Measurements of Forbush Decrease Events at the Center of the South Atlantic Magnetic Anomaly with Muon Detectors

Overview

This dataset contains measurements of cosmic-ray muons collected in Paraguay, located at the center of the South Atlantic Magnetic Anomaly (SAMA). The measurements were conducted using a low-cost muon detector constructed with scintillation plates coupled to silicon photomultipliers (SiPM). The dataset spans two observation periods, capturing Forbush decrease (FD) events in May and October 2024 and their correlation with geomagnetic disturbances.

Contents

The dataset is structured into two periods:

First Period (May 2024)

data/first_period/muon_counts.csv: Time series of muon flux measurements.

data/first_period/dst.csv: Disturbance Storm Time (Dst) index values.

data/first_period/neutrons.csv: Neutron monitor data for correlation analysis.

Second Period (October 2024)

data/second_period/muon_counts.csv: Time series of muon flux measurements.

data/second_period/dst.csv: Dst index values.

data/second_period/neutrons.csv: Neutron monitor data.

Each file is formatted as a CSV table with time-stamped measurements at a fixed sampling rate.

Methodology

The detector was deployed at a location where the geomagnetic cutoff rigidity is 9.63 GV.

Muon flux was recorded continuously and analyzed using the Truncated Time-Shift (TTS) test, a statistical method for detecting transient correlations in time series.

The dataset is complemented with Dst index values obtained from geomagnetic monitoring databases and neutron flux data from global neutron monitor networks.

Usage and Applications

Space weather research: Investigating cosmic-ray variations and their relationship with geomagnetic storms.

Muon detector validation: Benchmarking low-cost detection systems in high-radiation environments.

Machine learning & time-series analysis: Developing models for forecasting cosmic-ray intensity variations.

Software and Analysis

The dataset is accompanied by Python scripts and Jupyter notebooks for data processing and visualization, including:

analysis.ipynb: A step-by-step guide for analyzing the Forbush decrease events.

requirements.txt: A list of dependencies needed to reproduce the analysis.