arXiv subjects

Alejandro Lara

Publications and source records attributed to Alejandro Lara.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2020

The mini-neutron monitor: A new approach in neutron monitor design

The near-Earth cosmic ray flux has been monitored for more than 70 years by a network of ground-based neutron monitors (NMs). With the ever-increasing importance of quantifying the radiation risk and effects of cosmic rays for, e.g., air and space-travel, it is essential to continue operating the existing NM stations, while expanding this crucial network. In this paper, we discuss a smaller and cost-effective version of the traditional NM, the mini-NM. These monitors can be deployed with ease, even to extremely remote locations, where they operate in a semi-autonomous fashion. We believe that the mini-NM, therefore, offers the opportunity to increase the sensitivity and expand the coverage of the existing NM network, making this network more suitable to near-real-time monitoring for space weather applications. In this paper, we present the technical details of the mini-NM's design and operation, and present a summary of the initial tests and science results.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2019

Effects of the Great American Solar Eclipse on the lower ionosphere observed with VLF waves

The altitude of the ionospheric lower layer (D-region) is highly influenced by the solar UV flux affecting in turn, the propagation of Very Low Frequency (VLF) signals inside the waveguide formed between this layer and the Earth surface. A rapid change of the solar irradiance, as during a solar eclipse, can help to understand the details of the energy transfer of the solar radiation onto the ionospheric D-layer. Using the "Latin American VLF Network" (LAVNet-Mex) receiver station in Mexico City, Mexico, we detected the phase and amplitude changes of the VLF signals transmitted by the NDK station at 25.2 kHz in North Dakota, USA during the August 21, 2017, solar eclipse. As the Sunlight was eclipsed, the rate of ionization in the ionosphere (D-region) was reduced and the effective reflection height increased, causing a considerable drop of the phase and amplitude of the observed VLF waves. The corresponding waveguide path is 3007.15 km long and crossed almost perpendicularly the total eclipse path. Circumstantially, at the time of the total eclipse, a C3 flare took place allowing us to isolate the flare flux from the background flux of a large portion of the disk. In this work, we report the observations and present a new model of the ionospheric effects of the eclipse and flare. The model is based on a detailed setup of the degree of Moon shadow that affects the entire Great Circle Path (GCP). During the eclipse, the maximum phase variation was -63.36$^{\circ}$ at 18:05 UT which, according to our model, accounts for a maximum increase of the reflection height of 9.3 km.

physics.space-ph↗

arXiv2019

Atmospheric pressure dependance of HAWC scaler system

The variation in atmospheric pressure is due to changes in mass of the air column above, which in turn resembles the density variation of atmosphere and will affect the decay of secondary particles of cosmic rays. The ground based cosmic ray detectors observe pressure dependent variation in their flux. The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) gamma ray observatory is a great detector of secondary particles because of its high altitude, high uptime, and large area (including total photo-cathode area), which makes the HAWC scaler system an ideal instrument for solar modulation studies. Although, in order to perform these studies it is necessary to isolate and remove the atmospheric modulations. The observed rate in each PMT has signatures of both the solar and atmospheric modulations, which makes it difficult to measure the pressure coefficient ($β_P$ ). The pressure at the HAWC site shows a periodic behavior ($\sim$ 12 hours), which also reflects in the scalar rates. This periodic property was used to isolate the pressure modulation and $β_P$ were estimated with accuracy. Since the pressure dependence is a physical phenomenon, the estimated coefficients for PMTs should be identical, any deviation from this can be due to malfunction of the PMT. This make this method a useful tool to identify the malfunctioning PMTs and help us to isolate them from the analysis. In this analysis we are presenting the method of estimation of the pressure coefficients and its usage to correct the HAWC scalar data to make it suitable for the solar modulations studies.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

Effects of the atmospheric electric field on the HAWC scaler rate

Strong electric fields in thunderclouds have long been known to accelerate secondary charged particles. We investigate this effect using three years (2015-2017) of data from the scalar system of the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory, which is an air shower array deployed 4100 m a.s.l. in central Mexico. The experimental site is frequently affected by strong thunderstorms, and the detector's high altitude, large area, and high sensitivity to cosmic-ray air showers make it ideal for investigating particle acceleration due to the electric fields present inside the thunder storm clouds. In particular, the scaler system of HAWC records the output of each one of the 1200 PMTs as well as the 2, 3, and 4-fold multiplicities (logic AND in a time window of 30 ns) of each water Cherenkov detectors (WCD) with a sampling rate of 40 Hz. Using data from this scaler system, we identify approximately 100 increases in the scaler rate which is in time coincidence with thunderstorms. These events show high cross correlation between the scaler rate and the electric field, hence can be produced by the acceleration of secondary particle by the thunderstorm electric fields. In this work we present the method of identification of these events and their general characteristics.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

