Assess validity of time-averaged SEP spectral approximations

Evaluate whether representing solar or stellar energetic particle (SEP/StEP) fluxes using time-averaged energy spectra is a valid simplification relative to modeling SEPs/StEPs as discrete, time-dependent events.

Background

Modeling atmospheric chemistry and escape often requires input particle spectra. The literature frequently uses time-averaged SEP spectra, even though SEP events are discrete and intermittent.

Because cumulative planetary impacts can depend on temporal clustering and peak fluxes, establishing the validity limits of time-averaged representations is essential for robust exoplanet climate, chemistry, and escape models.

References

Though SEPs are often represented by time-averaged spectra in the literature (e.g., Desai & Giacalone, 2016), they are in fact discrete events. Whether this simplification is valid remains an open question.

— The Exospace Weather Frontier  (2511.02871 - Loyd et al., 4 Nov 2025) in Section 2.6