The effect on cosmic ray modulation of a parker field modified by a latitudinal-dependent solar wind speed Original Research Article

We present a new two-dimensional divergence-free heliospheric magnetic field of which the radial component depends on latitudinal gradients in the solar wind speed. It is used in a two-dimensional numerical modulation model to study its qualitative effects on cosmic-ray modulation. We find that this field causes large solar-cycle polarity dependent increases in cosmic-ray intensities at either high or low latitudes and we discuss the reasons for this.