Turbulence in the Outer Heliosphere

Fraternale, Federico; Adhikari, L.; Fichtner, H.; Kim, T. K.; Kleimann, J.; Oughton, Sean; Pogorelov, N. V.; Roytershteyn, V.; Smith, Charles W.; Usmanov, A. V.; Zank, G. P.; Zhao, Lingling

doi:10.1007/s11214-022-00914-2

Cited by 18 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 424 publications

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“…On the other hand, fast neutral atoms born in the supersonic SW and slower, but hotter, atoms born in the inner heliosheath (IHS, the region between the termination shock, TS, and the HP) are able to reach the LISM up to distances of ∼1000 au before being ionized. In this way, the LISM is heated and decelerated by the interaction with the neutral SW, which affects the formation of a bow shock (BS), the magnetic and velocity fields, the distribution and the nature of turbulence in that region (e.g., Fraternale et al 2022), cosmic rays of energy as large as 10 TeV (Zhang & Pogorelov 2016;Zhang et al 2020), etc. The part of the LISM modified by the presence of the heliosphere, regardless of what physical processes are responsible for this modification and which quantities are affected, is now commonly called the very local interstellar medium (VLISM; see the evolution of this term in Zank 2015 and.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Electrons and Helium Atoms in Global Modeling of the Heliosphere

Fraternale

Pogorelov

Bera

2023

ApJ

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We present a new three-dimensional, MHD-plasma/kinetic-neutrals model of the solar wind (SW) interaction with the local interstellar medium (LISM), which self-consistently includes neutral hydrogen and helium atoms. This new model also treats electrons as a separate fluid and includes the effect of Coulomb collisions. While the properties of electrons in the distant SW and in the LISM are mostly unknown due to the lack of in situ observations, a common assumption for any global, single-ion model is to assume that electrons have the temperature of the ion mixture, which includes pickup ions. In the new model, electrons in the SW are colder, which results in a better agreement with New Horizons observations in the supersonic SW. In the LISM, however, ions and electrons are almost in thermal equilibrium. As for the plasma mixture, the major differences between the models are in the inner heliosheath, where the new model predicts a charge-exchange-driven cooling and a decrease of the heliosheath thickness. The filtration of interstellar neutral atoms at the heliospheric interface is discussed. The new model predicts an increase in the H density by ∼2% at 1 au. However, the fraction of pristine H atoms decreases by ∼12%, while the density of atoms born in the outer and inner heliosheath increases by 5% and ∼35%, respectively. While at 1 au the density of He atoms remains unchanged, the contribution from the “warm breeze” increases by ∼3%.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Electrons and Helium Atoms in Global Modeling of the Heliosphere

Fraternale

Pogorelov

Bera

2023

ApJ

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“…The solar wind expands from the Sun and interacts with the neutral gas in the VLISM to form the heliosphere. In situ observations by the Voyagers and New Horizon, and remote neutral atom measurements by IBEX strongly suggest that turbulence is one of the critical processes acting at the heliospheric interface (Fraternale et al, 2022). This interaction also serves as a model for how stellar winds interact with their VLISM to form astrospheres, but is further complicated by the inflow of neutral VLISM gas.…”

Section: Stella Q1: What Is the Composition Of The Vlism Gas?mentioning

confidence: 99%

STELLA—Potential European contributions to a NASA-led interstellar probe

Wimmer‐Schweingruber

André

Barabash

et al. 2022

Front. Astron. Space Sci.

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The discovery of a myriad of exoplanets in the past decades has revolutionized the understanding of our place in the Universe. How different are exoplants and do some of them harbor life, just like Earth? To do so, their parent stars must drive a stellar wind and carve what we call astrospheres into the surrounding interstellar medium. Astrospheres are ubiquitous in our immediate neighborhood and show similar structure to our heliosphere. Voyager 1 and 2, Ulysses, Cassini, and IBEX have shown that the interaction between interstellar medium and solar wind is much more complex and involved than previously believed. This stellar-interstellar interaction is key to understand astrospheres and the shielding they provide to the planetary systems they harbor. This article summarizes a whitepaper that was submitted to NASA’s 2023/2024 decadal survey which is being conducted by the US National Academies. It is based in parts on a proposal submitted to the European Space Agency (ESA) in response to its 2021 call for medium-class mission proposals. The whitepaper and this article propose to study the interaction described above in situ at the heliospheric boundaries and to explore the very local interstellar medium beyond. Furthermore, they highlight possible European contributions to a NASA-led Interstellar Probe (ISP).

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“…It is important to stress that turbulence transport models applicable beyond the HTS have not been developed yet (Oughton and Engelbrecht, 2021), even though the first steps have been taken (Fichtner et al, 2020). The outer heliosphere is an ideal laboratory for addressing these questions, as discussed in details in a recent review paper by Fraternale et al (2022a).…”

Section: Compressible Turbulencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…This figure also shows the limits of magnetic field measurements, and some of the typical scales associated with the thermal plasma, energetic particles and Coulomb collisions. The properties of turbulence evolve with distance and are reviewed in Fraternale et al (2022a). The current consensus, built on observational evidence and theoretical analyses, is that the observed turbulence is forced by the SWdriven motion of the HP and superimposed on the pristine LISM turbulence (Zank et al, 2017;Matsukiyo et al, 2019).…”

Section: Data-driven Approaches Throughout the Heliospherementioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring turbulence from the Sun to the local interstellar medium: Current challenges and perspectives for future space missions

Fraternale

Zhao

Pogorelov

et al. 2022

Front. Astron. Space Sci.

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Turbulence is ubiquitous in space plasmas. It is one of the most important subjects in heliospheric physics, as it plays a fundamental role in the solar wind—local interstellar medium interaction and in controlling energetic particle transport and acceleration processes. Understanding the properties of turbulence in various regions of the heliosphere with vastly different conditions can lead to answers to many unsolved questions opened up by observations of the magnetic field, plasma, pickup ions, energetic particles, radio and UV emissions, and so on. Several space missions have helped us gain preliminary knowledge on turbulence in the outer heliosphere and the very local interstellar medium. Among the past few missions, the Voyagers have paved the way for such investigations. This paper summarizes the open challenges and voices our support for the development of future missions dedicated to the study of turbulence throughout the heliosphere and beyond.

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Turbulence in the Outer Heliosphere

Cited by 18 publications

References 424 publications

The Role of Electrons and Helium Atoms in Global Modeling of the Heliosphere

The Role of Electrons and Helium Atoms in Global Modeling of the Heliosphere

STELLA—Potential European contributions to a NASA-led interstellar probe

Exploring turbulence from the Sun to the local interstellar medium: Current challenges and perspectives for future space missions

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