Nearly 70 Ground Level Enhancements (GLEs) of cosmic rays have been recorded by the worldwide neutron monitor network since the 1950s depicting a big variety of energy spectra of solar energetic particles (SEP). Here we studied a statistical relation between the event-integrated intensity of GLEs (calculated as count-rate relative excess, averaged over all available polar neutron monitors, and expressed in percent-hours) and the hardness of the solar particle energy spectra. For each event the integral omnidirectional event-integrated fluences of particles with energy above 30 MeV ($F_{30}$) and above 200 MeV ($F_{200}$) were computed using the reconstructed spectra, and the ratio between the two fluences was considered as a simple index of the event's hardness. We also provided a justification of the spectrum estimate in the form of the Band-function, using direct PAMELA data for GLE 71 (17-May-2012). We found that, while there is no clear relation between the intensity and the hardness for weak events, all strong events with the intensity greater 100 \%*hr are characterized by a very hard spectrum. This implies that a hard spectrum can be securely assumed for all extreme GLE events, e.g., those studied using cosmogenic isotope data in the past.
In addition to several recent articles devoted to the rare event of ground-level enhancement of the solar relativistic proton flux observed on 2021 October 28 (GLE73), we study the 10-100 MeV solar energetic particle (SEP) component of this event. Based on the GOES satellite data for 26 GLEs recorded since 1986, we have formed a scatter plot displaying the ratio of the peak fluxes of the >10 MeV (J10) and >100 MeV (J100) protons and their energy spectra. Two extreme characteristics of the prompt component of the SEP-GLE73 event were revealed: (1) very small J10 and J100 proton fluxes and (2) a…
Severe geomagnetic storms appear to be ordered by the solar cycle in a number of ways. They occur more frequently close to solar maximum and declining phase, are more common in larger solar cycles and show different patterns of occurrence in odd- and even-numbered solar cycles. Our knowledge of the most extreme space weather events, however, comes from the spikes in cosmogenic-isotope ($^{14}$C, $^{10}$Be and $^{36}$Cl) records that are attributed to significantly larger solar energetic particle (SEP) events than have been observed during the space age. Despite both storms and SEPs being drive…
Fluences of solar energetic particles (SEPs) are not easy to evaluate, especially for high-energy events (i.e. ground-level enhancements, GLEs). Earlier estimates of event-integrated SEP fluences for GLEs were based on partly outdated assumptions and data, and they required revisions. Here, we present the results of a full revision of the spectral fluences for most major SEP events (GLEs) for the period from 1956 -- 2017 using updated low-energy flux estimates along with greatly revisited high-energy flux data and applying the newly invented reconstruction method including an improved neutron-…
Extreme space weather events including $\ge$X5.0 flares, ground level enhancement (GLE) events and super geomagnetic storms (Dst $\le$ -250 nT) caused by super active regions (SARs) during solar cycles 21-24 were studied. The total number of $\ge$X5.0 solar flares was 62, 41 of them were X5.0-X9.9 flares and 21 of them were $\ge$X10.0 flares. We found that 83.9\% of the $\ge$X5.0 flares were produced by SARs. 78.05\% of the X5.0-X9.9 and 95.24\% of the $\ge$X10.0 solar flares were produced by SARs. 46 GLEs registered during solar cycles 21-24, and 25 GLEs were caused by SARs, indicating that 5…
On 2017 September 10 Neutron Monitors (NMs) apparatus located at ground level and high latitudes detected an increase in the counting rate associated to solar energetic particles (SEPs) emission from X8.2-class solar flare and its associated CME. This was the second-highest flare of the current solar cycle. The origin was the active region AR 12673 when it was located at the edge of the west solar disk, magnetically poorly connected with Earth. However, there was a peculiar condition: the solar protons accelerated by the CME shocks were injected within a heliospheric current sheet (HCS) region…
The effect of precipitating high-energy particles on atmospheric physics and chemistry is extensively studied over the last decade. In majority of the existing models, the precipitating particles induced ionization plays an essential role. For such effects, it is necessary to possess enhanced increase in ion production, specifically during the winter period. In this study, we focus on highly penetrating particles - cosmic rays. The galactic cosmic rays are the main source of ionization in the Earth's stratosphere and troposphere. On the other hand, the atmospheric ionization may be significant…
As a result of intense solar activity during the first ten days of September, a ground level enhancement occurred on September 10, 2017. Here we computed the effective dose rates in the polar region at several altitudes during the event using the derived rigidity spectra of the energetic solar protons. The contribution of different populations of energetic particles viz. galactic cosmic rays and solar protons, to the exposure is explicitly considered and compared. We also assessed the exposure of a crew members/passengers to radiation at different locations and at several cruise flight altitud…
