2025 Plans

Scientific Plans of CRD for 2025

We will continue 24/7 monitoring of geophysical and radiation parameters on Mount Aragats (four stations) and in Yerevan, using various existing and new sensors:

  • Gamma rays, electrons, positrons, neutrons, and muons using newly installed RT56 gamma spectrometers from Georadis (Czech Republic) with an energy range of 0.3–50 MeV, on the slopes of Mount Aragats and in Yerevan.
  • Atmospheric discharges of various types using EFM-100 electrometers, broadband antennas, and oscilloscopes with gigahertz sampling rates.
  • Electric field near the Earth's surface (NSEF) with a network of 7 electric field sensors.
  • Meteorological conditions using 5 DAVIS weather stations.
  • Three components of the geomagnetic field.
  • Particle fluxes on mountain peaks in Eastern Europe, Armenia, and Germany using identical SEVAN detectors. Another SEVAN detector is planned to be installed on a mountain in New Mexico at the same altitude as the Aragats station.
  • The sky above Aragats research stations with an omnidirectional camera system and precision photometers.
  • Continued operation of detectors installed in 2024 by the winners of the 2024 “Install Your Detector on Aragats” competition and new detectors provided by the winners of the 2025 competition.

Planned Activities:

  1. Calculation of response functions of Aragats spectrometers and particle detectors using GEANT4. Estimation of SEVAN, STAND1, and STAND3 detector count rates based on energy spectra measured by ASNT and NaI networks.
  2. Restoration of the "White House" station (1 km from Nor Amberd) and commissioning of new SEVAN modules.
  3. Software modernization and development of boards for new SEVAN module operation modes, including coincidence registration and energy spectrum measurement with 20 and 25 cm plastic scintillators.
  4. Data storage, backups, and modernization of the mirror site in Germany, ensuring global access via MySQL databases and the ADEI platform for multidimensional visualization and statistical analysis.

Scientific Goals:

Using the 15-year archive and 2025 measurements of various geophysical parameters, the following goals will be pursued:

  1. Study of conditions supporting electron acceleration in the atmosphere up to 100 MeV. Reconstruction of TGE electron and gamma-ray energy spectra. Reconstruction of differential energy spectra using four particle spectrometers (ASNT, SEVAN, CUBE, NaI) over a wide energy range of 300 keV to 100 MeV.
  2. Investigation of the impact of geomagnetic storms on the Global Electric Circuit (GEC) and measurement of NSEF during solar flares and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs).
  3. Study of lightning effects on the propagation of Extensive Air Showers (EAS) in a thunderstorm atmosphere and evaluation of potential overestimation of primary particle energy.
  4. Development of a unified model of particle acceleration in thunderclouds by all four dipoles (TGE, TGF, gamma radiation, and wind).
  5. Investigation of the MOS process using GEANT4 simulations and Aragats particle spectrometer data.
  6. Monitoring the effects of solar events on global particle flux variations. Classification of modulation types and reconstruction of secondary particle energy spectra during solar events and Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) spectra.
  7. Assessment of atmospheric electric fields and RREA electron flux in thunderclouds, and evaluation of TGE size on Earth's surface during significant storms in the Ararat Valley.
  8. Study of thundercloud charge structure, particularly the impact of the fourth dipole (between LPCR and the Earth) on muon and positron fluxes.
  9. Investigation of a new type of atmospheric glow linked to electron-gamma avalanches during winter in windy and snowy conditions due to charge separation.
  10. Comparison of the RREA process in strong atmospheric electric fields using the CORSIKA code for three locations (Aragats, Lomnicky Peak, and Tibet).
  11. Evaluation of neutron flux during TGE using SEVAN “010” coincidences at Lomnicky Peak and comparison of neutron monitor and SEVAN measurements of extreme flux increases in 2017 and 2019.
  12. Measurement of muon horizontal flux from four directions and study of muon attenuation in Mount Aragats.
  13. Detection of EAS trunks using neutron monitors and muon detectors, and estimation of expected gamma-ray flux from EAS initiated by ultra-high-energy primary protons.
  14. Study of global changes on temperature, lightning frequency, and other parameters measured on mountain peaks.
  15. Precision measurements of natural gamma radiation (NGR) and its variations on the slopes of Aragats and in Yerevan.

Publication and Event Plans:

  • Publication of 20 scientific articles (primarily in APS, Elsevier, and AGU journals).
  • Recruitment of two graduate students and a junior software engineer in 2025.
  • Submission and defense of a doctoral dissertation (Balabek Sargsyan).
  • Hosting the TEPA conference in September.
  • Participation in various conferences and visits to DESY.