Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011agufmsh21c..08r&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #SH21C-08
Physics
[2124] Interplanetary Physics / Heliopause And Solar Wind Termination, [2126] Interplanetary Physics / Heliosphere/Interstellar Medium Interactions, [2151] Interplanetary Physics / Neutral Particles
Scientific paper
The ecliptic poles are observed continuously by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX); thus, it is possible to discern temporal variations in the ENAs from the outer heliosphere on time scales much shorter than the time it takes for IBEX to generate a full sky map (6 months). Observations at all energies indicate that the ENA flux from the polar directions incident at Earth has been steadily decreasing for the two-year period from December 2008 through February 2011. The change in flux is energy dependent, varying at the south ecliptic pole from no drop at 0.71 keV, to 70% at 1.1 keV. The decline observed at the north ecliptic pole is as high as 48%, also at 1.1 keV. The trend correlates with the steady decline in solar wind dynamic pressure observed at 1 AU between 2005 and 2009, the likely period when solar wind protons that provide the source for ENAs observed by IBEX would have been outbound from the Sun. We propose a method by which the correlation between the 1 AU solar wind dynamic pressure and the ENA-derived pressure within the inner heliosheath (IHS) can be used to estimate the distance to the termination shock and the thickness of the IHS in the direction of the ecliptic poles. We estimate the TS distances to be 110 AU and 134 AU at the south and north poles, respectively, and the corresponding IHS thicknesses to be 55 AU and 82 AU, respectively.
Allegrini Frederic
Bzowski Maciej
Crew Geoff B.
DeMajistre Robert
Frisch Priscilla C.
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