Cosmic Ray Induced Ion Production in the Atmosphere

Bazilevskaya, G. A.; Usoskin, Ilya; Flückiger, E. O.; Harrison, Giles; Desorgher, L.; Bütikofer, R.; Крайнев, М. Б.; Махмутов, В. С.; Stozhkov, Y. I.; Svirzhevskaya, A. K.; Svirzhevsky, N. S.; Kovaltsov, Gennady A.

doi:10.1007/s11214-008-9339-y

Cited by 280 publications

(275 citation statements)

References 94 publications

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“…The conversion coefficients C j (T*) (see Pelliccioni 2000;Petoussi-Henss et al 2010, and references therein) for a secondary particle of type j are obtained on the basis of extensive Monte Carlo simulations with various codes including a precise cross-check, namely: FLUKA (Fasso et al 2005;Battistoni et al 2007), MCNPx (Briesmeister 1997;Waters et al 2007), PHITS (Iwase et al 2002), GEANT4 (Agostinelli et al 2003) and EGSnrc (Kawrakow 2001) performed by the DOCAL task Group assuming a reference computational phantom (ICRP 2009). The secondary particle fluence at a given altitude above the sea level (a.s.l.)…”

Section: Formalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In such a cascade only a fraction of the initial primary particle energy reaches the ground as secondaries. Most of the primary particle's energy is released in the atmosphere by ionization and excitation of the air (Dorman 2004;Bazilevskaya et al 2008;Usoskin et al 2009;Vainio et al 2009). There is a general agreement that the majority of CRs originate from the Galaxy, called galactic cosmic rays (GCRs).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Numerical model for computation of effective and ambient dose equivalent at flight altitudes

Mishev

Usoskin

2015

J. Space Weather Space Clim.

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A numerical model for assessment of the effective dose and ambient dose equivalent produced by secondary cosmic ray particles of galactic and solar origin at commercial aircraft altitudes is presented. The model represents a full chain analysis based on ground-based measurements of cosmic rays, from particle spectral and angular characteristics to dose estimation. The model is based on newly numerically computed yield functions and realistic propagation of cosmic ray in the Earth magnetosphere. The yield functions are computed using a straightforward full Monte Carlo simulation of the atmospheric cascade induced by primary protons and a-particles and subsequent conversion of secondary particle fluence (neutrons, protons, gammas, electrons, positrons, muons and charged pions) to effective dose or the ambient dose equivalent. The ambient dose equivalent is compared with reference data at various conditions such as rigidity cut-off and level of solar activity. The method is applied for computation of the effective dose rate at flight altitude during the ground level enhancement of 13 December 2006. The solar proton spectra are derived using neutron monitor data. The computation of the effective dose rate during the event explicitly considers the derived anisotropy i.e. the pitch angle distribution as well as the propagation of the solar protons in the magnetosphere of the Earth.

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Section: Formalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical model for computation of effective and ambient dose equivalent at flight altitudes

Mishev

Usoskin

2015

J. Space Weather Space Clim.

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“…The low-energy components of the cascade are absorbed in the atmosphere, leading to an altitude with maximum particle flux, the Pfotzer maximum. In the case of the Earth, the Pfotzer maximum is located at an altitude of 15−26 km, depending on latitude and solar activity level (Bazilevskaya et al 2008). Below the Pfotzer maximum, the particle flux decreases toward the surface.…”

Section: Surface Biological Dose Ratementioning

confidence: 99%

Galactic cosmic rays on extrasolar Earth-like planets

Grießmeier

Vakili

Stadelmann

et al. 2016

A&A

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Context. Theoretical arguments indicate that close-in terrestial exoplanets may have weak magnetic fields. As described in the companion article (Paper I), a weak magnetic field results in a high flux of galactic cosmic rays to the top of the planetary atmosphere. Aims. We investigate effects that may result from a high flux of galactic cosmic rays both throughout the atmosphere and at the planetary surface. Methods. Using an air shower approach, we calculate how the atmospheric chemistry and temperature change under the influence of galactic cosmic rays for Earth-like (N 2 -O 2 dominated) atmospheres. We evaluate the production and destruction rate of atmospheric biosignature molecules. We derive planetary emission and transmission spectra to study the influence of galactic cosmic rays on biosignature detectability. We then calculate the resulting surface UV flux, the surface particle flux, and the associated equivalent biological dose rates. Results. We find that up to 20% of stratospheric ozone is destroyed by cosmic-ray protons. The effect on the planetary spectra, however, is negligible. The reduction of the planetary ozone layer leads to an increase in the weighted surface UV flux by two orders of magnitude under stellar UV flare conditions. The resulting biological effective dose rate is, however, too low to strongly affect surface life. We also examine the surface particle flux: For a planet with a terrestrial atmosphere (with a surface pressure of 1033 hPa), a reduction of the magnetic shielding efficiency can increase the biological radiation dose rate by a factor of two, which is non-critical for biological systems. For a planet with a weaker atmosphere (with a surface pressure of 97.8 hPa), the planetary magnetic field has a much stronger influence on the biological radiation dose, changing it by up to two orders of magnitude. Conclusions. For a planet with an Earth-like atmospheric pressure, weak or absent magnetospheric shielding against galactic cosmic rays has little effect on the planet. It has a modest effect on atmospheric ozone, a weak effect on the atmospheric spectra, and a noncritical effect on biological dose rates. For planets with a thin atmosphere, however, magnetospheric shielding controls the surface radiation dose and can prevent it from increasing to several hundred times the background level.

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“…Data and methods of analysis. The profile of the electron/ion pair production rate by 2.5 GeV galactic cosmic rays is taken from [19][20][21][22] ] for a period of solar minimum. The electron concentration (Ne) has been calculated by the formula Q=α ef f .…”

Section: 3mentioning

confidence: 99%

An Autocatalytic Cycle for Ozone Production in the Lower Stratosphere Initiated by Galactic Cosmic Rays

Kilifarska¹

2013

Proceeding BAS

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Being poorly known, the ion chemistry of the lower stratosphere is generally ignored, or treated as similar to that of the middle atmosphere, by the current chemistry-climate modes. Some recent achievements in atmospheric chemistry have motivated us to re-asses the ionization efficiency of galactic cosmic rays (GCR) and ion-molecular reaction initiated by them. We reveal that near to the maximum of the GCR absorption, the energetically allowed ionmolecular reactions form an autocatalytic cycle for continuous O 3 production in the lower stratosphere. The amount of the produced ozone is comparable to the values of the standard winter time O 3 profile. This is an indication that GCR are responsible for a greater part of the lower stratospheric ozone variability then is assumed currently.

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Cosmic Ray Induced Ion Production in the Atmosphere

Cited by 280 publications

References 94 publications

Numerical model for computation of effective and ambient dose equivalent at flight altitudes

Numerical model for computation of effective and ambient dose equivalent at flight altitudes

Galactic cosmic rays on extrasolar Earth-like planets

An Autocatalytic Cycle for Ozone Production in the Lower Stratosphere Initiated by Galactic Cosmic Rays

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