Enhancements of the comic-ray intensity as observed by detectors on the ground have been observed 71 times since 1942. They are due to solar energetic particles accelerated in the regions of solar flares deep in the corona, or in the shock front of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in the solar wind. The latter is the favoured model for the classical gradual ground level enhancement (GLE). In several papers since the one of McCracken et al. (2008), we pointed out, however, that some GLEs are too impulsive to be accelerated in the CME shocks. This hypothesis, together with other properties of GLEs,…
The conventional definition of ground-level enhancement (GLE) events requires a detection of solar energetic particles (SEP) by at least two differently located neutron monitors. Some places are exceptionally well suitable for ground-based detection of SEP - high-elevation polar regions with negligible geomagnetic and reduced atmospheric energy/rigidity cutoffs. At present, there are two neutron-monitor stations in such locations on the Antarctic plateau: SOPO/SOPB (at Amundsen-Scott station, 2835 m elevation), and DOMC/DOMB (at Concordia station, 3233 m elevation). Since 2015, when the DOMC/D…
On September 10 2017, a fast coronal mass ejection (CME) erupted from the active region (AR) 12673, leading to a ground level enhancement (GLE) event at Earth. Using the 2D improved Particle Acceleration and Transport in the Heliosphere (iPATH) model, we model the large solar energetic particle (SEP) event of 10 September 2017 observed at Earth, Mars and STEREO-A. Based on observational evidence,we assume that the CME-driven shock experienced a large lateral expansion shortly after the eruption, which is modelled by a double Gaussian velocity profile in this simulation. We use the in-situ shoc…
Large solar eruptive events, including solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), can lead to solar energetic particle (SEP) events. During these events, protons are accelerated up to several GeV and pose numerous space weather risks. These risks include, but are not limited to, radiation hazards to astronauts and disruption to satellites and electronics. The highest energy SEPs are capable of reaching Earth on timescales of minutes and can be detected in ground level enhancements (GLEs). Understanding and analyzing these events is critical to future forecasting models. However, the avail…
An interval of exceptional solar activity was registered in early September 2017, late in the decay phase of solar cycle 24, involving the complex Active Region 12673 as it rotated across the western hemisphere with respect to Earth. A large number of eruptions occurred between 4-10 September, including four associated with X-class flares. The X9.3 flare on 6 September and the X8.2 flare on 10 September are currently the two largest during cycle 24. Both were accompanied by fast coronal mass ejections and gave rise to solar energetic particle (SEP) events measured by near-Earth spacecraft. In …
The First Four Ground-Level Enhancements in the 1940s: Investigation, Digitisation, and Analysis of Forgotten Data
Nagoya University（名古屋大学）；RAL Space, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory（英国科学与技术设施委员会拉尔夫空间部，鲁瑟福阿普尔顿实验室）；Riken Nishina Centre（理化学研究所仁科中心）；University of Oulu（奥卢大学）
We report on further evidence that solar energetic particles are organized by the kinematic properties of coronal mass ejections (CMEs)[1]. In particular, we focus on the starting frequency of type II bursts, which is related to the distance from the Sun where the radio emission starts. We find that the three groups of solar energetic particle (SEP) events known to have distinct values of CME initial acceleration, also have distinct average starting frequencies of the associated type II bursts. SEP events with ground level enhancement (GLE) have the highest starting frequency (107 MHz), while …
The injection, propagation and arrival of solar energetic particles (SEPs) during eruptive solar events is an important and current research topic of heliospheric physics. During the largest solar events, particles may have energies up to a few GeVs and sometimes even trigger ground-level enhancements (GLEs) at Earth. We study the first GLE-event of solar cycle 24, from 17th May 2012, using data from multiple spacecraft (SOHO, GOES, MSL, STEREO-A, STEREO-B and MESSENGER). These spacecraft are located throughout the inner heliosphere, at heliocentric distances between 0.34 and 1.5 astronomical …
On the basis of neutron monitor data we estimate the energy spectrum, anisotropy axis direction and pitch-angle distribution of solar energetic particles during two major ground level enhancements (GLE 59 on 14 July 2000 and GLE 70 on 13 December 2006). For the analysis we use a newly computed neutron monitor yield function. The method consists of several consecutive steps: definition of the asymptotic viewing cones of neutron monitor stations considered for the data analysis by computations of cosmic ray particles propagation in a model magnetosphere with the MAGNETOCOSMICS code; computation …
