Corotating interaction regions and the 27 day variation of galactic cosmic rays intensity at 1 AU during the cycle 23/24 solar minimum

We investigate the formation and evolution of corotating interaction regions (CIRs) in the solar wind and their effects on galactic cosmic rays (GCR) during the recent solar cycle 23/24 solar minimum. The output from a three-dimensional MHD model serves as background for kinetic time-dependent simulations of GCR transport based on the Parker equation. The results show that the CIR forward/reverse shock pairs or compression/rarefaction regions play important roles in the transport of GCR particles and directly control the observed 27 day periodic intensity variations. We find that stream interfaces (SIs) in CIRs and the heliospheric current sheet (HCS) are both closely associated with the GCR depression onset, in agreement with the observations at 1 AU. The HCS is more important when its tilt angle becomes small during the declining phase of the solar minimum, while the passages of SIs control the onset of GCR depressions for larger HCS tilt angles. The mechanism of GCR intensity variation near 1 AU can be explained through an interplay between the effects of particle drift and diffusion. The simulated plasma background and GCR intensity are compared with the observations from spacecraft and a neutron monitor on the ground, to find good qualitative agreement. Evidently, CIRs had a substantial modulational effect on GCR during the recent solar minimum.