere. We discuss details of the heliospheric modulation of galactic cosmic rays, as recorded at and near Earth, and their relation to the heliospheric conditions in the outer heliosphere. On the other hand, solar energetic particles can serve as probes for explosive phenomena on the Sun and conditions in the corona and inner heliosphere. The occurrence of major solar proton events depicts an overall tendency to follow the solar cycle but individual events may appear at different phases of the solar cycle, as defined by various factors. The solar cycle in the heliosphere and cosmic rays depicts a complex pattern which includes different processes and cannot be described by a simple correlation with sunspot number.

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Notes

  1. http://www.wdcb.ru/stp/data/PRCATFINAL/.

  2. The official master list of GLEs is available at http://gle.oulu.fi.

Abbreviations

AU:

Astronomical unit (the mean Sun-Earth distance, ≈1.5×1011 m)

CME:

Coronal mass ejection

CR:

Cosmic rays

GLE:

Ground-level enhancement of cosmic rays

GCR:

Galactic cosmic rays

HCS:

Heliospheric current sheet

HMF:

Heliospheric magnetic field

IC:

Ionization chamber

MHD:

Magnetohydrodynamics

NM:

Neutron monitor

OMF:

Open magnetic flux

SEP:

Solar energetic particles

SPE:

Solar proton events

SSN:

Sunspot number

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Acknowledgements

This work is a result of the ISSI workshop “The Solar Activity Cycle: Physical Causes And Consequences”. G.B. acknowledges support of the RFBR grants 14-02-00905a, 14-02-10006k, 13-02-00585, 13-02-00931, 12-02-00215a and of the “Fundamental Properties of Matter and Astrophysics” Program of the Presidium of the RAS. E.W.C. acknowledges support from AFOSR Task 2301RDZ4. A.G.L. acknowledges support from AFRL contract FA8718-05-C-0036. G.K. was partly supported by the Academy of Finland. I.U.’s contribution is in the framework of the ReSoLVE Centre of Excellence (Academy of Finland, project no. 272157). Dr. Clifford Lopate is acknowledged for Huancayo/Haleakala NM data. Oulu NM data is available at http://cosmicrays.oulu.fi.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lebedev Physics Institute, Russian Academy of Science, Leninsky pr. 53, Moscow, Russia

    Galina A. Bazilevskaya

  2. Space Vehicles Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland AFB, NM, 87117, USA

    Edward W. Cliver

  3. National Solar Observatory, Sunspot, NM, 88349, USA

    Edward W. Cliver

  4. Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia

    Gennady A. Kovaltsov

  5. Atmospheric Environmental Research, 3550 Aberdeen Ave., Kirtland AFB, NM, 87117, USA

    Alan G. Ling

  6. SSSRC, 100 Tennyson Av., Nashua, NH, 03062, USA

    M. A. Shea & D. F. Smart

  7. Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory (Oulu unit) and Dept. Physics, 90014, University of Oulu, Finland

    Ilya G. Usoskin

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  1. Galina A. Bazilevskaya
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Bazilevskaya, G.A., Cliver, E.W., Kovaltsov, G.A. et al. Solar Cycle in the Heliosphere and Cosmic Rays. Space Sci Rev 186, 409–435 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-014-0084-0

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