Enhancements of the comic-ray intensity as observed by detectors on the ground have been observed 71 times since 1942. They are due to solar energetic particles accelerated in the regions of solar flares deep in the corona, or in the shock front of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in the solar wind. The latter is the favoured model for the classical gradual ground-level enhancement (GLE). In several papers since the one of McCracken et al. (2008), we pointed out, however, that some GLEs are too impulsive to be accelerated in the CME shocks. With this hypothesis in mind we study the time profiles …
The Sun is an effective particle accelerator producing solar energetic particle (SEP) events during which particles up to several GeVs can be observed. Those events observed at Earth with the neutron monitor network are called ground level enhancements (GLEs). Although these events with a high energy component have been investigated for several decades, a clear relation between the spectral shape of the SEPs outside the Earth's magnetosphere and the increase in neutron monitor count rate has yet to be established. Hence, an analysis of these events is of interest for the space weather as well …
We study the solar energetic particle (SEP) event associated with the 2012 July 23 extreme solar storm, for which STEREO and the spacecraft at L1 provide multi-point remote sensing and in situ observations. The extreme solar storm, with a superfast shock and extremely enhanced ejecta magnetic fields observed near 1 AU at STEREO A, was caused by the combination of successive coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Meanwhile, energetic particles were observed by STEREO and near-Earth spacecraft such as ACE and SOHO, suggestive of a wide longitudinal spread of the particles at 1 AU. Combining the SEP obse…
Aims The possible influence of solar superflares on the near-Earth space radiation environment are assessed through the investigation of scaling laws between the peak proton flux and fluence of Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) events with the solar flare soft X-ray peak photon flux. Methods We compiled a catalog of 65 well-connected (W20-90) SEP events during the last three solar cycles covering a period of $\sim$34 years (1984-2020) that were associated with flares of class $\geq$C6.0 and investigated the statistical relations between the recorded peak proton fluxes ($I_{P}$) and the fluences (…
Ground-level enhancements (GLEs) generally accompany with fast interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs), the shocks driven by which are the effective source of solar energetic particles (SEPs). In the GLE event of 2000 July 14, observations show that a very fast and strong magnetic cloud (MC) is behind the ICME shock and the proton intensity-time profiles observed at 1 au had a rapid two-step decrease near the sheath and MC. Therefore, we study the effect of sheath and MC on SEPs accelerated by an ICME shock through numerically solving the focused transport equation. The shock is regarded…
Aims. The first relativistic solar proton event of solar cycle 25 (SC25) was detected on 28 October 2021 by neutron monitors (NMs) on the ground and particle detectors onboard spacecraft in the near-Earth space. This is the first ground level enhancement (GLE) of the current cycle. A detailed reconstruction of the NM response together with the identification of the solar eruption that generated these particles is investigated based on in-situ and remote-sensing measurements. Methods. In-situ proton observations from a few MeV to $\sim$500 MeV were combined with the detection of a solar flare i…
Metric type II solar radio bursts and solar energetic particles (SEPs) are both associated with shock fronts driven by coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in the solar corona. Recent studies of ground level enhancements (GLEs), regular large solar energetic particle (SEP) events and filament eruption (FE) associated large SEP events have shown that SEP events are organized by spectral index of proton fluence spectra and by the average starting frequencies of the associated type II radio bursts. Both these results indicate a hierarchical relationship between CME kinematics and SEP event properties. I…
Context. Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs) with energy in the GeV range can propagate to Earth from their acceleration region near the Sun and produce Ground Level Enhancements (GLEs). The traditional approach to interpreting and modelling GLE observations assumes particle propagation only parallel to the magnetic field lines of interplanetary space, i.e. it is spatially 1D. Recent measurements by PAMELA have characterised SEP properties at 1 AU for the ~100 MeV-1 GeV range at high spectral resolution. Aims. We model the transport of GLE-energy solar protons through the Interplanetary Magnetic …
This work presents results from simulations of the 14 July 2000 ("Bastille Day") solar proton event. We used the Energetic Particle Radiation Environment Model (EPREM) and the CORona-HELiosphere (CORHEL) software suite within the SPE Threat Assessment Tool (STAT) framework to model proton acceleration to GeV energies due to the passage of a CME through the low solar corona, and compared the model results to GOES-08 observations. The coupled simulation models particle acceleration from 1 to 20 $R_\odot$, after which it models only particle transport. The simulation roughly reproduces the peak e…
