_version_ 1866918528903282688
author Collaboration, MINOS+
:
Adamson, P.
Anghel, I.
Aurisano, A.
Barr, G.
Blake, A.
Cao, S. V.
Carroll, T. J.
Castromonte, C. M.
Chen, R.
Childress, S.
Coelho, J. A. B.
De Rijck, S.
Evans, J. J.
Feldman, G. J.
Flanagan, W.
Fogarty, S.
Gabrielyan, M.
Gallagher, H. R.
Germani, S.
Gomes, R. A.
Goodman, M. C.
Gouffon, P.
Graf, N.
Grossman, N.
Grzelak, K.
Habig, A.
Hahn, S. R.
Hartnell, J.
Hatcher, R.
Holin, A.
Huang, J.
Koerner, L. W.
Kordosky, M.
Kreymer, A.
Krueger, J.
Lang, K.
Lucas, P.
Mann, W. A.
Marshak, M. L.
Mayer, N.
Mehdiyev, R.
Meier, J.
Miller, W. H.
Mills, G.
Naples, D.
Nelson, J. K.
Nichol, R.
OConnor, J.
Pahlka, R. B.
Pavlović, Ž.
Pawloski, G.
Perch, A.
Pfützner, M. M.
Phan, D. D.
Plunkett, R. K.
Poonthottathil, N.
Qiu, X.
Radovic, A.
Sail, P.
Sanchez, M. C.
Schreckenberger, A.
Sharma, R.
Skuza, N.
Sousa, A.
Tagg, N.
Thomas, J.
Thomson, M. A.
Timmons, A.
Todd, J.
Tognini, S. C.
Toner, R.
Torretta, D.
Vahle, P.
Weber, A.
Whitehead, L. H.
Wojcicki, S. G.
author_facet Collaboration, MINOS+
:
Adamson, P.
Anghel, I.
Aurisano, A.
Barr, G.
Blake, A.
Cao, S. V.
Carroll, T. J.
Castromonte, C. M.
Chen, R.
Childress, S.
Coelho, J. A. B.
De Rijck, S.
Evans, J. J.
Feldman, G. J.
Flanagan, W.
Fogarty, S.
Gabrielyan, M.
Gallagher, H. R.
Germani, S.
Gomes, R. A.
Goodman, M. C.
Gouffon, P.
Graf, N.
Grossman, N.
Grzelak, K.
Habig, A.
Hahn, S. R.
Hartnell, J.
Hatcher, R.
Holin, A.
Huang, J.
Koerner, L. W.
Kordosky, M.
Kreymer, A.
Krueger, J.
Lang, K.
Lucas, P.
Mann, W. A.
Marshak, M. L.
Mayer, N.
Mehdiyev, R.
Meier, J.
Miller, W. H.
Mills, G.
Naples, D.
Nelson, J. K.
Nichol, R.
OConnor, J.
Pahlka, R. B.
Pavlović, Ž.
Pawloski, G.
Perch, A.
Pfützner, M. M.
Phan, D. D.
Plunkett, R. K.
Poonthottathil, N.
Qiu, X.
Radovic, A.
Sail, P.
Sanchez, M. C.
Schreckenberger, A.
Sharma, R.
Skuza, N.
Sousa, A.
Tagg, N.
Thomas, J.
Thomson, M. A.
Timmons, A.
Todd, J.
Tognini, S. C.
Toner, R.
Torretta, D.
Vahle, P.
Weber, A.
Whitehead, L. H.
Wojcicki, S. G.
contents Shadows cast in the cosmic ray (CR) muon sky by the Sun were located using muon data from the MINOS far detector in Northern Minnesota. The shadows were observed independently across three time periods; near solar minimum, near solar maximum, and over the entire 13 year span of the data. A distribution of muon positions for each shadow was then sampled to simulate CR motions near the Sun using the Parker spiral model of the Heliospheric Magnetic Field (HMF) and a dipole model of the Geomagnetic Field (GMF). The resulting particle distributions were then compared to their position with respect to the Sun. Results show that the Parker spiral model is most consistent with the solar minimum shadow and least consistent with the solar maximum shadow, as expected. The simple Parker spiral is more consistent with the data for a harder CR spectrum than is actually present, indicating the need for a more detailed HMF model. Plausible modifications to the Parker spiral model which would affect the overall shift of the Sun's CR shadow are discussed.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_29306
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Modeling the Effect of the Heliospheric Magnetic Field on Cosmic Ray Muon Shadows
Collaboration, MINOS+
:
Adamson, P.
Anghel, I.
Aurisano, A.
Barr, G.
Blake, A.
Cao, S. V.
Carroll, T. J.
Castromonte, C. M.
Chen, R.
Childress, S.
Coelho, J. A. B.
De Rijck, S.
Evans, J. J.
Feldman, G. J.
Flanagan, W.
Fogarty, S.
Gabrielyan, M.
Gallagher, H. R.
Germani, S.
Gomes, R. A.
Goodman, M. C.
Gouffon, P.
Graf, N.
Grossman, N.
Grzelak, K.
Habig, A.
Hahn, S. R.
Hartnell, J.
Hatcher, R.
Holin, A.
Huang, J.
Koerner, L. W.
Kordosky, M.
Kreymer, A.
Krueger, J.
Lang, K.
Lucas, P.
Mann, W. A.
Marshak, M. L.
Mayer, N.
Mehdiyev, R.
Meier, J.
Miller, W. H.
Mills, G.
Naples, D.
Nelson, J. K.
Nichol, R.
OConnor, J.
Pahlka, R. B.
Pavlović, Ž.
Pawloski, G.
Perch, A.
Pfützner, M. M.
Phan, D. D.
Plunkett, R. K.
Poonthottathil, N.
Qiu, X.
Radovic, A.
Sail, P.
Sanchez, M. C.
Schreckenberger, A.
Sharma, R.
Skuza, N.
Sousa, A.
Tagg, N.
Thomas, J.
Thomson, M. A.
Timmons, A.
Todd, J.
Tognini, S. C.
Toner, R.
Torretta, D.
Vahle, P.
Weber, A.
Whitehead, L. H.
Wojcicki, S. G.
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Shadows cast in the cosmic ray (CR) muon sky by the Sun were located using muon data from the MINOS far detector in Northern Minnesota. The shadows were observed independently across three time periods; near solar minimum, near solar maximum, and over the entire 13 year span of the data. A distribution of muon positions for each shadow was then sampled to simulate CR motions near the Sun using the Parker spiral model of the Heliospheric Magnetic Field (HMF) and a dipole model of the Geomagnetic Field (GMF). The resulting particle distributions were then compared to their position with respect to the Sun. Results show that the Parker spiral model is most consistent with the solar minimum shadow and least consistent with the solar maximum shadow, as expected. The simple Parker spiral is more consistent with the data for a harder CR spectrum than is actually present, indicating the need for a more detailed HMF model. Plausible modifications to the Parker spiral model which would affect the overall shift of the Sun's CR shadow are discussed.
title Modeling the Effect of the Heliospheric Magnetic Field on Cosmic Ray Muon Shadows
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.29306