Uncertainties implicit to the use of the force-field solutions to the Parker transport equation in analyses of observed cosmic ray antiproton intensities

Abstract

Spacecraft observations of cosmic ray antimatter intensities can potentially shed new light on previously unknown physics and hence play an essential role in the search for dark matter. At lower energies, however, these particles experience considerable modulation in the heliosphere. Since the advent of cosmic ray modulation studies, simplified approaches to solving the Parker transport equation have been used to glean insights from observations as to the behavior of these particles. We show, due to the inherent limitations imposed by the assumptions made in simplifying the Parker equation, that the use of these approaches can introduce unknown uncertainties into analyses based on them, and thus that these approaches should be used with caution, especially when novel insights into potentially new physics are sought.