Cosmic ray diffusion from the galactic spiral arms, iron meteorites, and a possible climatic connection

Abstract

We construct a Galactic cosmic ray (CR) diffusion model. The CR flux reaching the Solar System should periodically increase each crossing of a Galactic spiral arm. We confirm this prediction in the CR exposure age record of iron meteorites. We find that although the geological evidence for the occurrence of iceage epochs in the past eon is not unequivocal, it appears to have a nontrivial correlation with the spiral arm crossings-agreeing in period and phase.