Human exposure to large solar particle events in space.

Whenever energetic solar protons produced by solar particle events traverse bulk matter, they undergo various nuclear and atomic collision processes which significantly alter the physical characteristics and biologically important properties of their transported radiation fields. These physical interactions and their effect on the resulting radiation field within matter are described within the context of a recently developed deterministic, coupled neutron-proton space radiation transport computer code (BRYNTRN). Using this computer code, estimates of human exposure in interplanetary space, behind nominal (2 g/cm2) and storm shelter (20 g/cm2) thicknesses of aluminum shielding, are made for the large solar proton event of August 1972. Included in these calculations are estimates of cumulative exposures to the skin, ocular lens, and bone marrow as a function of time during the event. Risk assessment in terms of absorbed dose and dose equivalent is discussed for these organs. Also presented are estimates of organ exposures for hypothetical, worst-case flare scenarios. The rate of dose equivalent accumulation places this situation in an interesting region of dose rate between the very low values of usual concern in terrestrial radiation environments and the high dose rate values prevalent in radiation therapy.     

Computation of radiation environment during ground level enhancements 65, 69 and 70 at equatorial region and flight altitudes

The radiation environment in the troposphere of the Earth is governed by cosmic rays of galactic and solar origin. During major solar energetic particles events the radiation environment changes dramatically. As a results the risk of biological effects due to exposure to ionizing radiation of aircrew increases. Here we present a numerical model for computation of absorbed dose in air due to cosmic rays of galactic and solar origin. It is applied for computation of radiation environment at flight altitude in the equatorial region during several major ground level enhancements, namely GLE65 on 28 October 2003, GLE69 on 20 January 2005 and GLE70 on 13 December 2006. The model is based on a full Monte Carlo simulation of cosmic ray induced atmospheric cascade. The cascade simulation is carried out with CORSIKA 6.990 code with corresponding hadron generators FLUKA 2011 and QGSJET II. The contribution of different cascade components, namely electromagnetic, hadron and muon is explicitly obtained. The spectra of arriving solar energetic particles are calculated from ground level measurements with neutron monitors and satellite data from GOES. The obtained results are discussed.     

The local time dependence of the anisotropic solar cosmic ray flux.

The distribution of the solar cosmic radiation flux over the earth is not uniform, but the result of complex phenomena involving the interplanetary magnetic field, the geomagnetic field and latitude and longitude of locations on the earth. The latitude effect relates to the geomagnetic shield; the longitude effect relates to local time. For anisotropic solar cosmic ray events the maximum particle flux is always along the interplanetary magnetic field direction, sometimes called the Archimedean spiral path from the sun to the earth. During anisotropic solar cosmic ray event, the locations on the earth viewing "sunward" into the interplanetary magnetic field direction will observe the largest flux (when adjustments are made for the magnetic latitude effect). To relate this phenomena to aircraft routes, for anisotropic solar cosmic ray events that occur during "normal quiescent" conditions, the maximum solar cosmic ray flux (and corresponding solar particle radiation dose) will be observed in the dawn quadrant, ideally at about 06 hours local time.     

Space weather and commercial airlines

Space weather phenomena can effect many areas of commercial airline operations including avionics, communications and GPS navigation systems. Of particular importance at present is the recently introduced EU legislation requiring the monitoring of aircrew radiation exposure, including any variations at aircraft altitudes due to solar activity. With the introduction of new ultra-long-haul “over-the-pole” routes, “more-electric” aircraft in the future, and the increasing use of satellites in the operation, the need for a better understanding of the space weather impacts on future airline operations becomes all the more compelling. This paper will present the various space weather effects, some provisional results of an ongoing 3-year study to monitor cosmic radiation in aircraft, and conclude by summarising some of the identified key operational issues, which must be addressed, with the help of the science community, if the airlines want to benefit from the availability of space weather services.     

Overview of atmospheric ionizing radiation (AIR) research: SST-present.

