The effect and properties of drifts in the heliosphere

¹ Centre for Space Research, North-West University, 11 Hoffman Street, Potchefstroom, South Africa
e-mail: janlouis.raath@gmail.com, stefan.ferreira@nwu.ac.za
² Ruhr-Universität, 150 Universitätsstraße, 44801 Bochum, Germany
e-mail: ak@tp4.ruhr-uni-bochum.de

Received: 23 January 2021
Accepted: 6 November 2021

Abstract

We investigate the properties of drifts and their effect on cosmic ray modulation in the heliosphere using a numerical modulation model based on the solution of a set of stochastic differential equations that was derived from the Parker transport equation. The illustrative capabilities of the numerical model are exploited to yield a better understanding of the physical modulation processes involved. Various studies have indicated that drifts need to be scaled down towards solar maximum conditions and the present study looks at how this can be achieved. Drifts are scaled down directly by multiplying the drift coefficient by a factor of less than unity as well as indirectly through the drift–diffusion relation, that is, by modifying the diffusion coefficient so as to cause a change in the drift effects through altered gradients in particle intensity. Contour plots of particle exit positions and exit energies are presented for both of these cases, and it is illustrated that drifts in the model lead to larger energy losses. This is explained with the aid of figures indicating the relative amount of time spent by pseudo-particles in different regions of the heliosphere during the modulation process. These figures also indicate that an increase in diffusion leads to a suppression or reduction of drift effects. Finally, the figures also show that drift effects are reduced as a function of increasing particle energy; even though the drift coefficient increases with particle energy, the total drift effect, taking into account the contribution from the increased diffusion associated with larger energies, causes drift effects to be reduced with an increase in energy.