The global neutron monitor network has been successfully used over several decades to study cosmic ray variations and fluxes of energetic solar particles. Nowadays, it is used also for space weather purposes, e.g. alerts and assessment of the exposure to radiation. Here, we present the current status of the global neutron monitor network. We discuss the ability of the global neutron monitor network to study solar energetic particles, specifically during large ground level enhancements. We demonstrate as an example, the derived solar proton characteristics during ground level enhancements GLE $…
An important topic in the field of space weather is the precise assessment of the contribution of galactic cosmic rays and solar energetic particles on air crew exposure, specifically during eruptive events on the Sun. Here we present a model, a full chain analysis based on ground based measurements of cosmic rays with neutron monitors, subsequent derivation of particle spectral and angular characteristics and computation of dose rate. The model uses method for ground level enhancement analysis and newly numerically computed yield functions for conversion of secondary particle fluence to effec…
Impulsive solar energetic particle (ISEP) events show peculiar elemental composition, with enhanced 3He and heavy-ion abundances, markedly different from our solar system composition. Furthermore, the events are characterized by a wide variety of energy spectral shapes from power laws to rounded spectra toward the low energies. Solar sources of the events have been firmly associated with coronal jets. Surprisingly, new observations have shown that events are often accompanied by so-called extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) coronal waves - a large-scale phenomenon compared to jets. This paper outlines t…
Linking Solar Magnetism, Extreme Solar Particle Events and Stellar Superflares
Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research（马克斯·普朗克太阳系统研究所）；Space Physics and Astronomy Research Unit and Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory, University of Oulu（奥卢大学空间物理与天文学研究部及索丹屈莱地球物理观测站）；Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, Nagoya University（名古屋大学宇宙地球环境研究所）
In this paper, we review observational aspects of three common small-scale energetic events in the solar transition region (TR), namely: TR explosive events, ultraviolet bursts and jets. These events are defined in either (both) spectral or (and) imaging data. The development of multiple instruments capable of observing the TR has allowed researchers to gain numerous insights into these phenomena in recent years. These events have provided a proxy to study how mass and energy are transported between the solar chromosphere and the corona. As the physical mechanisms responsible for these small-s…
Connection-angle dependence of proton anisotropy in ground-level enhancement events
Heliophysics Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center（NASA 戈达德太空飞行中心日物理部）；Catholic University of America（美国天主教大学）；Jeremiah Horrocks Institute, University of Lancashire（兰开夏大学杰里迈亚·霍罗克斯研究所）
We fit the $\sim$0.1-500 MeV/nucleon H-Fe spectra in 46 large SEP events surveyed by Desai et al. (2016) with the double power-law Band function to obtain a normalization constant, low- and high-energy parameters $γ_a$ and $γ_b$; and break energy $E_B$. We also calculate the low-energy power-law spectral slope $γ_1$. We find that: 1) $γ_a$, $γ_1$, and $γ_b$ are species-independent within a given SEP event, and the spectra steepen with increasing energy; 2) $E_B$'s are well ordered by Q/M ratio, and decrease systematically with decreasing Q/M, scaling as (Q/M)$^α$ with $α$ varying between $\sim…
Small 3He-rich solar energetic particle (SEP) events have been commonly associated with extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) jets and narrow coronal mass ejections (CMEs) which are believed to be the signatures of magnetic reconnection involving field lines open to interplanetary space. The elemental and isotopic fractionation in these events are thought to be caused by processes confined to the flare sites. In this study we identify 32 3He-rich SEP events observed by the Advanced Composition Explorer near the Earth during the solar minimum period 2007-2010 and examine their solar sources with the high r…
Solar energetic particles (SEPs) are one of the extreme space weather phenomena. A huge SEP event increases the radiation dose received by aircrews, who should be warned of such events as early as possible. We developed a warning system for aviation exposure to SEPs. This article describes one component of the system, which calculates the temporal evolution of the SEP intensity and the spectrum immediately outside the terrestrial magnetosphere. To achieve this, we performed numerical simulations of SEP transport in interplanetary space, in which interplanetary SEP transport is described by the…
The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) has been measuring fluxes of the Energetic Neutral Atoms (ENAs) using the IBEX-Hi (0.3 -- 6 keV) instrument since 2008. We have developed a numerical time-depended code to calculate globally distributed flux (GDF) of hydrogen ENAs employing both 1) 3D kinetic-MHD model of the global heliosphere and 2) reconstruction of atom trajectories from 1 au, where they are observed by IBEX, to the point of their origin in the inner heliosheath (IHS). The key factor in the simulation is a detailed kinetic consideration of the pickup ions (PUIs), the supra-thermal …
