Energetic Neutral Atom Fluxes from the Voyager 1 and 2 Directions

Energetic Neutral Atom Fluxes from the Voyager 1 and 2 Directions

IBEX observes a globally distributed energetic neutral atom (ENA) flux from the heliosheath and very local interstellar medium (VLISM). Over a 14 yr period, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 traversed the heliosheath from the termination shock to the heliopause. In situ observations from these spacecraft plac...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Stephen A. Fuselier, Eric J. Zirnstein, Jacob Heerikhuisen, André Galli, John D. Richardson, Daniel B. Reisenfeld, Nathan A. Schwadron, Maher A. Dayeh, David J. McComas, Herbert O. Funsten, Justyna M. Sokół, Merav Opher, Marc Z. Kornbleuth, Jonathan Gasser
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:The Astrophysical Journal
Subjects:
Heliosphere
Heliopause
Heliosheath
Pickup ions
Interstellar medium
Fast solar wind
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/addd12
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Summary:IBEX observes a globally distributed energetic neutral atom (ENA) flux from the heliosheath and very local interstellar medium (VLISM). Over a 14 yr period, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 traversed the heliosheath from the termination shock to the heliopause. In situ observations from these spacecraft place important constraints on the parent ion populations of the ENAs from the heliosheath in two directions on the upwind side of the heliosphere, i.e., the direction of motion of the Sun in the local interstellar medium. In this study, an MHD model that is constrained by Voyager in situ observations is used to estimate the contribution from the heliosheath to the total ENA fluxes observed by IBEX. At energies greater than about 0.5 keV, the heliosheath provides a significant fraction of the observed ENA flux. However, at energies less than about 0.5 keV, the heliosheath provides an insignificant fraction of the observed ENA flux. These results are the same for both directions, and since the Voyager 1 and 2 directions are not particularly unique, the results are likely to be applicable for much of the upwind hemisphere. Fundamentally, it is the physics of the termination shock and the thickness of the heliosheath that determine the energy-dependent contributions to the observed ENA flux from this region. Because the heliosheath source is insignificant, most ENAs at energies less than about 0.5 keV probably come from the VLISM.
ISSN:1538-4357

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