Experimental verification of the ESADOS heliocentric potential model using airborne measurements from the REFLECT2 flight

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Galactic cosmic rays at flight altitudes are significantly modulated by solar activity. This modulation can be described quantitatively, with the heliocentric potential being one of the most commonly used parameters. The ESA-funded ESADOS project has developed a novel method for estimating this potential based on data from the Lomnický Štít neutron monitor. In this study, we present an initial experimental verification of the ESADOS method based on airborne radiation measurements collected during the REFLECT2 research flight (December 2020), which was conducted under well-defined and stable atmospheric and geomagnetic conditions. Over 20 detectors were deployed onboard, including tissue-equivalent proportional counter (TEPC), silicon spectrometers (e.g. Liulin, AIRDOS) commonly used in aircraft dosimetry, other instruments tested for this approach (SPACEDOS, Timepix, Pandora), and citizen science detector (Rium GM). The measured dose rates and particle fluxes were compared with predictions from Monte Carlo simulations (PHITS) and the FAA’s CARI-7 models. The results show good agreement between multi-detector measurements and models, confirming the consistency and plausibility of using the ESADOS-derived heliocentric potential as an input for dosimetric calculations. While this verification is based on a single research flight, the findings highlight the potential of using instrumented airborne campaigns to calibrate and cross-verify space weather dosimetry models. Long-term airborne monitoring with AIRDOS detectors on commercial aircraft is ongoing, providing a rich dataset for future extended validation across a broader range of solar and flight conditions. The ESADOS approach, once further validated, could significantly improve operational aircrew radiation exposure assessments and contribute to European space weather infrastructure, including integration into the ESA SWESNET platform.