The source of the 2017 cosmic ray half-year modulation event

TL;DR

This study investigates the 2017 half-year depression in galactic cosmic ray protons observed by AMS-02, concluding it results from recurrent CMEs and solar activity, not typical Forbush decreases.

Contribution

It identifies the complex solar phenomena responsible for a prolonged cosmic ray depression, highlighting the role of recurrent CMEs and active magnetic sources near solar minimum.

Findings

Depression caused by recurrent CMEs, SIRs, and CIRs.

Active magnetic source from a highly active region.

Unusual solar activity near solar minimum contributed.

Abstract

In 2017, as the solar cycle approached solar minimum, an unusually long and large depression was observed in galactic cosmic ray (GCR) protons, detected with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02), lasting for the second half of that year. The depression, as seen in the Bartel rotation-averaged proton flux, has the form of a Forbush decrease (FD). Despite this resemblance, however, the cause of the observed depression does not have such a simple explanation as FDs, due to coronal mass ejections (CMEs), typically last for a few days at 1 AU rather than half a year. In this work, we seek the cause of the observed depression and investigate two main possibilities. First, we consider a mini-cycle - a temporary change in the solar dynamo that changes the behavior of the global solar magnetic field and, by this, the modulation of GCRs. Secondly, we investigate the behavior of solar activity, both CMEs and co-rotating/stream interactions regions (C/SIRs), during this period. Our findings show that, although there is some evidence for mini-cycle behavior prior to the depression, the depression is ultimately due to a combination of recurrent CMEs, SIRs and CIRs. A particular characteristic of the depression is that the largest impacts that help to create and maintain it are due to four CMEs from the same, highly active, magnetic source that persists for several solar rotations. This active magnetic source is unusual given the closeness of the solar cycle to solar minimum, which also helps to make the depression more evident.