Galactic Cosmic Ray Sun Shadow during the declining phase of cycle 24 observed by HAWC

The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) array is sensitive to high energy Cosmic Rays (CR) in the $\sim 10$ to $\sim 200$ TeV energy range, making it possible to construct maps of the so called "Sun Shadow" ($SS$), i. e. of the deficit of CR coming from the direction of the Sun. In this work, we present the variation of the Relative Intensity of the deficit ($SS_{RI}$) for three years of HAWC observations form 2016 to 2018 in which we found a clear decreasing trend of the ($SS_{RI}$) over the studied period, corresponding to the declining phase of the solar cycle 24. By comparing the $SS_{RI}$ with the photospheric magnetic field evolution, we show that there is a linear relationship between the $SS_{RI}$ and the median photospheric magnetic field of the Active Region belt (-40$^\circ \le$ lat $\le$ 40$^\circ$) and a inverse linear relationship with the polar photospheric magnetic field (lat $\ge \pm$ 60$^\circ$). The former relationship is due to the magnetic field causing a deviation of the CR, whereas the latter reflects the change of the heliospheric field topology from multipolar to dipolar configurations. These relationships are valid only when the median magnetic field is lower than 8 G, during the declining and minimum phases of the solar cycle 24. Finally, we show that relativistic charged particles, in the 10 to 200 TeV energy range, are deflected a few degrees.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2018

Numerical simulations of ICME-ICME interactions

We present hydrodynamical simulations of interacting Coronal Mass Ejections in the Interplanetary medium (ICMEs). In these events, two consecutive CMEs are launched from the Sun in similar directions within an interval of time of a few hours. In our numerical model, we assume that the ambient solar wind is characterized by its velocity and mass-loss rate. Then, the CMEs are generated when the flow velocity and mass-loss rate suddenly change, with respect to the ambient solar wind conditions during two intervals of time, which correspond to the durations of the CMEs. After their interaction, a merged region is formed and evolve as a single structure into the interplanetary medium. In this work, we are interested in the general morphology of this merged region, which depends on the initial parameters of the ambient solar wind and each of the CMEs involved. In order to understand this morphology, we have performed a parametric study in which we characterize the effects of the initial parameters variations on the density and velocity profiles at 1 AU, using as reference the well-documented event of July 25th, 2004. Based on this parametrization we were able to reproduce with a high accuracy the observed profiles. Then, we apply the parametrization results to the interaction events of May 23, 2010; August 1, 2010; and November 9, 2012. With this approach and using values for the input parameters within the CME observational errors, our simulated profiles reproduce the main features observed at 1 AU. Even though we do not take into account the magnetic field, our models give a physical insight into the propagation and interaction of ICMEs.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2017

HAWC response to atmospheric electricity activity

The HAWC Gamma Ray observatory consists of 300 water Cherenkov detectors (WCD) instrumented with four photo multipliers tubes (PMT) per WCD. HAWC is located between two of the highest mountains in Mexico. The high altitude (4100 m asl), the relatively short distance to the Gulf of Mexico (~100 km), the large detecting area (22 000 m$^2$) and its high sensitivity, make HAWC a good instrument to explore the acceleration of particles due to the electric fields existing inside storm clouds. In particular, the scaler system of HAWC records the output of each one of the 1200 PMTs as well as the 2, 3, and 4-fold multiplicities (logic AND in a time window of 30 ns) of each WCD with a sampling rate of 40 Hz. Using the scaler data, we have identified 20 enhancements of the observed rate during periods when storm clouds were over HAWC but without cloud-earth discharges. These enhancements can be produced by electrons with energy of tens of MeV, accelerated by the electric fields of tens of kV/m measured at the site during the storm periods. In this work, we present the recorded data, the method of analysis and our preliminary conclusions on the electron acceleration by the electric fields inside the clouds.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2014