The Supersonic Transport (SST) program, proposed in 1961, first raised concern for the exposure of pregnant occupants by solar energetic particles (SEP), and neutrons were suspected to have a main role in particle propagation deep into the atmosphere. An eight-year flight program confirmed the role of SEP as a significant hazard and of the neutrons as contributing over half of the galactic cosmic ray exposures, with the largest contribution from neutrons above 10 MeV. The FAA Advisory Committee on the Radiobiological Aspects of the SST provided operational requirements. The more recent lowering of ICRP-recommended exposure limits (1990) with the classification of aircrew as "radiation workers" renewed interest in GCR background exposures at commercial flight altitudes and stimulated epidemiological studies in Europe, Japan, Canada and the USA. The proposed development of a High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) required validation of the role of high-energy neutrons, and this resulted in ER-2 flights at solar minimum (June 1997) and studies on effects of aircraft materials on interior exposures. Recent evaluation of health outcomes of DOE nuclear workers resulted in legislation for health compensation in year 2000 and recent European aircrew epidemiological studies of health outcomes bring renewed interest in aircraft radiation exposures. As improved radiation models become available, it is imperative that a corresponding epidemiological program of US aircrew be implemented.     

Method for the prediction of the effective dose equivalent to the crew of the International Space Station

This paper describes a methodology for assessing the pre-mission exposure of space crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in terms of an effective dose equivalent. In this approach, the PHITS Monte Carlo code was used to assess the particle transport of galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) and trapped radiation for solar maximum and minimum conditions through an aluminum shield thickness. From these predicted spectra, and using fluence-to-dose conversion factors, a scaling ratio of the effective dose equivalent rate to the ICRU ambient dose equivalent rate at a 10 mm depth was determined. Only contributions from secondary neutrons, protons, and alpha particles were considered in this analysis.     

A simple model to predict solar radiation under clear sky conditions

Solar radiation is one of the major factors that dominate the thermal behaviors of aerostats in the daytime and the primary energy source of high altitude long endurance aerostats. Therefore, it is necessary to propose an accurate model to predict the solar irradiances. A comprehensive review of the well-known solar radiation models is conducted to help develop the new model. Based on the analysis of the existing models and the available radiation data, the extensive computer tests of the regression and optimization are conducted, from which the new solar radiation model for direct and diffuse irradiances under clear sky conditions is proposed. The new model has excellent prediction accuracy. The coefficient of determination for direct radiation is 0.992, with the root mean square error (RMSE) of 16.9 W/m² and the mean absolute error (MAE) of 2.2%. The coefficient of determination for diffuse radiation is 0.86, with RMSE = 8.7 W/m² and MAE = 9.9%. Comparisons with the well-known existing models show that the new model is much more accurate than the best existing ones.     

On the radiosensitivity of man in space.

Astronauts' radiation exposure limits are based on experimental and epidemiological data obtained on Earth. It is assumed that radiation sensitivity remains the same in the extraterrestrial space. However, human radiosensitivity is dependent upon the response of the hematopoietic tissue to the radiation insult. It is well known that the immune system is affected by microgravity. We have developed a mathematical model of radiation-induced myelopoiesis which includes the effect of microgravity on bone marrow kinetics. It is assumed that cellular radiosensitivity is not modified by the space environment, but repopulation rates of stem and stromal cells are reduced as a function of time in weightlessness. A realistic model of the space radiation environment, including the HZE component, is used to simulate the radiation damage. A dedicated computer code was written and applied to solar particle events and to the mission to Mars. The results suggest that altered myelopoiesis and lymphopoiesis in microgravity might increase human radiosensitivity in space.     

