Comparison of Anomalous and Galactic Cosmic Ray Oxygen at 1 au during 1997-2020

TL;DR

This study compares anomalous and galactic cosmic ray oxygen spectra at 1 au over 1997-2020, revealing how the transition energy varies with solar activity and highlighting differences in modulation mechanisms.

Contribution

First analysis of how ACR-GCR transition energy depends on solar cycle variation using quiet-time measurements from ACE.

Findings

Transition energy between ACR and GCR spectra is 15-35 MeV/nuc.

Transition energy is anticorrelated with solar activity.

GCR peak intensity reached a new maximum in solar cycle 24/25.

Abstract

Using quiet-time measurements of element oxygen within the energy range 7.3--237.9 MeV nuc$^{-1}$ from the ACE spacecraft at 1 au, we compare the energy spectra and intensities of anomalous and Galactic cosmic rays (ACRs and GCRs, respectively) during 1997--2020. Our analysis shows that the transition from ACR-dominated spectrum to GCR-dominated spectrum occurs at energies $\sim$15 to $\sim$35 MeV nuc$^{-1}$, and the transition energy $E_t$ is found to be well anticorrelated with varying solar activity. This is the first study of ACR-GCR transition energy dependence on the solar cycle variation. At energies below $E_t$, the index of the power-law ACR-dominated spectrum ($\gamma_1$) ranges from -2.0 to -0.5, whereas the GCR-dominated spectrum has a power-law index ($\gamma_2$) changing from 0.3 to 0.8 at energies ranging from $E_t$ to 237.9 MeV nuc$^{-1}$. Both $\gamma_1$ and $\gamma_2$ are positively correlated with solar activity. In addition, during the solar cycle 24/25 minimum period, the peak GCR intensity observed by ACE spacecraft is about 8\% above its 2009 value, setting a new record since the space age, while the peak ACR intensity is almost similar to that of the previous two solar cycles with the same pattern of solar magnetic polarity, indicating a different modulation mechanism between ACRs and GCRs.