Long term variation of the solar diurnal anisotropy of galactic cosmic rays observed with the Nagoya multi-directional muon detector

Abstract

We analyze the three dimensional anisotropy of the galactic cosmic ray (GCR) intensities observed independently with a muon detector at Nagoya in Japan and neutron monitors over four solar activity cycles. We clearly see the phase of the free-space diurnal anisotropy shifting toward earlier hours around solar activity minima in A>0 epochs, due to the reduced anisotropy component parallel to the mean magnetic field. The average parallel component is consistent with a rigidity independent spectrum, while the perpendicular component increases with GCR rigidity. We suggest that this harder spectrum of the perpendicular component is due to contribution from the drift streaming. We find that the bidirectional latitudinal density gradient is positive in A>0 epoch, while it is negative in A<0 epoch, in accord with the drift model prediction. The radial density gradient, on the other hand, varies with ~11-year cycle with maxima (minima) in solar maximum (minimum) periods, but there is no significant difference seen between average radial gradients in A>0 and A<0 epochs. The average parallel mean free path is larger in A<0 than in A>0. We also find, however, that parallel mean free path (radial gradient) appears to persistently increase (decreasing) in the last three cycles of weakening solar activity. We suggest that simple differences between these parameters in A>0 and A<0 epochs are seriously biased by these long-term trends.

accepted for the publication in the Astrophysical Journal

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