The level of solar modulation at different times (related to the solar activity) is a central question of solar and galactic cosmic-ray physics. In the first paper of this series, we have established a correspondence between the uncertainties on ground-based detectors count rates and the parameter φ (modulation level in the force-field approximation) reconstructed from these count rates. In this second paper, we detail a procedure to obtain a reference φ time series from neutron monitor data. We show that we can have an unbiased and accurate φ reconstruction (∆φ/φ 10%). We also discuss the potential of Bonner spheres spectrometers and muon detectors to provide φ time series. Two by-products of this calculation are updated φ values for the cosmic-ray database and a web interface to retrieve and plot φ from the 50's to today (http://lpsc.in2p3.fr/crdb).

Particles count rates at given Earth location and altitude result from the convolution of (i) the interstellar (IS) cosmic-ray fluxes outside the solar cavity, (ii) the time-dependent modulation of IS into Top-of-Atmosphere (TOA) fluxes, (iii) the rigidity cut-off (or geomagnetic transmission function) and grammage at the counter location, (iv) the atmosphere response to incoming TOA cosmic rays (shower development), and (v) the counter response to the various particles/energies in the shower. Count rates from neutron monitors or muon counters are therefore a proxy to solar activity. In this paper, we review all ingredients, discuss how their uncertainties impact count rate calculations, and how they translate into variation/uncertainties on the level of solar modulation φ (in the simple Force-Field approximation). The main uncertainty for neutron monitors is related to the yield function. However, many other effects have a significant impact, at the 5 − 10% level on φ values. We find no clear ranking of the dominant effects, as some depend on the station position and/or the weather and/or the season. An abacus to translate any variation of count rates (for neutron and µ detectors) to a variation of the solar modulation φ is provided.

The natural radiative atmospheric environment is composed of secondary cosmic rays produced when primary cosmic rays hit the atmosphere. Understanding atmospheric radiations and their dynamics is essential for evaluating single event effects, so that radiation risks in aviation and the space environment (space weather) can be assessed. In this article, we present an atmospheric radiation model, named ATMORAD (Atmospheric Radiation), which is based on GEANT4 simulations of extensive air showers according to primary spectra that depend only on the solar modulation potential (force-field approximation). Based on neutron spectrometry, solar modulation potential can be deduced using neutron spectrometer measurements and ATMORAD. Some comparisons between our methodology and standard approaches or measurements are also discussed. This work demonstrates the potential for using simulations of extensive air showers and neutron spectroscopy to monitor solar activity.

We address calibration and self-calibration of tomographic PIV experiments within a pinhole model of cameras. A complete and explicit pinhole model of a camera equipped with a 2-tilt angles Scheimpflug adapter is presented. It is then used in a calibration procedure based on a freely moving calibration plate. While the resulting calibrations are accurate enough for Tomo-PIV, we confirm, through a simple experiment, that they are not stable in time, and illustrate how the pinhole framework can be used to provide a quantitative evaluation of geometrical drifts in the setup. We propose an original self-calibration method based on global optimization of the extrinsic parameters of the pinhole model. These methods are successfully applied to the tomographic PIV of an air jet experiment. An unexpected by-product of our work is to show that volume self-calibration induces a change in the world frame coordinates. Provided the calibration drift is small, as generally observed in PIV, the bias on the estimated velocity field is negligible but the absolute location cannot be accurately recovered using standard calibration data.