Cosmic ray energy loss in the heliosphere: Direct evidence from electron-capture-decay secondary isotopes

Abstract

Measurements by the Cosmic Ray Isotope Spectrometer (CRIS) on the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft provide direct evidence that galactic cosmic rays lose energy as a result of their interactions with magnetic fields expanding with the solar wind. The secondary isotopes ^(49)V and ^(51)Cr can decay to ^(49)Ti and ^(51)V, respectively, only by electron capture. The observed abundances of these isotopes are directly related to the probability of attaching an electron from the interstellar medium; this probability decreases strongly with increasing energy around a few hundred MeV/nucleon. At the highest energies observed by CRIS, electron attachment on these nuclides is very unlikely, and thus ^(49)V and ^(51)Cr are essentially stable. At lower energies, attachment and decay do occur. Comparison of the energy dependence of the daughter/parent ratios ^(49)Ti/^(49)V and ^(51)V/^(51)Cr during solar minimum and solar maximum conditions confirms that increased energy loss occurs during solar maximum. This analysis indicates an increase in the modulation parameter ϕ of about 400 to 700 MV corresponding to an increase in average energy loss for these elements of about 200 to 300 MeV/nucleon.

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