Exploring daily fluctuations of cosmic ray muon components at a low latitude site and their associations with space weather variables

Abstract

In this study, cosmic rays (CR) data from the King Abdulaziz University muon detector in Jeddah (Rc  = 14.8 GV), Saudi Arabia, were utilized to investigate the amplitude and phase components of diurnal variations in CR muons. The data covered the period from 2007 to 2012 and were fitted using a single cosine function with a 24-h period and two cosine functions with periods of 24 h and 12 h, respectively. The distributions of the phases and amplitudes resulting from these fits were analyzed across different time spans.

The findings of this analysis provided valuable insights into the diurnal characteristics of CR muons. The mean amplitude and phase obtained from the single fit were reported as −0.11 ± 0.51% and 11:00 ± 4.30 UT, respectively. Furthermore, employing the two-cosine fit revealed that the first phase had a mean occurrence time of 06:00 ± 6.90 UT, accompanied by an amplitude of −0.10 ± 0.62%. The second phase occurred at 13:00 ± 3.51 UT, with an amplitude of 0.11 ± 0.25%. The study observed diverse distributions and trends in amplitude and phase values across different time scales, including months, seasons, and years.

Additionally, the study investigated the influences of five solar activity parameters on the diurnal CR components using Pearson linear, non-parametric Spearman, and Kendall correlations. These parameters included the interplanetary magnetic field, solar wind speed, Kp index, Dst index, and solar radio flux at 10.7 cm. The results revealed that the relationships between solar activity variables and the diurnal CR parameters were not uniform. There were varying degrees of correlation, with differences in strength and magnitude depending on the specific variable and correlation coefficient being examined.