Xitris: A Software to Acquire, Display, Compress, and Publish Data in Real Time using Distributed Mode for the Solar Radio Interferometer RIS

Upgrading the infrastructure of old scientific instruments requires the development of new hardware and software which may be expensive (in general, these projects lack of enough resources to acquire fast and modern infrastructure to become ompetitive and functional in the era of digital data). Particularly, the development of software for data acquisition in real time is one of the most important topics in experimental science and industry. However, the constant improvements on the data acquisition hardware, discourages the development of software highly optimized in order to minimize the consumption of resources like processor time and read/write memory, etc. In this work, we present a Open Source code called X Interface to RIS (Xitris). This is a modular and distributed code which, using relatively slow processors and low memory hardware, is able to acquire, display, compress and publish (via Internet) digital data in real time. Xitris was developed for the Solar Radio Interferometer (RIS) at Geophysics Institute of the National University of Mexico (UNAM) but nowadays is working in another 3 radio observatories.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2012

Can solar wind viscous drag account for CME deceleration?

The forces acting on solar Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) in the interplanetary medium have been evaluated so far in terms of an empirical drag coefficient $C_{\rm D} \sim 1$ that quantifies the role of the aerodynamic drag experienced by a typical CME due to its interaction with the ambient solar wind. We use a microphysical prescription for viscosity in the turbulent solar wind to obtain an analytical model for the drag coefficient $C_{\rm D}$. This is the first physical characterization of the aerodynamic drag experienced by CMEs. We use this physically motivated prescription for $C_{\rm D}$ in a simple, 1D model for CME propagation to obtain velocity profiles and travel times that agree well with observations of deceleration experienced by fast CMEs.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2011

Synthetic Spectra of Radio, Millimeter, Sub-millimeter and Infrared Regimes with NLTE approximation

We use a numerical code called PAKALMPI to compute synthetic spectra of the solar emission in quiet conditions at millimeter, sub-millimeter and infrared wavelengths. PAKALMPI solves the radiative transfer equation, with Non Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (NLTE), in a three dimensional geometry using a multiprocessor environment. The code is able to use three opacity functions: classical bremsstrahlung, H-and inverse bremsstrahlung. In this work we have computed and compared two synthetic spectra, one in the common way: using bremsstrahlung opacity function and considering a fully ionized atmosphere; and a new one considering bremsstrahlung, inverse bremsstrahlung and H- opacity functions in NLTE. We analyzed in detail the local behavior of the low atmospheric emission at 17, 212, and 405 GHz (frequencies used by the Nobeyama Radio Heliograph and the Solar Submillimeter Telescope). We found that the H- is the major emission mechanism at low altitudes (below 500 km) and that at higher altitudes the classical bremsstrahlung becomes the major mechanism of emission. However the brightness temperature remains unalterable. Finally, we found that the inverse bremsstrahlung process is not important for the radio emission at these heights.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2011

Pakal: A Three-dimensional Model to Solve the Radiative Transfer Equation

We present a new numerical model called "Pakal" intended to solve the radiative transfer equation in a three-dimensional (3D) geometry, using the approximation for a locally plane-parallel atmosphere. Pakal uses pre-calculated radial profiles of density and temperature (based on hydrostatic, hydrodynamic, or MHD models) to compute the emission from 3D source structures with high spatial resolution. Then, Pakal solves the radiative transfer equation in a set of (3D) ray paths, going from the source to the observer. Pakal uses a new algorithm to compute the radiative transfer equation by using an intelligent system consisting of three structures: a cellular automaton; an expert system; and a program coordinator. The code outputs can be either two-dimensional maps or one-dimensional profiles, which reproduce the observations with high accuracy, giving detailed physical information about the environment where the radiation was generated and/or transmitted. We present the model applied to a 3D solar radial geometry, assuming a locally plane-parallel atmosphere, and thermal free-free radio emission from hydrogen-helium gas in thermodynamic equilibrium. We also present the convergence test of the code. We computed the synthetic spectrum of the centimetric-millimetric solar emission and found better agreement with observations (up to $10^4$ K at 20 GHz) than previous models reported in the literature. The stability and convergence test show the high accuracy of the code. Finally, Pakal can improve the integration time by up to an order of magnitude compared against linear integration codes.

astro-ph.SR↗