Kinetic-Hydrodynamic Models of the Solar Wind Interaction with the Partially Ionized Supersonic Flow of the Local Interstellar Gas: Predictions and Interpretations of the Experimental Data

At present there is no doubt that the local interstellar medium (LISM) is mainly partially ionized hydrogen gas moving with a supersonic flow relative to the solar system. The bulk velocity of this flow is approximately equal ～26 km/s. Although the interaction of the solar wind with the charged component (below plasma component) of the LISM can be described in the framework of hydrodynamic approach, the interaction of H atoms with the plasma component can be correctly described only in the framework of kinetic theory because the mean free path of H atoms in the main process of the resonance charge exchange is comparable with a characteristic length of the problem considered. Results of self-consistent, kinetic-hydrodynamic models are considered in this review paper. First, such the model was constructed by Baranov and Malama (J. Geophys. Res. 98(A9):15,157–15,163, 1993). Up to now it is mainly developed by Moscow group taking into account new experimental data obtained onboard spacecraft studying outer regions of the solar system (Voyager 1 and 2, Pioneer 10 and 11, Hubble Space Telescope, Ulysses, SOHO and so on). Predictions and interpretations of experimental data obtained on the basis of these models are presented. Kinetic models for describing H atom motion were later suggested by Fahr et al. (Astron. Astrophys 298:587–600, 1995) and Lipatov et al. (J. Geophys. Res. 103(A9):20,631–20,642, 1998). However they were not self-consistent and did not incorporate sources to the plasma component. A self-consistent kinetic-hydrodynamic model suggested by Heerikhuisen et al. (J. Geophys. Res. 111:A06110, 2006, Astrophys. J. 655:L53–L56, 2007) was not tested on the results by Baranov and Malama (J. Geophys. Res. 111:A06110, 1993) although it was suggested much later. Besides authors did not describe in details their Monte Carlo method for a solution of the H atom Boltzmann equation and did not inform about an accuracy of this method. Therefore the results of Heerikhuisen et al. (J. Geophys. Res. 111:A06110, 2006) are in open to question and will not be considered in this review paper. That is why below we will mainly consider a progress of the Moscow group on heliospheric modelling endeavours in the kinetic-hydrodynamic approach. Criticism of the models that treat interstellar hydrogen in the heliosphere as several fluids is given. It is shown that the multi-fluid models give rise to unreal results especially for distributions of neutral component parameters. Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) modelling of the solar wind interaction with the LISM gas is also reviewed.     

Local Interstellar Parameters as They Are Inferred from Analysis of Observations Inside the Heliosphere

This paper provides a brief summary on the current knowledge of the properties of the Circum-Heliospheric Interstellar Medium (CHISM). It discusses what can be learnt on the parameters of CHISM’s components from analysis of measurements performed inside the heliosphere. The analysis is based on the kinetic-gasdynamic models of the solar wind/interstellar medium interaction. We focus the analysis on three types of diagnostics: 1) interstellar H atom number density at the heliospheric termination shock inferred from pickup ion measurements, 2) the location and time of the Voyager 1 and 2 termination shock crossings, 3) the deflection of the interstellar H atom flow inside the heliosphere as been measured by SOHO/SWAN. From these results estimations of the unknown local interstellar parameters are deduced. The parameters are the number densities of interstellar H⁺ and H and the magnitude and direction of the interstellar magnetic field in the vicinity of the solar system.     

Heliospheric ENA fluxes: How Sensitive Are They to the Ionization State of LIC?

We explore the sensitivity of the fluxes of heliospheric energetic neutral atoms (ENA) at 1 AU to the ionization state of the local interstellar cloud (LIC). The solar wind plasma is compressed and heated in the termination shock transition. The shocked solar plasma is convected toward the heliospheric tail in the heliosheath, the region between the termination shock and the heliopause. The ENAs are produced in charge exchange of the plasma protons and background neutral gas and can be readily detected at 1 AU. The expected ENA fluxes depend on the shocked plasma density, temperature, and velocity in the heliosheath. The size and structure of the heliospheric interface region depend on the parameters of the interstellar medium. ENA fluxes would thus reveal the LIC parameters. We demonstrate the sensitivity of the heliospheric ENA fluxes to the ionization state of the LIC. The axi-symmetric model of the solar wind/LIC interaction includes the self-consistent treatment of the plasma-gas coupling and Monte Carlo simulations of the neutral gas distribution. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Influence of the Interstellar Magnetic Field and Neutrals on the Shape of the Outer Heliosphere

