Related papers: Testing the proposed link between cosmic rays and …
A striking correlation has recently been observed between global cloud cover and the flux of incident cosmic rays. The effect of natural variations in the cosmic ray flux is large, causing estimated changes in the Earth's energy radiation…
The observed variability of the cosmic-ray intensity in the interplanetary space is driven by the evolution of the Sun's magnetic activity over its 11-year quasiperiodical cycle. Investigating the relationship between solar activity indices…
Recent work has revealed a 62 (+/-) 3-million-year cycle in the fossil diversity in the past 542 My, however no plausible mechanism has been found. We propose that the cycle may be caused by modulation of cosmic ray (CR) flux by the Solar…
Variation in high energy cosmic rays (HECRs) has been proposed to explain a 62 My periodicity in terrestrial fossil biodiversity. It has been suggested that the infall of our galaxy toward the Virgo cluster could generate an extragalactic…
When traveling in the heliosphere, Galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) are subjected to the solar modulation effect, a quasiperiodical change of their intensity caused by the 11-year cycle of solar activity. Here we investigate the association of…
This is an overview of the solar modulation of cosmic rays in the heliosphere. It is a broad topic with numerous intriguing aspects so that a research framework has to be chosen to concentrate on. The review focuses on the basic paradigms…
Numerous empirical studies have analyzed International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project data and reached contradictory conclusions regarding the influence of solar-modulated galactic cosmic rays on cloud fraction and cloud properties.…
Diffuse interstellar clouds show large abundances of H_3^+ which can be maintained only by a high ionization rate of H_2. Cosmic rays are the dominant ionization mechanism in this environment, so the large ionization rate implies a high…
Cosmic rays are a fundamental source of ionization for molecular and diffuse clouds, influencing their chemical, thermal, and dynamical evolution. The amount of cosmic rays inside a cloud also determines the $\gamma$-ray flux produced by…
Understanding effects of ionisation in the lower atmosphere is a new interdisciplinary area, crossing traditionally distinct scientific boundaries. Following the paper of Erlykin et al. (Astropart. Phys. 57--58 (2014) 26--29) we develop the…
The cosmic-ray Sun shadow, which is caused by high-energy charged cosmic rays being blocked and deflected by the Sun and its magnetic field, has been observed by various experiments, such as Argo-YBJ, HAWC, Tibet, and IceCube. Most notably,…
It has been proposed that cosmic ray events could have a causal relationship with cloud formation rates. Given the weak constraints on the role that cloud formation plays in climate forcing it is essential to understand the role such a…
The ability to predict times of greater galactic cosmic ray (GCR) fluxes is important for reducing the hazards caused by these particles to satellite communications, aviation, or astronauts. The 11-year solar cycle variation in cosmic rays…
Low-energy cosmic rays are a fundamental source of ionization for molecular clouds, influencing their chemical, thermal and dynamical evolution. The purpose of this work is to explore the possibility that a low-energy component of…
Cosmic rays produce molecular cluster ions as they pass through the lower atmosphere. Neutral molecular clusters such as dimers and complexes are expected to make a small contribution to the radiative balance, but atmospheric absorption by…
Cosmic rays are the main agents in controlling the chemical evolution and setting the ambipolar diffusion time of a molecular cloud. We summarise the processes causing the energy degradation of cosmic rays due to their interaction with…
After a prolonged and deep solar minimum at the end of Cycle 23, the current Solar Cycle 24 is one of the lowest cycles. These two periods of deep minimum and mini maximum are separated by a period of increasing solar activity. We study the…
Evidence is emerging for physical links among clouds, global temperatures, the global atmospheric electrical circuit and cosmic ray ionisation. The global circuit extends throughout the atmosphere from the planetary surface to the lower…
Cosmic-rays constitute the main ionising and heating agent in dense, starless, molecular cloud cores. We reexamine the physical quantities necessary to determine the cosmic-ray ionisation rate (especially the cosmic ray spectrum at E < 1…
We study the combined impact of magnetic mirroring and focusing on the ionization by cosmic rays (CRs) in dense molecular clouds and circumstellar disks. We show that for effective column densities of up to $\sim10^{25}$ cm$^{-2}$ (where…