Verification of the Empirical Model of Ionization of the Lower Ionosphere during Solar Flares of Different Classes

Abstract

The results of measuring VLF signal parameters propagating in the Earth-D-region of the ionosphere waveguide to assess changes in the state of the lower ionosphere as a result of the impact of X-ray radiation of solar flares make it possible to obtain qualitative data on the nature and magnitude of the impact. Obtaining accurate data on the relationship between changes in electron concentration and flare parameters and reliable prediction of the conditions of LF radio signal propagation during strong geophysical disturbances is complicated by the lack of complete information on the frequency spectrum of X-ray radiation for a particular flare and data on the ionization rate of the ionosphere for flares of different classes. The technique of determining the X-ray spectrum in a wide range of wavelengths and calculating the ionization coefficients of the lower ionosphere as a function of the ionizing radiation parameters of flares, presented by Ryakhovsky et al. (2023), makes it possible to improve the accuracy in estimating variations in the parameters of the lower ionosphere. The present paper is devoted to verifying the performance of the developed empirical model of lower ionization of the lower ionosphere at the solar flare front and comparing the results with experimental data on the variation of VLF radio parameters.