Physics – Plasma Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010agufmsh24a..03s&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2010, abstract #SH24A-03
Physics
Plasma Physics
[2126] Interplanetary Physics / Heliosphere/Interstellar Medium Interactions, [7500] Solar Physics, Astrophysics, And Astronomy, [7823] Space Plasma Physics / Ionization Processes
Scientific paper
Most of what we know about the interstellar medium (ISM) of our Galaxy comes from observations that, by their nature, involve integrations over long lines of sight. The Local (within ~100 pc) and Very Local (within ~15 pc) ISM is an exception to this rule, with data available on regions localized to a few pc and sub-pc scales and even AU scales for in situ measurements of interstellar matter within the solar system. The additional advantage of having many lines of sight passing through the same interstellar cloud gives us valuable constraints on the properties on the nearest ISM. Recent data on the size and shape of the heliosphere further constrains the density and magnetic field in the Very Local ISM (VLISM). Combining all of the available data in a consistent theoretical framework nevertheless requires a variety of assumptions, e.g. on how close to equilibrium ionization the clouds are and the details of the ionizing radiation field. I will present the state of our knowledge of the LISM and discuss the models needed to interpret and fill in gaps in the data.
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