Atmospheric Effect on Cosmic Ray Muons at High Cut-Off Rigidity Station

Abdullrahman Maghrabi,Mohammed Almutayri

doi:10.1155/2016/9620189

Abdullrahman Maghrabi, Mohammed Almutayri

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/9620189

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Abstract

Cosmic ray data and radiosonde measurements from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Rc = 14.4 GV), for the period 2002–2012, were used to study the effect of atmospheric pressure, level of pion production, and temperature at that level, on cosmic ray muons. We found that, even if corrections were made to the detected muons using these three parameters, seasonal variations of the cosmic rays still exist. This suggests that other terrestrial and/or extraterrestrial causes may be considered. The levels of pion production and atmospheric pressure are inversely correlated with the muon rate. On the other hand, the temperature at the pion production level is correlated with muons in spring and winter and inversely correlated in fall and summer. There is no clear explanation for this behavior.

Highlights

It has been found that the influence of solar and heliospheric processes on the primary cosmic ray incident at the top of the atmosphere leads to changes in some atmospheric properties, which in turn affect global weather and climate [1,2,3,4,5,6].To be able to study cosmic rays and their variations in a proper way, using ground level detectors, atmospheric effects on secondary cosmic rays must be removed [7,8,9,10]
Cosmic ray data from the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) muon detector and radiosonde measurements (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Rc = 14.4 GV) for the period 2002–2012 were used to study the effect of atmospheric pressure, level of pion production, and temperature at that level on the cosmic ray muons
The results show that while the raw muon rate is directly correlated with the level of pion production it is inversely correlated with the other two variables

Summary

Introduction

To be able to study cosmic rays and their variations in a proper way, using ground level detectors, atmospheric effects on secondary cosmic rays must be removed [7,8,9,10]. These secondary particles result from the interaction of the primaries with atmospheric nuclei, in which muons are considered the majority of these particles detected at sea level. The rate of the detected muons depends on some atmospheric factors; corrections for local variations of these factors must be made to determine the properties of the primary cosmic rays. It is a measure of the total atmospheric absorption above the detector (e.g., [8, 11,12,13])

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Conclusion