A POROUS, LAYERED HELIOPAUSE
- Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States)
The picture of the heliopause (HP)-the boundary between the domains of the Sun and the local interstellar medium (LISM)-as a pristine interface with a large rotation in the magnetic field fails to describe recent Voyager 1 (V1) data. Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of the global heliosphere reveal that the rotation angle of the magnetic field across the HP at V1 is small. Particle-in-cell simulations, based on cuts through the MHD model at V1's location, suggest that the sectored region of the heliosheath (HS) produces large-scale magnetic islands that reconnect with the interstellar magnetic field while mixing LISM and HS plasma. Cuts across the simulation reveal multiple, anti-correlated jumps in the number densities of LISM and HS particles, similar to those observed, at the magnetic separatrices. A model is presented, based on both the observations and simulations, of the HP as a porous, multi-layered structure threaded by magnetic fields. This model further suggests that contrary to the conclusions of recent papers, V1 has already crossed the HP.
- OSTI ID:
- 22136546
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 774, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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