THE FIRST THREE YEARS OF
                    <i>IBEX</i>
                    OBSERVATIONS AND OUR EVOLVING HELIOSPHERE

McComas, D. J.; Dayeh, M. A.; Allegrini, F.; Bzowski, M.; Demajistre, R.; Fujiki, K.; Funsten, H. O.; Fuselier, S. A.; Gruntman, M.; Janzen, P. H.; Kubiak, M. A.; Kucharek, H.; Livadiotis, G.; Möbius, E.; Reisenfeld, D. B.; Reno, M.; Schwadron, N. A.; Sokół, J. M.; Tokumaru, M.

doi:10.1088/0067-0049/203/1/1

Cited by 118 publications

(183 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Even though these results strongly depend on the solar wind speed and the flow line profile in the inner heliosheath, we have obtained similar results to earlier order-of-magnitude estimates (McComas et al , 2012bReisenfeld et al 2012;Allegrini et al 2012). Unlike these earlier results, however, we were able to consider most relevant microphysical contributions, such as the flow line profile, describing the individual contributions in each direction of the sky.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

“…At the time of writing, three years of ENA data have been fully evaluated and made available to the general public, covering the observation time from 2009 to 2012, and reflecting the solar cycle from the time between 2005 and 2009. According to McComas et al (2012b), the global observational data agrees well with ENAs generated in the global decline during the past unusually deep and long solar minimum, and an (as-of-yet unquantified) rise of the ENA fluxes is expected at some point in the near future.…”

Section: Isochronal Maps Of Full Transit-time Delayssupporting

confidence: 69%

“…The Interstellar Boundary EXplorer (IBEX) mission (McComas et al 2009b) has provided some of the most interesting data on the global physics of the outer heliosphere to date (McComas et al 2009a(McComas et al , 2012b. Detecting energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) generated in the outer heliosphere provides a new window into the otherwise inaccessible plasma physics at the borders of the solar system.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many new models, ideas and concepts related to the outer heliosphere have been put forward since (see e.g. McComas et al 2012aMcComas et al , 2013, or the summary in McComas et al 2012b), but still no new consensus description. One significant complication that limits a quantitative comparision of these new models is the position of the ENA production region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, quantitative calculations on these correlations are nearly non-existent. Model calculations and data studies that place an emphasis on time-dependent aspects inevitably need to consider transit-time aspects as well (McComas et al , 2012bReisenfeld et al 2012;Allegrini et al 2012). However, all prior studies made use of strongly simplified models for dynamic properties of the solar cycle and the resulting dynamics of the source plasma regions, which diminishes the impact of quantitative studies of dynamic correlations between the solar cycle and ENA fluxes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Transit-time aspects of ENA production models for the inner heliosheath

Siewert

Fahr

McComas

2014

A&A

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It is still a major challenge to understand the data of energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) that arrive from the outer heliosphere. These data are provided by the IBEX mission. With the most recent data covering three years of dynamical evolution, it is now possible to study temporal correlations with the solar cycle. We present in this paper for the first time an extended study dedicated to the transit-time delay between the plasma that is ejected from the Sun towards the outer heliosphere and the ENA fluxes that reach the detector after the solar wind protons undergo charge exchange processes in their distant production regions in the inner heliosheath. We derive transit-time delays caused by both general and non-trivial model-dependent contributions for arbitrary points in the inner heliosheath. In addition, we also calculate the average transit-time delay along the line-of-sight in selected directions, allowing to estimate how strongly an extended emission region can reduce the resolution that is possible with transit-time studies. We are able to demonstrate that ENAs generated beyond a certain characteristic streamline distance are mostly removed by charge exchange, and thus do not contribute significantly to the keV-ENA fluxes observed by IBEX. For this reason, transit-time delays do provide a viable tool for studying the impact of the solar cycle on ENA fluxes.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Section: Isochronal Maps Of Full Transit-time Delayssupporting

confidence: 69%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Transit-time aspects of ENA production models for the inner heliosheath

Siewert

Fahr

McComas

2014

A&A

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An MHD model of Ganymede's mini‐magnetosphere suggests that the heliosphere forms in a sub‐Alfvénic flow

Kivelson

Jia

2013

JGR Space Physics

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[1] Directional fluxes of energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) measured by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer spacecraft reveal a Ribbon of strong emission whose source lies beyond the termination shock. Intense emissions of ENAs (energies 0.1 to 6 keV) appear along an extended arc significantly displaced from the nose of the heliosphere, the point on the boundary defined by the Sun's motion relative to the local interstellar medium (LISM). The locus of the Ribbon differs from expectations based on early models of the interaction of the solar wind with the LISM, assumed to flow at a super-Alfvénic speed. Here we argue that the distribution of the ENA source can be understood if the flow is sub-Alfvénic. We use a magnetohydrodynamic model of the mini-magnetosphere of Ganymede, embedded in the sub-Alfvénic flow of Jupiter's magnetospheric plasma, to establish where heated ions are distributed on the magnetopause. If the flow of the LISM is sub-Alfvénic, reconnection would occur along an arc centered away from the nose for an appropriately chosen field orientation. Charge exchange with ions heated by reconnection would produce an ENA source distributed in a manner close to that observed. Heating of ions by reconnection can account also for the way ENA images vary with energy. Sub-Alfvénic flow implies not only that reconnection on the heliopause can be centered well away from the nose, but also that no bow shock forms upstream of the heliopause. It also seems probable that the configuration of the heliosphere differs from the bullet shape frequently illustrated.Citation: Kivelson, M. G., and X. Jia (2013), An MHD model of Ganymede's mini-magnetosphere suggests that the heliosphere forms in a sub-Alfve´nic flow,

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IBEX's Enigmatic Ribbon in the sky and its many possible sources

2014

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Launched in October 2008, NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) has provided the first-ever energy-resolved all-sky maps of energetic neutral atom (ENA) emissions from the boundary of the heliosphere with the local interstellar medium (LISM). The maps reveal an enigmatic "Ribbon" of enhanced emissions superposed on a smoothly varying global distribution of ENA emissions. The Ribbon lies between the locations where the two Voyagers crossed the termination shock and was not sampled by them on their trajectories out through the heliosphere. IBEX's discovery of the Ribbon-a feature completely unpredicted by theory and numerical simulations-requires a new paradigm in our understanding of the heliosphere/LISM interaction. The Ribbon appears to be ordered by the interstellar magnetic field and the solar wind's latitudinal structure. The Ribbon's origin, whether from processes occurring in the heliosphere or beyond in the LISM, is unknown and the subject of intense investigation. Continued observations over the first 3 years of the IBEX mission have characterized the Ribbon, including its location, energy spectra, fine structure, and time variations. Here we review and compare the various hypotheses that have been proposed to explain the Ribbon, assess their ability to account for the features that have emerged from 3 years of careful analysis of the IBEX sky maps, and discuss how evolving theories and observations during IBEX's extended mission and by the National Research Council's recommended follow-on mission (the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) will be used to finally determine the true source of the Ribbon.

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THE FIRST THREE YEARS OF IBEX OBSERVATIONS AND OUR EVOLVING HELIOSPHERE

Cited by 118 publications

References 65 publications

Transit-time aspects of ENA production models for the inner heliosheath

Transit-time aspects of ENA production models for the inner heliosheath

An MHD model of Ganymede's mini‐magnetosphere suggests that the heliosphere forms in a sub‐Alfvénic flow

IBEX's Enigmatic Ribbon in the sky and its many possible sources

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