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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2026
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.19608 |
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| _version_ | 1866910236051243008 |
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| author | He, Maosheng Li, Quanhan Zhang, Shun-Rong Forbes, Jeffrey M. Lei, Jiuhou Liu, Libo Shi, Jiankui Wang, Chi |
| author_facet | He, Maosheng Li, Quanhan Zhang, Shun-Rong Forbes, Jeffrey M. Lei, Jiuhou Liu, Libo Shi, Jiankui Wang, Chi |
| contents | Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have long been proposed to perturb Earth's ionosphere, with occasional reports of disruptions in ultra- and extremely-low-frequency radio signals. The exceptionally bright GRB~221009A was recently claimed to induce multi-altitude ionospheric responses, including perturbations in satellite electric fields, regional total electron content (TEC), and the equatorial electrojet (EEJ). These claims have renewed interest in the potential near-Earth impacts of astrophysical transients. Here we perform an independent reassessment using expanded datasets spanning multiple altitudes. We find no coherent, burst-like TEC enhancement, show that the reported electric-field anomalies recur under specific illumination conditions each orbit, and demonstrate that the EEJ fluctuations preceded the burst and coincide with solar-wind variability. Together, these results indicate that the reported GRB-induced ionospheric responses are fully attributable to other natural geophysical processes and instrumental artefacts, thereby resolving a high-profile controversy and clarifying the true limits of GRBs'ionospheric effects. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_19608 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Reassessment of Ionospheric Responses to GRB~221009A: Disentangling Instrumental, Illumination and Geophysical Effects He, Maosheng Li, Quanhan Zhang, Shun-Rong Forbes, Jeffrey M. Lei, Jiuhou Liu, Libo Shi, Jiankui Wang, Chi Space Physics Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have long been proposed to perturb Earth's ionosphere, with occasional reports of disruptions in ultra- and extremely-low-frequency radio signals. The exceptionally bright GRB~221009A was recently claimed to induce multi-altitude ionospheric responses, including perturbations in satellite electric fields, regional total electron content (TEC), and the equatorial electrojet (EEJ). These claims have renewed interest in the potential near-Earth impacts of astrophysical transients. Here we perform an independent reassessment using expanded datasets spanning multiple altitudes. We find no coherent, burst-like TEC enhancement, show that the reported electric-field anomalies recur under specific illumination conditions each orbit, and demonstrate that the EEJ fluctuations preceded the burst and coincide with solar-wind variability. Together, these results indicate that the reported GRB-induced ionospheric responses are fully attributable to other natural geophysical processes and instrumental artefacts, thereby resolving a high-profile controversy and clarifying the true limits of GRBs'ionospheric effects. |
| title | Reassessment of Ionospheric Responses to GRB~221009A: Disentangling Instrumental, Illumination and Geophysical Effects |
| topic | Space Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.19608 |