PLASMA NEAR THE HELIOSHEATH: OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS
Voyager 2 (V2) has observed heliosheath plasma since 2007 August. The plasma flux decreases by 25% before the termination shock (TS), then, as V2 moved into the heliosheath, the plasma density, temperature, and flux all decreased by an additional factor of 2. We suggest three effects combine to caus...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2015
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/95690 |
| _version_ | 1811080304190816256 |
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| author | Wang, C. Richardson, John D. |
| author2 | MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research |
| author_facet | MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research Wang, C. Richardson, John D. |
| author_sort | Wang, C. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Voyager 2 (V2) has observed heliosheath plasma since 2007 August. The plasma flux decreases by 25% before the termination shock (TS), then, as V2 moved into the heliosheath, the plasma density, temperature, and flux all decreased by an additional factor of 2. We suggest three effects combine to cause these decreases. (1) V2 moved into the lower-flux transition region between the low- and high-speed solar wind. This hypothesis is consistent with Ulysses observations of the transition location, explains the 25% decrease in solar wind flux observed before the TS crossing, and can reconcile discrepancies between the V2 and Voyager 1 heliosheath speeds and between the V2 speeds and model results. (2) The weaker source at the Sun. (3) The heliosheath plasma turning and flowing toward the heliotail. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T11:28:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/95690 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T11:28:59Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/956902022-09-27T19:50:45Z PLASMA NEAR THE HELIOSHEATH: OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS Wang, C. Richardson, John D. MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research Richardson, John D. Voyager 2 (V2) has observed heliosheath plasma since 2007 August. The plasma flux decreases by 25% before the termination shock (TS), then, as V2 moved into the heliosheath, the plasma density, temperature, and flux all decreased by an additional factor of 2. We suggest three effects combine to cause these decreases. (1) V2 moved into the lower-flux transition region between the low- and high-speed solar wind. This hypothesis is consistent with Ulysses observations of the transition location, explains the 25% decrease in solar wind flux observed before the TS crossing, and can reconcile discrepancies between the V2 and Voyager 1 heliosheath speeds and between the V2 speeds and model results. (2) The weaker source at the Sun. (3) The heliosheath plasma turning and flowing toward the heliotail. United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Jet Propulsion Laboratory (U.S.). Contract 959203) United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NAG5-8947) United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NNX08AE49G) 2015-02-26T20:34:46Z 2015-02-26T20:34:46Z 2010-02 2009-11 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 2041-8205 2041-8213 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/95690 Richardson, J. D., and C. Wang. “PLASMA NEAR THE HELIOSHEATH: OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS.” The Astrophysical Journal 711, no. 1 (February 11, 2010): L44–L47. © The American Astronomical Society en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/711/1/l44 Astrophysical Journal. Letters Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf IOP Publishing American Astronomical Society |
| spellingShingle | Wang, C. Richardson, John D. PLASMA NEAR THE HELIOSHEATH: OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS |
| title | PLASMA NEAR THE HELIOSHEATH: OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS |
| title_full | PLASMA NEAR THE HELIOSHEATH: OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS |
| title_fullStr | PLASMA NEAR THE HELIOSHEATH: OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS |
| title_full_unstemmed | PLASMA NEAR THE HELIOSHEATH: OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS |
| title_short | PLASMA NEAR THE HELIOSHEATH: OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS |
| title_sort | plasma near the heliosheath observations and interpretations |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/95690 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT wangc plasmaneartheheliosheathobservationsandinterpretations AT richardsonjohnd plasmaneartheheliosheathobservationsandinterpretations |