Formed as a result of the solar wind (SW) interaction with the circum-heliospheric interstellar medium (CHISM), the outer heliosphere is generically three-dimensional because of the SW asphericity and the action of the interstellar and interplanetary magnetic fields (ISMF and IMF). In this paper we show that charge exchange between neutral and charged components of the SW–CHISM plasmas plays a dominant role not only in determining the geometrical size of the heliosphere, but also in the modulation of magnetic-field-induced asymmetries. More specifically, charge exchange between SW and CHISM protons and primary neutrals of interstellar origin always acts to decrease the asymmetry of the termination shock and the heliopause, which can otherwise be very large. This is particularly pronounced because the ionization ratio of the CHISM plasma is rather low. To investigate the deflection of the CHISM neutral hydrogen flow in the inner heliosphere from its original orientation in the unperturbed CHISM, we create two-dimensional neutral H velocity distributions in the inner heliosphere within a 45-degree circular conical surface with the apex at the Sun and the axis parallel to the interstellar flow vector. It is shown that the distribution of deflections is very anisotropic, that is, the most probable orientation of the H-atom velocity differs from its average direction. We show that the average deflection of the H-atom flow, for reasonable ISMF strengths, occurs mostly in the plane formed by the ISMF and CHISM velocity vectors at infinity. The possibility that the ISMF orientation may influence the 2–3 kHz radio emission, which is believed to originate in the outer heliosheath, is discussed.     

Filtration of Interstellar Atoms through the Heliospheric Interface

Interstellar atoms penetrate deep into the heliosphere after passing through the heliospheric interface—the region of the interaction of the solar wind with the interstellar medium. The heliospheric interface serves as a filter for the interstellar atoms of hydrogen and oxygen, and, to a lesser extent, nitrogen, due to their coupling with interstellar and heliospheric plasmas by charge exchange and electron impact ionization. The filtration has great importance for the determination of local interstellar abundances of these elements, which becomes now possible due to measurements of interstellar pickup by Ulysses and ACE, and anomalous cosmic rays by Voyagers, Ulysses, ACE, SAMPEX and Wind. The filtration of the different elements depends on the level of their coupling with the plasma in the interaction region. The recent studies of the filtration of the interstellar atoms in the heliospheric interface region is reviewed in this paper. The dependence of the filtration on the local interstellar proton and H atom number densities is discussed and the roles of the charge exchange and electron impact ionization on the filtration are evaluated. The influence of electron temperature in the inner heliosheath on the filtration process is discussed as well. Using the filtration coefficients obtained from the modeling and SWICS/Ulysses pickup ion measurements, the local interstellar abundances of the considered elements are determined.     

Physics of the Solar Wind–Local Interstellar Medium Interaction: Role of Magnetic Fields

The interaction of the solar wind with the local interstellar medium is characterized by the self-consistent coupling of solar wind plasma, both upstream and downstream of the heliospheric termination shock, the interstellar plasma, and the neutral atom component of interstellar and solar wind origin. The complex coupling results in the creation of new plasma components (pickup ions), turbulence, and anomalous cosmic rays, and new populations of neutral atoms and their coupling can lead to energetic neutral atoms that can be detected at 1 AU. In this review, we discuss the interaction and coupling of global sized structures (the heliospheric boundary regions) and kinetic physics (the distributions that are responsible for the creation of energetic neutral atoms) based on models that have been developed by the University of Alabama in Huntsville group.     

ENA Imaging of the Inner Heliosheath—Preparing for the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX)

The Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft recently crossed the termination shock and are currently sending back groundbreaking and detailed observations at two locations in the inner heliosheath. Complementary global observations will soon be provided by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer—IBEX, which measures energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) produced via charge exchange with energetic protons in this region. While several data sets from instruments on other spacecraft have provided tantalizing observations that might be heliosheath ENAs, none has definitively shown that they are observing this source. In contrast, IBEX has been specifically designed and developed to make all-sky observations of inner heliosheath ENAs with very high sensitivity and signal to noise. These observations will provide the critical global perspective required to understand the three-dimensional heliospheric interaction with the Circum-Heliospheric Interstellar Medium (CHISM). This paper, written prior to the launch of IBEX, reviews previous observations and provides background on this important new mission.     

