Modulation of the galactic cosmic ray spectrum in an anisotropic diffusion approach

Abstract

We introduce a novel diffusion model for the propagation of cosmic rays (CRs) that incorporates an anisotropic diffusion tensor of a general form within a realistically modeled large-scale Galactic magnetic field. The parameters of the model are consistent with the contemporary understanding of the large-scale Galactic magnetic field structure and the dynamics of small-scale turbulent CR propagation. The paper demonstrates the modulation of spectra of Galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) in the magnetic rigidity range of 1 - 30 PV (the CR knee) and explores the spatial variation of this phenomenon. The observed modulation of the spectrum is explained by changes in the leakage mechanism.