In August of 2012 the Voyager 1 space probe entered a distinctly new region of space characterized by a virtual absence of heliospheric energetic charged particles and magnetic fluctuations, dubbed a "magnetic highway". Prior to their disappearance, the particle distributions strongly peaked at a 90$^\circ$ pitch angle implying a faster particle escape along the magnetic field lines. We investigate the process of particle crossing from the heliosheath region into the "magnetic highway" region using a kinetic approach resolving scales of the particle's cyclotron radius and smaller. We show that…
The main sources of solar energetic particle (SEP) events are solar flares and shocks driven by coronal mass ejections (CMEs). While it is generally accepted that energetic protons can be accelerated by shocks, whether or not these shocks can also efficiently accelerate solar energetic electrons is still debated. In this study we present observations of the extremely widespread SEP event of 26 Dec 2013. To the knowledge of the authors, this is the widest longitudinal SEP distribution ever observed together with unusually long-lasting energetic electron anisotropies at all observer positions. F…
The PAMELA satellite experiment is providing first direct measurements of Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs) with energies from about 80 MeV to several GeV in near-Earth space, bridging the low energy data by other space-based instruments and the Ground Level Enhancement (GLE) data by the worldwide network of neutron monitors. Its unique observational capabilities include the possibility of measuring the flux angular distribution and thus investigating possible anisotropies. This work reports the analysis methods developed to estimate the SEP energy spectra as a function of the particle pitch-an…
The Solar Aspect Monitor (SAM) is a pinhole camera on the Extreme-ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE) aboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). SAM projects the solar disk onto the CCD through a metallic filter designed to allow only solar photons shortward of 7 nm to pass. Contamination from energetic particles and out-of-band irradiance is, however, significant in the SAM observations. We present a technique for isolating the 0.01--7 nm integrated irradiance from the SAM signal to produce the first results of broadband irradiance for the time period from May 2010 to May 2014. The res…
Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs) are an important aspect of space weather. SEP events posses a high destructive potential, since they may cause disruptions of communication systems on Earth and be fatal to crew members onboard spacecrafts and, in extreme cases, harmful to people onboard high altitude flights. However, currently the research community lacks efficient tools to predict such hazardous threat and its potential impacts. Such a tool is a first step for mankind to improve its preparedness for SEP events and ultimately to be able to mitigate their effects. The main goal of the presente…
The need for quantitative characterization of the solar energetic particle (SEP) dynamics goes beyond being an academic discipline only. It has numerous practical implications related to human activity in space. The terrestrial magnetic field shields the International Space Station (ISS) and most uncrewed missions from exposure to SEP radiation. However, extreme SEP events with hard energy spectra are particularly rich in hundreds of MeV to several GeV protons that can reach the altitudes of the Low Earth Orbit (LEO). These protons have a high penetrating capability, thus producing significant…
The energetic electrons of the inner radiation belt during a geomagnetic disturbance can penetrate in the forbidden range of drift shells located at the heights of the topside equatorial ionosphere (<1000 km). A good correlation was previously revealed between positive ionospheric storms and intense fluxes of quasi-trapped 30-keV electrons at ~900 km height in the forbidden zone. In the present work, we use statistics to validate an assumption that the intense electron fluxes in the topside equatorial ionosphere can be an important source of the ionization in the low-latitude ionosphere. The d…
We believe that the extreme solar modulation of 3-60 MeV Galactic electrons measured by Voyager in the heliosheath and the interpretation of this new data in terms of the rigidity dependence of the diffusion coefficient at low rigidities presented in this paper represents a major step in understanding diffusion theory as it applies to energetic particles. This description uses electron spectra measured at 5 different epochs and distances within the heliosheath. The diffusion dependence needed to explain the remarkable solar modulation effects observed for both electrons and higher rigidity pro…
As part of the HESPERIA Horizon 2020 project, we developed a software package for the direct inversion of Ground Level Enhancements (GLEs) based on data of the worldwide network of Neutron Monitors (NMs). The new methodology to study the release processes of relativistic solar energetic particles (SEPs) makes use of several models, including: the propagation of relativistic SEPs from the Sun to the Earth, their transport in the Earth's magnetosphere and atmosphere, as well as the detection of the nucleon component of the secondary cosmic rays by ground based NMs. The combination of these model…