Physical Processes in the Outer Heliosphere

This chapter covers the theory of physical processes in the outer heliosphere that are particularly important for the IBEX Mission, excluding global magnetohydrodynamic/Boltzmann modeling of the entire heliosphere. Topics addressed include the structure and parameters of the solar wind termination shock, the transmission of ions through the termination shock including possible reflections at the shock electrostatic potential, the acceleration and transport of suprathermal ions and anomalous cosmic rays at the termination shock and in the heliosheath, charge-exchange interactions in the outer heliosphere including mass and momentum loading of the solar wind, the transport of interstellar pickup ions, and the production and anticipated intensities of energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) in the heliosphere.     

The Interstellar Boundary Explorer Science Operations Center

The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) Science Operations Center is responsible for supporting analysis of IBEX data, generating special payload command procedures, delivering the IBEX data products, and building the global heliospheric maps of energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) in collaboration with the IBEX team. We describe here the data products and flow, the sensor responses to ENA fluxes, the heliospheric transmission of ENAs (from 100 AU to 1 AU), and the process of building global maps of the heliosphere. The vast majority of IBEX Science Operations Center (ISOC) tools are complete, and the ISOC is in a remarkable state of readiness due to extensive reviews, tests, rehearsals, long hours, and support from the payload teams. The software has been designed specifically to support considerable flexibility in the process of building global flux maps. Therefore, as we discover the fundamental properties of the interstellar interaction, the ISOC will iteratively improve its pipeline software, and, subsequently, the heliospheric flux maps that will provide a keystone for our global understanding of the solar wind’s interaction with the interstellar medium. The ISOC looks forward to the next chapter of the IBEX mission, as the tools we have developed will be used in partnership with the IBEX team and the scientific community over the coming years to define our global understanding of the solar wind’s interaction with the local interstellar medium.     

Testing General Relativity with Atomic Clocks

We discuss perspectives for new tests of general relativity which are based on recent technological developments as well as new ideas. We focus our attention on tests performed with atomic clocks and do not repeat arguments present in the other contributions to the present issue (Space Sci. Rev. 2009, This Issue). In particular, we present the scientific motivations of the space projects ACES (Salomon et al. in CR Acad. Sci. IV-2:1313, 2001) and SAGAS (Wolf et al. in Exp. Astron. 23:651, 2009).     

The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX):

The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) mission is exploring the frontiers of the heliosphere where energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) are formed from charge exchange between interstellar neutral hydrogen atoms and solar wind ions and pickup ions. The geography of this frontier is dominated by an unexpected nearly complete arc of ENA emission, now known as the IBEX ‘Ribbon’. While there is no consensus agreement on the Ribbon formation mechanism, it seems certain this feature is seen for sightlines that are perpendicular to the interstellar magnetic field as it drapes over the heliosphere. At the lowest energies, IBEX also measures the flow of interstellar H, He, and O atoms through the inner heliosphere. The asymmetric oxygen profile suggests that a secondary flow of oxygen is present, such as would be expected if some fraction of oxygen is lost through charge exchange in the heliosheath regions. The detailed spectra characterized by the ENAs provide time-tagged samples of the energy distributions of the underlying ion distributions, and provide a wealth of information about the outer heliosphere regions, and beyond.     

Polar rain entry of galactic electrons into the inner heliosphere?

The understanding of the relative intensity variations in cosmic ray ions and electrons with respect to solar modulation is a grand challenge for cosmic ray modulation theory. Although effects of the heliospheric neutral sheet, gradient-curvature drifts, and merged interaction regions provide qualitative explanations for observed solar cycle variations of high energy protons and ions, these effects do not account for the anomalously high intensities of high energy galactic electrons at 22-year intervals of the solar magnetic solar cycle. From the similar modulation responses of protons and heavy ions it does not appear that cosmic ray pressure effects, dominated by protons, can account for the chargesign asymmetry of cosmic ray modulation. External factors including modulation in the heliosheath and polar linkage to the interstellar magnetic field are examined as potential causes of symmetry breaking for electron modulation with respect to the solar magnetic polarity at solar minimum.     