Deterministic pion and muon transport in Earth’s atmosphere

An accurate understanding of the physical interactions and transport of space radiation is important for safe and efficient space operations. Secondary particles produced by primary particle interactions with intervening materials are an important contribution to radiation risk. Pions are copiously produced in the nuclear interactions typical of space radiations and can therefore be an important contribution to radiation exposure. Charged pions decay almost exclusively to muons. As a consequence, muons must also be considered in space radiation exposure studies. In this work, the NASA space radiation transport code HZETRN has been extended to include the transport of charged pions and muons. The relevant transport equation, solution method, and implemented cross sections are reviewed. Muon production in the Earth’s upper atmosphere is then investigated, and comparisons with recent balloon flight measurements of differential muon flux are presented. Muon production from the updated version of HZETRN is found to match the experimental data well.     

Removing Solar Radiation Based on the Empirical Mode Decomposition Method for Seismo-Ionospheric Anomaly Before the M9.0 Tohoku Earthquake

The ionospheric effect from solar activity can be seen as the background in the process of detecting the ionospheric precursor prior to strong earthquakes. The ionospheric variation induced by the forthcoming earthquake can be covered by the strong solar background during the period of high solar activity. The issue of how to remove the ionospheric effect from solar radiation is of outstanding significance. In this paper, a method of Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) is used to eliminate the solar background. As a case study, the global ionospheric map TEC before the M9.0 Tohoku earthquake on 11 March 2011 is analyzed. After the effect of solar radiation is removed using the EMD method, the precursor of the imminent earthquake is more obvious. The ionospheric anomaly had a local character and only appeared close to the earthquake epicenter while the useful signals were covered by the solar radiation background with traditional method, which implies that the EMD method is effective in eliminating solar radiation background.      

Magnetospheric Physics in China:2014—2015

In the past two years, much progress is made in magnetospheric physics by using the data of Double Star Program, Cluster, THEMIS, RBSP, Swarm missions etc., or by computer simulations. This paper briefly reviews these works based on papers selected from the 191 publications from January 2014 to December 2015. The subjects cover various sub-branches of magnetospheric physics, including geomagnetic storm, magnetospheric substorm, magnetic reconnection, solar windmagnetosphere-ionosphere interaction, radiation belt, outer magnetosphere, magnetotail, plasmasphere, geomagnetic field, auroras and currents.      

Analytical-HZETRN model for rapid assessment of active magnetic radiation shielding

The use of active radiation shielding designs has the potential to reduce the radiation exposure received by astronauts on deep-space missions at a significantly lower mass penalty than designs utilizing only passive shielding. Unfortunately, the determination of the radiation exposure inside these shielded environments often involves lengthy and computationally intensive Monte Carlo analysis. In order to evaluate the large trade space of design parameters associated with a magnetic radiation shield design, an analytical model was developed for the determination of flux inside a solenoid magnetic field due to the Galactic Cosmic Radiation (GCR) radiation environment. This analytical model was then coupled with NASA’s radiation transport code, HZETRN, to account for the effects of passive/structural shielding mass. The resulting model can rapidly obtain results for a given configuration and can therefore be used to analyze an entire trade space of potential variables in less time than is required for even a single Monte Carlo run. Analyzing this trade space for a solenoid magnetic shield design indicates that active shield bending powers greater than ∼15 Tm and passive/structural shielding thicknesses greater than 40 g/cm² have a limited impact on reducing dose equivalent values. Also, it is shown that higher magnetic field strengths are more effective than thicker magnetic fields at reducing dose equivalent.     

Bound orbits of solar sails and general relativity

We study general relativistic effects on the bound orbits of solar sails. The combined effects of spacetime curvature and solar radiation pressure (SRP) lead to deviations from Kepler’s third law. Such kind of deviations also arise from frame dragging, the gravitational multipole moments of the sun, a net electric charge on the sun, and a positive cosmological constant. The SRP increases these deviations by several orders of magnitude, possibly rendering some of them detectable. We consider how the SRP modifies the perihelion shift of non-circular orbits, as well as the Lense-Thirring effect involving the precession of polar orbits. We investigate how the pitch angle for non-Keplerian orbits changes due to the partial absorption of light, general relativistic effects, and the oblateness of the sun. It is predicted that there is an analog of the Lense-Thirring effect for non-Keplerian orbits, in that the orbital plane precesses around the sun. We also consider the Poynting–Robertson effect and show that this effect can, in principle, be compensated for by an extremely small tilt of the solar sail.     

