The Shape of the Heliosphere Derived from the IBEX Ribbon
The shape of the heliosphere remains largely uncertain due to the lack of in situ measurements. However, the energetic neutral atom (ENA) ribbon structure discovered by the Interstellar Boundary EXplorer (IBEX) satellite provides a new perspective. The present study reveals that the IBEX ribbon ENA...
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IOP Publishing
2024-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad992a |
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| author | Shuai Zhang Kaijun Liu Quanqi Shi Anmin Tian Fei Yao |
| author_facet | Shuai Zhang Kaijun Liu Quanqi Shi Anmin Tian Fei Yao |
| author_sort | Shuai Zhang |
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| description | The shape of the heliosphere remains largely uncertain due to the lack of in situ measurements. However, the energetic neutral atom (ENA) ribbon structure discovered by the Interstellar Boundary EXplorer (IBEX) satellite provides a new perspective. The present study reveals that the IBEX ribbon ENA flux, observed over a full solar cycle, correlates well with the solar wind ion flux measured at 1 au after a time delay of a few years. The time lag between the two can be used to estimate the heliopause distance and the heliosphere shape. The results show that the heliopause distance is shortest slightly south of the nose direction (∼100 au) and remains almost constant with the ecliptic longitude. However, the distance extends to ∼800 au toward the polar region, and it seems that there is no broadly symmetrical and elongated single heliospheric tail. While these features are consistent with the “croissant-like” model (no tail, but with two jet-like tail lobes) of the heliosphere, they cannot fully exclude the traditional “comet-like” model with a strong local interstellar medium magnetic field. Additional data and modeling are needed to ascertain the precise shape of the heliosphere. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-976e7b38b7774455b2dc78c33600a15d |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2041-8205 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
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| series | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-976e7b38b7774455b2dc78c33600a15d2025-08-20T01:53:56ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal Letters2041-82052024-01-019772L3910.3847/2041-8213/ad992aThe Shape of the Heliosphere Derived from the IBEX RibbonShuai Zhang0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8006-1177Kaijun Liu1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5882-1328Quanqi Shi2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6835-4751Anmin Tian3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4351-551XFei Yao4Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Southern University of Science and Technology , Shenzhen 518055, People’s Republic of China; Center for Space Physics and Astronomy, MNR Key Laboratory for Polar Science, Polar Research Institute of China , Shanghai 200136, People’s Republic of ChinaDepartment of Earth and Space Sciences, Southern University of Science and Technology , Shenzhen 518055, People’s Republic of ChinaShandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University , Weihai 264209, People’s Republic of ChinaShandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University , Weihai 264209, People’s Republic of ChinaDepartment of Earth and Space Sciences, Southern University of Science and Technology , Shenzhen 518055, People’s Republic of ChinaThe shape of the heliosphere remains largely uncertain due to the lack of in situ measurements. However, the energetic neutral atom (ENA) ribbon structure discovered by the Interstellar Boundary EXplorer (IBEX) satellite provides a new perspective. The present study reveals that the IBEX ribbon ENA flux, observed over a full solar cycle, correlates well with the solar wind ion flux measured at 1 au after a time delay of a few years. The time lag between the two can be used to estimate the heliopause distance and the heliosphere shape. The results show that the heliopause distance is shortest slightly south of the nose direction (∼100 au) and remains almost constant with the ecliptic longitude. However, the distance extends to ∼800 au toward the polar region, and it seems that there is no broadly symmetrical and elongated single heliospheric tail. While these features are consistent with the “croissant-like” model (no tail, but with two jet-like tail lobes) of the heliosphere, they cannot fully exclude the traditional “comet-like” model with a strong local interstellar medium magnetic field. Additional data and modeling are needed to ascertain the precise shape of the heliosphere.https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad992aHeliosphereHeliopauseSolar windSolar cycle |
| spellingShingle | Shuai Zhang Kaijun Liu Quanqi Shi Anmin Tian Fei Yao The Shape of the Heliosphere Derived from the IBEX Ribbon The Astrophysical Journal Letters Heliosphere Heliopause Solar wind Solar cycle |
| title | The Shape of the Heliosphere Derived from the IBEX Ribbon |
| title_full | The Shape of the Heliosphere Derived from the IBEX Ribbon |
| title_fullStr | The Shape of the Heliosphere Derived from the IBEX Ribbon |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Shape of the Heliosphere Derived from the IBEX Ribbon |
| title_short | The Shape of the Heliosphere Derived from the IBEX Ribbon |
| title_sort | shape of the heliosphere derived from the ibex ribbon |
| topic | Heliosphere Heliopause Solar wind Solar cycle |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad992a |
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