The nature of the local interstellar magnetic field from IBEX and polarization data

Details The nature of the local interstellar magnetic field from IBEX and polarization data The nature of the local interstellar magnetic field from IBEX and polarization data

Dec 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011agufmsh21c..04f&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #SH21C-04

Physics

[2126] Interplanetary Physics / Heliosphere/Interstellar Medium Interactions, [2144] Interplanetary Physics / Interstellar Gas

Scientific paper

Unprecedented information on interstellar magnetic fields in low density interstellar material is provided by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) discovery of an excess of energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) that forms a complete arc in the sky. This 'ribbon' traces sightlines that are perpendicular to the direction of the interstellar magnetic field (ISMF) draping over the heliosphere. The ISMF direction obtained from fitting polarization vectors of nearby stars, which are polarized by foreground interstellar dust, is within 30 degrees of the direction indicated by the IBEX Ribbon. To within the uncertainties, the ISMF direction obtained from the ENA ribbon agrees with those obtained from astronomical data spanning five orders of magnitude in scale sizes. A consistent picture for the cloud around the heliosphere is obtained by combining the IBEX results, including pressure arguments providing field strength, the predictions for the properties of the interstellar field, plasma, and neutrals from independent heliosphere models, and theoretical astronomical models. This agreement provides a new perspective on low density interstellar clouds. These same constraints are a benchmark for understanding the relation between interstellar magnetic field strengths and cloud densities at the low density regime of the interstellar medium.

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