Spectral Discrimination of Ground Level Enhancements and Magnetospheric Effects Using Energy-Resolved Muon and Neutron Measurements from the SEVAN Light Detector Network

Publication Details

Publication Date

10/08/2026

Volume / Issue

Vol 1, Issue 3 (2026)

Article No.

008

Journal

British Journal of Contemporary Research

DOI

https://doi.org/10.67693/BJCR-M77CHXH8

Received

09 Jul 2026

Views

40

Downloads

18

Abstract

Simultaneous enhancements of neutron and muon fluxes, driven either by solar energetic particles or by magnetospheric disturbances, offer a valuable window into solar modulation processes and into the physical mechanisms behind space-weather events. This paper describes an extended capability of the SEV AN light detector network, which records full energy-release histograms of secondary particles rather than the flux-only counts provided by conventional cosmic-ray monitors. Using data acquired at the Aragats (Armenia) and Zugspitze (Germany) stations, we contrast the energy-release signatures of a Ground Level Enhancement, GLE #74 of 11 May 2024, with those of a Magnetospheric Enhancement (ME) recorded on 5 November 2023. The GLE event produced broad energy-release spectra reaching well beyond 100 MeV , consistent with the arrival of relativistic solar protons, whereas the ME event remained confined almost entirely below 10 MeV , a signature of its magnetospheric rather than solar origin. This spectral contrast provides a practical means of separating solar from magnetospheric contributions to ground-level particle counts, while also placing approximate constraints on the primary particle energies responsible for the observed secondary cascades. The method strengthens the diagnostic reach of ground-based detector networks for event classification and contributes to improved forecasting of space-weather conditions.

License

This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License . Free to read, share, and adapt with attribution.