ICME期间磁暴的太阳风参数和极光沉降能量

基于1995-2004年ICME驱动的强烈磁暴(SA型)、强磁暴(SB型)和延迟型主相暴(SC型)三种磁暴类型,对1AU处太阳风动压、太阳风速度、行星际磁场、EK-L电场以及极光沉降能量进行时序叠加分析,并分别与-vBz耦合函数和Newell耦合函数进行对比.结果表明,三种磁暴在ICME到达前期的太阳风动压较稳定,背景太阳风、极光沉降能量、行星际磁场和磁层存在相对平静期. ICME到达前期SA型磁暴的背景太阳风速度、行星际磁场南向分量以及极光沉降能量的均值高于另外两种磁暴类型,这说明大型日冕物质抛射在ICME到达前就对行星际磁场、背景太阳风和HP产生了影响.磁暴急始后,SC型磁暴的EK-L电场斜率小,峰值延后且行星际磁场北向分量增强,这些都是磁暴主相延迟的表现,极光沉降能量随着行星际磁场转为南向而增加.     

Prediction of clear-sky biologically effective erythematic radiation (EER) From global solar radiation (250–2800 nm) at Cairo,Egypt

The hourly and daily measured clear-sky global solar radiation (G) and biologically important effective erythematic radiation (EER) incident on a horizontal surface at Cairo, Egypt (latitude 30° 05′ N & Longitude 31° 15′ E), during the period from January 1995 to December 2005 are used in this paper. The relationship between daily integrated totals of EER and the daily totals of broadband global solar radiation (250–2800 nm) is established. The temporal variability of the percentage ratio of the total daily erythema to total daily broadband solar global irradiation (EER/G) is determined. The monthly and the seasonal averages of the extraterrestrial UVB solar radiation, Mesurad and estímated UVB solar radiation and clearness index K_tUVB of UVB radiation are discussed. The average monthly mean variation of slant ozone (Z) and UVB transmission (K_tUVB) at the present work are found. The two variables show an opposite seasonal behavior, and the average monthly of slant ozone column and UVB transmission values shows the relationship between them in a clearer way than those of daily values. The estimated values of UVB solar radiation a good agreement with the measured values of the UVB solar radiation, the difference between the estimated and measured values of UVB solar radiation varies from 1.2% to 2.8%. The effect of the annual cycles of solar zenith angle (SZA) and total column ozone (TCO) on the ratios (EER/G) are presented and the correction factors are determined for removal of the ozone cycle. The seasonal variability of EER/G is also discussed. The effect of the annual cycles of solar zenith angle (SZA) and total column ozone (TCO) on the ratios (EER/G) is presented and the correction factors are determined for removal of the ozone cycle.     

Drag force on solar sails due to absorption of solar radiation

We consider a special relativistic effect, known as the Poynting–Robertson effect, on various types of trajectories of solar sails. Since this effect occurs at order v^?/c, where v^? is the transversal speed relative to the sun, it can dominate over other special relativistic effects, which occur at order v²/c². While solar radiation can be used to propel the solar sail, the absorbed portion of it also gives rise to a drag force in the transversal direction. For escape trajectories, this diminishes the cruising velocity, which can have a cumulative effect on the heliocentric distance. For a solar sail directly facing the sun in a bound orbit, the Poynting–Robertson effect decreases its orbital speed, thereby causing it to slowly spiral towards the sun. We also consider this effect for non-Keplerian orbits in which the solar sail is tilted in the azimuthal direction. While in principle the drag force could be counter-balanced by an extremely small tilt of the solar sail in the polar direction, periodic adjustments are more feasible.     

