Search for solar neutrons at Mount Chacaltaya associated with M- and X-class flares during the rising period of solar cycle 24

Abstract

To better understand the acceleration mechanism of high-energy particles that are driven by solar flares, we examined solar neutron signals. We have performed a statistical analysis by reviewing the data collected by a neutron monitor during the period of January 2010 to August 2013. This detector operates at Mount Chacaltaya in Bolivia at 5,200 m above sea level. Our aim is to search for solar neutron events in association with large solar flares observed by the GOES satellite. We report that our analysis did not yield any positive excess due to solar neutrons that are statistically significant. Hence, we calculated the upper limit of the number of solar neutrons for the X2.8-class solar flare which occurred on 13 May 2013. We performed a similar calculation with a solar neutron event that occurred on 7 September 2005. Our upper limit is seven times less than the one produced by the real signal.

Special issue “International CAWSES-II Symposium”

“…They utilized radio free-free emission data from the Nobeyama Radioheliograph (NoRH) and multiple lineof-sight extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light observations from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and the EUV imager onboard the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) and achieved more accurate estimations of the coronal parameters than have ever previously been derived. Lopez and Matsubara (2015) studied solar neutrons at Mt. Chacaltaya associated with M-and X-class flares during the rising period of solar cycle 24 in order to better understand the acceleration mechanism of high-energy particles that are driven by solar flares.…”