Solar modulation of galactic cosmic rays in the three-dimensional heliosphere according to meteorite data

Abstract

Cosmogenic radionuclides with distinctive half-lives from chondritic falls were used as natural detectors of galactic cosmic rays (GCR). A unique series of uniform data was obtained for variations in the integral gradients of GCR with a rigidity of R > 0.5 GV in 1955–2000 on heliocentric distances of 1.5–3.3 AU and heliographic latitudes between 23° S and 16° N. Correlation analysis was performed for the variations in GCR gradients and variations in solar activity (number of sunspots, SS, and intensity of the green coronal line, GCL), the intensity of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), and the inclination of the heliospheric current sheet (HCS). Distribution and variations of GCR were analyzed in 11-year solar cycles and during a change in 22-year magnetic cycles. The detected dependencies of GCR gradients on the intensity of IMF and HCS inclination provided insight into the differences in the processes of structural transformation of IMF during changes between various phases of solar and magnetic cycles. The investigated relationships lead to the conclusion that a change of secular solar cycles occurred during solar cycle 20; moreover, there is probably still an increase in the 600-year solar cycle, which can be among the major reasons for the observed global warming.