基于LOLA数据的冯·卡门撞击坑太阳辐射研究

冯·卡门（Von Kármán）撞击坑是“嫦娥4号”的候选着陆区之一。基于LOLA高程数据,对当前的月球光照模型做出改进,建立了月表太阳辐射模型,对冯·卡门地区2018年太阳辐射进行了数值模拟分析。结果表明：地形对太阳辐射的影响很大,撞击坑的南部坑壁、中央峰北部以及内部小撞击坑南部坑壁接收的太阳辐射能较多,坑底平原大部分地区接收的太阳辐射能在（0.9~1）×10¹⁰ J/m²之间;不考虑月面坡度时,太阳辐射能量主要受纬度的影响,计算区域的变化范围为（0.87~1.01）×10¹⁰ J/m²。结合月表坡度和光照条件提出了两个候选着陆区（S1区和S2区）：S1区位于坑底南部平原,地势更平缓,日出更早,光照时间更长;S2区位于中央峰西北侧,接收的太阳辐射能量更多。两区全年平均接收的太阳辐射能分别为9.31×10⁹ J/m²和9.65×10⁹ J/m²,7月份光照时间最长,更适宜着陆。     

Reanalysis of radiation belt electron phase space density using various boundary conditions and loss models

Data assimilation is becoming an increasingly important tool for understanding the near Earth hazardous radiation environments. Reanalysis of the radiation belts can be used to identify the electron acceleration mechanism and distinguish local acceleration from radial diffusion. However, for any practical applications we need to determine how reliable is reanalysis, and how significant is the dependence of the results on the assumptions of the code and choice of boundary conditions. We present the sensitivity of reanalysis of the radiation belt electron phase space density (PSD) to the assumed location of the outer boundary, using the VERB code and a Kalman filter. We analyze the sensitivity of reanalysis to changes in the electron-loss throughout the domain, and the sensitivity to the assumed boundary condition and its effect on the innovation vector. All the simulations presented in this study for all assumed loss models and boundary conditions, show that peaks in the phase space density of relativistic electrons build up between 4.5 and 6 R_E during relativistic electron flux enhancements in the outer radiation belt. This clearly shows that peaks build up in the heart of the electron radiation belt independent of the assumptions in the model, and that local acceleration is operating there. The work here is also an important step toward performing reanalysis using observations from current and future missions.     

The atmospheric cosmic- and solar energetic particle radiation environment at aircraft altitudes

Galactic cosmic rays interact with the solar wind, the earth's magnetic field and its atmosphere to produce hadron, lepton and photon fields at aircraft altitudes. In addition to cosmic rays, energetic particles generated by solar activity bombard the earth from time to time. These particles, while less energetic than cosmic rays, also produce radiation fields at aircraft altitudes which have qualitatively the same properties as atmospheric cosmic rays. We have used a code based on transport theory to calculate atmospheric cosmic-ray quantities and compared them with experimental data. Agreement with these data is seen to be good. We have then used this code to calculate equivalent doses to aircraft crews. We have also used the code to calculate radiation doses from several large solar energetic particle events which took place in 1989, including the very large event that occurred on September 29^th and 30^th of that year. The spectra incident on the atmosphere were determined assuming diffusive shock theory.     

Magnetospheric Physics in China

In the past two years, much progress has been made in magnetospheric physics by using the data of Double Star Program, Cluster, THEMIS, RBSP, Swarm, MMS, ARTEMIS, MESSENGER missions etc., or by computer simulations. This paper briefly reviews these works based on papers selected from the 227 publications from January 2016 to December 2017. The subjects cover most sub-branches of magnetospheric physics, including geomagnetic storm, magnetospheric substorm, magnetic reconnection, solar wind-magnetosphereionosphere interaction, radiation belt, plasmasphere, outer magnetosphere, magnetotail, geomagnetic field, auroras, and currents.