The Solar Wind in the Outer Heliosphere

The solar wind evolves as it moves outward due to interactions with both itself and with the circum-heliospheric interstellar medium. The speed is, on average, constant out to 30 AU, then starts a slow decrease due to the pickup of interstellar neutrals. These neutrals reduce the solar wind speed by about 20% before the termination shock (TS). The pickup ions heat the thermal plasma so that the solar wind temperature increases outside 20–30 AU. Solar cycle effects are important; the solar wind pressure changes by a factor of 2 over a solar cycle and the structure of the solar wind is modified by interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) near solar maximum. The first direct evidences of the TS were the observations of streaming energetic particles by both Voyagers 1 and 2 beginning about 2 years before their respective TS crossings. The second evidence was a slowdown in solar wind speed commencing 80 days before Voyager 2 crossed the TS. The TS was a weak, quasi-perpendicular shock which transferred the solar wind flow energy mainly to the pickup ions. The heliosheath has large fluctuations in the plasma and magnetic field on time scales of minutes to days.     

Voyager observations of the magnetic field, interstellar pickup ions and solar wind in the distant heliosphere

Voyagers 1 and 2 are now observing the latitudinal structure of the heliospheric magnetic field in the distant heliosphere (the legion between - 30 AU and the termination shock). Voyager 2 is observing the influence of the interstellar medium on the solar wind. The pressure of the interstellar pickup protons, measured by their contribution to pressure balanced structures, is greater than or equal to the magnetic pressure and much greater than the thermal pressures of the solar wind protons and electrons in the distant heliosphere. The solar wind speed is observed to decrease and the proton temperature increase with increasing distance from the sun. This may result from the production of pickup ions by the charge exchange process with the interstellar neutrals. The introduction of the pickup ions into the dynamics of the magnetized solar wind plasma appears to be an important new process which must be considered in future theoretical studies of the termination shock and boundary with the local interstellar medium.     

IBEX—Interstellar Boundary Explorer

The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) is a small explorer mission that launched on 19 October 2008 with the sole, focused science objective to discover the global interaction between the solar wind and the interstellar medium. IBEX is designed to achieve this objective by answering four fundamental science questions: (1) What is the global strength and structure of the termination shock, (2) How are energetic protons accelerated at the termination shock, (3) What are the global properties of the solar wind flow beyond the termination shock and in the heliotail, and (4) How does the interstellar flow interact with the heliosphere beyond the heliopause? The answers to these questions rely on energy-resolved images of energetic neutral atoms (ENAs), which originate beyond the termination shock, in the inner heliosheath. To make these exploratory ENA observations IBEX carries two ultra-high sensitivity ENA cameras on a simple spinning spacecraft. IBEX’s very high apogee Earth orbit was achieved using a new and significantly enhanced method for launching small satellites; this orbit allows viewing of the outer heliosphere from beyond the Earth’s relatively bright magnetospheric ENA emissions. The combination of full-sky imaging and energy spectral measurements of ENAs over the range from ～10 eV to 6 keV provides the critical information to allow us to achieve our science objective and understand this global interaction for the first time. The IBEX mission was developed to provide the first global views of the Sun’s interstellar boundaries, unveiling the physics of the heliosphere’s interstellar interaction, providing a deeper understanding of the heliosphere and thereby astrospheres throughout the galaxy, and creating the opportunity to make even greater unanticipated discoveries.     

The Dynamic Heliosphere: Outstanding Issues

Properties of the heliospheric interface, a complex product of an interaction between charged and neutral particles and magnetic fields in the heliosphere and surrounding Circumheliospheric Medium, are far from being fully understood. Recent Voyager spacecraft encounters with the termination shock and their observations in the heliosheath revealed multiple energetic particle populations and noticeable spatial asymmetries not accounted for by the classic theories. Some of the challenges still facing space physicists include the origin of anomalous cosmic rays, particle acceleration downstream of the termination shock, the role of interstellar magnetic fields in producing the global asymmetry of the interface, the influence of charge exchange and interstellar neutral atoms on heliospheric plasma flows, and the signatures of solar magnetic cycle in the heliosheath. These and other outstanding issues are reviewed in this joint report of working groups 4 and 6.     

Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP): A New NASA Mission

The Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) is a revolutionary mission that simultaneously investigates two of the most important overarching issues in Heliophysics today: the acceleration of energetic particles and interaction of the solar wind with the local interstellar medium. While seemingly disparate, these are intimately coupled because particles accelerated in the inner heliosphere play critical roles in the outer heliospheric interaction. Selected by NASA in 2018, IMAP is planned to launch in 2024. The IMAP spacecraft is a simple sun-pointed spinner in orbit about the Sun-Earth L1 point. IMAP’s ten instruments provide a complete and synergistic set of observations to simultaneously dissect the particle injection and acceleration processes at 1 AU while remotely probing the global heliospheric interaction and its response to particle populations generated by these processes. In situ at 1 AU, IMAP provides detailed observations of solar wind electrons and ions; suprathermal, pickup, and energetic ions; and the interplanetary magnetic field. For the outer heliosphere interaction, IMAP provides advanced global observations of the remote plasma and energetic ions over a broad energy range via energetic neutral atom imaging, and precise observations of interstellar neutral atoms penetrating the heliosphere. Complementary observations of interstellar dust and the ultraviolet glow of interstellar neutrals further deepen the physical understanding from IMAP. IMAP also continuously broadcasts vital real-time space weather observations. Finally, IMAP engages the broader Heliophysics community through a variety of innovative opportunities. This paper summarizes the IMAP mission at the start of Phase A development.     

Pickup Ions and Cosmic Rays from Dust in the Heliosphere

The combination of recent observational and theoretical work has completed the catalog of the sources of heliospheric Pickup Ions (PUIs). These PUIs are the seed population for Anomalous Cosmic Rays (ACRs), which are accelerated to high energies at or beyond the Termination Shock (TS). For elements with high First Ionization Potentials (high-FIP atoms: e.g., H, He, Ne, etc.), the dominant source of PUIs and ACRs is from neutral atoms that drift into the heliosphere from the Local Interstellar Medium (LISM) and, prior to ionization, are influenced primarily by solar gravitation and radiation pressure (for H). After ionization, these interstellar ions are pickup up by the solar wind, swept out, and are either accelerated near the TS or beyond it. Elements with low first ionization potentials (low-FIP atoms: e.g., C, Si, Mg, Fe, etc.) are also observed as PUIs by Ulysses and as ACRs by Wind and Voyager. But the low-FIP composition of this additional component reveals a very different origin. Low-FIP interstellar atoms are predominantly ionized in the LISM and therefore excluded from the heliosphere by the solar wind. Remarkably, a low-FIP component of PUIs was hypothesized by Banks (J. Geophys. Res. 76, 4341, 1971) over twenty years prior to its direct detection by Ulysses/SWICS (Geiss et al., J. Geophys. Res. 100(23), 373, 1995) The leading concept for the generation of Inner Source PUIs involves an effective recycling of solar wind on grains near the Sun, as originally suggested by Banks. Voyager and Wind also observe low-FIP ACRs, and a grain-related source appears likely and necessary. Two concepts have been proposed to explain these low-FIP ACRs: the first concept involves the acceleration of the Inner Source of PUIs, and the second involves a so-called Outer Source of PUIs generated from solar wind interaction with the large population of grains in the Kuiper Belt. We review here the observational and theoretical work over the last decade that shows how solar wind and heliospheric grains interact to produce pickup ions, and, in turn, anomalous cosmic rays. The inner and outer sources of pickup ions and anomalous cosmic rays exemplify dusty plasma interactions that are fundamental throughout the cosmos for the production of energetic particles and the formation of stellar systems.     

Self-consistent Simulations of Alfv��n Wave Driven Winds from the Sun and Stars

We review our recent results of Alfvén wave-driven winds. First, we present the result of self-consistent 1D MHD simulations for solar winds from the photosphere to interplanetary region. Here, we emphasize the importance of the reflection of Alfvén waves in the density stratified corona and solar winds. We also introduce the recent Hinode observation that might detect the reflection signature of transverse (Alfvénic) waves by Fujimura and Tsuneta (Astrophys. J. 702:1443, 2009). Then, we show the results of Alfvén wave-driven winds from red giant stars. As a star evolves to the red giant branch, the properties of stellar winds drastically change from steady coronal winds to intermittent chromospheric winds. We also discuss how the stellar evolution affects the wave reflection in the stellar atmosphere and similarities and differences of accretion disk winds by MHD turbulence.