Model of galactic cosmic ray spectrum above the Earth’s atmosphere

Abstract

Abstract Galactic cosmic ray transport in the heliosphere is described by the well-known Parker transport equation. In 1969, Fisk and Axford [1] presented approximate analytical solutions to the cosmic ray transport equation. One of their solutions was later used to construct useful semi-empirical models describing the energy spectra of charged particles during the solar cycle. In this paper, a simplified model of the galactic cosmic ray spectrum is presented. The model can be used to describe the galactic spectra of protons and helium nuclei during the 11-year solar cycle in interplanetary space at about 1 AU.