The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) has obtained all-sky images of energetic neutral atoms emitted from the heliosheath, located between the solar wind termination shock and the local ...interstellar medium (LISM). These flux maps reveal distinct nonthermal (0.2 to 6 kilo-electron volts) heliosheath proton populations with spectral signatures ordered predominantly by ecliptic latitude. The maps show a globally distributed population of termination-shock-heated protons and a superimposed ribbonlike feature that forms a circular arc in the sky centered on ecliptic coordinate (longitude λ, latitude β) = (221°, 39°), probably near the direction of the LISM magnetic field. Over the IBEX energy range, the ribbon's nonthermal ion pressure multiplied by its radial thickness is in the range of 70 to 100 picodynes per square centimeter AU (AU, astronomical unit), which is significantly larger than the 30 to 60 picodynes per square centimeter AU of the globally distributed population.
All planetary materials sampled thus far vary in their relative abundance of the major isotope of oxygen, 16 O, such that it has not been possible to define a primordial solar system composition. We ...measured the oxygen isotopic composition of solar wind captured and returned to Earth by NASA's Genesis mission. Our results demonstrate that the Sun is highly enriched in 16 O relative to the Earth, Moon, Mars, and bulk meteorites. Because the solar photosphere preserves the average isotopic composition of the solar system for elements heavier than lithium, we conclude that essentially all rocky materials in the inner solar system were enriched in 17 O and 18 O, relative to 16 O, by ∼7%, probably via non—mass-dependent chemistry before accretion of the first planetesimals.
A survey of the bulk plasma ion properties observed by the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer instrument over roughly the first 4.5 years of its mission in orbit around Saturn is presented. The moments ...(density, temperature, and flow velocity) of the plasma distributions below 50 keV have been computed by numerical integration of the observed counts in the “Singles” (non‐mass‐resolved) data, partitioned into species on the basis of concurrent determinations of the composition from the time‐of‐flight data. Moments are presented for three main species: H+, W+ (water group ions), and ions with m/q = 2, which are presumed to be H2+. While the survey extends to radial distances of 30 RS and thus includes some solar wind or magnetosheath values, our principal interest is the large‐scale spatial variation of the magnetospheric plasma properties, so we focus attention on radial distances inside of 17 RS. Principal findings include the following: (1) the densities of all three components are highly variable but are generally well organized by dipole L and magnetic latitude; (2) the density of ions with m/q = 2 varies from a few percentage of the H+ density in the inner magnetosphere to a maximum of several tens of percentage near the orbit of Titan, suggesting that Titan is an important source for H2+ in the outer magnetosphere; (3) water group ions are the dominant population in the inner magnetosphere, but only within ∼3 RS of the equatorial plane because of their strong centrifugal confinement; (4) derived latitudinal scale heights are largest for the light ions and generally increase with radial distance; (5) the L dependence of the calculated temperatures is not consistent with adiabatic transport but is in fair agreement with the expectations for plasma originating from ion pickup; (6) in agreement with the findings of Sergis et al. (2010), inside of L ∼ 11, the particle pressure is dominated by ions with energies below a few keV; (7) the derived flow velocities reveal the global circulation pattern of relatively dense populations in the magnetosphere, with no evidence for return circulation from the nightside to the dayside beyond ∼20 RS; and (8) the azimuthal flow speeds are typically less than full corotation over the entire L range examined, varying from ∼50% to 70% of full corotation.
First data from NASA's Interstellar Boundary EXplorer (IBEX) mission show a striking 'ribbon' feature of enhanced energetic neutral atom (ENA) emission. The enhancement in flux is between 2 and 3 ...times greater than adjacent regions of the sky. Yet the spectral index of ENAs appears to be the same both inside and outside the ribbon. While the ribbon itself was not predicted by any models of the heliospheric interface, its geometry appears to be related to the predicted interstellar magnetic field (ISMF) outside the heliopause (HP). In this Letter, we examine a process of ENA emission from the outer heliosheath, based on a source population of non-isotropic pick-up ions that themselves originate as ENAs from inside the HP. We find that our simplistic approach yields a ribbon of enhanced ENA fluxes as viewed from the inner heliosphere with a spatial location and ENA flux similar to the IBEX measurements, with the provision that the ions retain a partial shell distribution long enough for the ions to be neutralized. As a corollary, our idealized simulation of this mechanism suggests that ISMF is likely oriented close to the center of the observed ribbon.
Our heliosphere-the bubble in the local interstellar medium produced by the Sun's outflowing solar wind-has finally responded to a large increase in solar wind output and pressure in the second half ...of 2014. NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) mission remotely monitors the outer heliosphere by observing energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) returning from the heliosheath, the region between the termination shock and heliopause. IBEX observed a significant enhancement in higher energy ENAs starting in late 2016. While IBEX observations over the previous decade reflected a general reduction of ENA intensities, indicative of a deflating heliosphere, new observations show that the large (∼50%), persistent increase in the solar wind dynamic pressure has modified the heliosheath, producing enhanced ENA emissions. The combination of these new observations with simulation results indicate that this pressure is re-expanding our heliosphere, with the termination shock and heliopause already driven outward in the locations closest to the Sun. The timing between the IBEX observations, a large transient pressure enhancement seen by Voyager 2, and the simulations indicates that the pressure increase propagated through the heliosheath, reflected off the heliopause, and the enhanced density of the solar wind filled the heliosheath behind it before generating significantly enhanced ENA emissions. The coming years should see significant changes in anomalous cosmic rays, galactic cosmic radiation, and the filtration of interstellar neutral atoms into the inner heliosphere.
Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) measurements of energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) from the heliotail show a multi-lobe structure of ENA fluxes as a function of energy between ∼0.71 and 4.29 keV. ...Below ∼2 keV, there is a single structure of enhanced ENA fluxes centered near the downwind direction. Above ∼2 keV, this structure separates into two lobes, one north and one south of the solar equatorial plane. ENA flux from these two lobes can be interpreted as originating from the fast solar wind (SW) propagating through the inner heliosheath (IHS). Alternatively, a recently published model of the heliosphere suggests that the heliotail may split into a "croissant-like" shape, and that such a geometry could be responsible for the heliotail ENA feature. Here we present results from a time-dependent simulation of the heliosphere that produces a comet-like heliotail, and show that the 11-year solar cycle leads to the formation of ENA lobes with properties remarkably similar to those observed by IBEX. The ENA energy at which the north and south lobes appear suggests that the pickup ion (PUI) temperature in the slow SW of the IHS is ∼107 K. Moreover, we demonstrate that the extinction of PUIs by charge-exchange is an essential process required to create the observed global ENA structure. While the shape and locations of the ENA lobes as a function of energy are well reproduced by PUIs that cross the termination shock, the results appear to be sensitive to the form of the distribution of PUIs injected in the IHS.
Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental process in solar system and astrophysical plasmas, through which stored magnetic energy associated with current sheets is converted into thermal, kinetic and ...wave energy14. Magnetic reconnection is also thought to be a key process involved in shedding internally produced plasma from the giant magnetospheres at Jupiter and Saturn through topological reconguration of the magnetic eld5,6. The region where magnetic elds reconnect is known as the diusion region and in this letter we report on the rst encounter of the Cassini spacecraft with a diusion region in Saturns magnetotail. The data also show evidence of magnetic reconnection over a period of 19 h revealing that reconnection can, in fact, act for prolonged intervals in a rapidly rotating magnetosphere. We show that reconnection can be a signicant pathway for internal plasma loss at Saturn6. This counters the view of reconnection as a transient method of internal plasma loss at Saturn5,7. These results, although directly relating to the magnetosphere of Saturn, have applications in the understanding of other rapidly rotating magnetospheres, including that of Jupiter and other astrophysical bodies.
In late 2014, the solar wind dynamic pressure increased by ∼50% over a relatively short time (∼6 months). In early 2017, the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) observed an increase in heliospheric ...energetic neutral atom (ENA) fluxes from directions near the front of the heliosphere. These enhanced ENA emissions resulted from the increase in SW pressure propagating through the inner heliosheath (IHS), affecting the IHS plasma pressure and emission of ∼keV ENA fluxes. We expand on the analysis by McComas et al. on the effects of this pressure change on ENA fluxes observed at 1 au using a three-dimensional, time-dependent simulation of the heliosphere. The pressure front has likely already crossed the termination shock (TS) in all directions, but ENA fluxes observed at 1 au will change over the coming years, as the TS, heliopause, and IHS plasma pressure continue to change in response to the SW pressure increase. Taken in isolation, the pressure front creates a "ring" of increasing ENA fluxes projected in the sky that expands in angular radius over time, as a function of the distances to the heliosphere boundaries and the ENA propagation speed. By tracking the position of this ring over time in our simulation, we demonstrate a method for estimating the distances to the TS, heliopause, and ENA source region that can be applied to IBEX data. This will require IBEX observations at 4.3 keV up through ∼2020, and longer times at lower ENA energies, in order to observe significant changes from the heliotail.
The first all‐sky maps of Energetic Neutral Atoms (ENAs) from the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) exhibited smoothly varying, globally distributed flux and a narrow “ribbon” of enhanced ENA ...emissions. In this study we compare the second set of sky maps to the first in order to assess the possibility of temporal changes over the 6 months between views of each portion of the sky. While the large‐scale structure is generally stable between the two sets of maps, there are some remarkable changes that show that the heliosphere is also evolving over this short timescale. In particular, we find that (1) the overall ENA emissions coming from the outer heliosphere appear to be slightly lower in the second set of maps compared to the first, (2) both the north and south poles have significantly lower (∼10–15%) ENA emissions in the second set of maps compared to the first across the energy range from 0.5 to 6 keV, and (3) the “knot” in the northern portion of the ribbon in the first maps is less bright and appears to have spread and/or dissipated by the time the second set was acquired. Finally, the spatial distribution of fluxes in the southernmost portion of the ribbon has evolved slightly, perhaps moving as much as 6° (one map pixel) equatorward on average. The observed large‐scale stability and these systematic changes at smaller spatial scales provide important new information about the outer heliosphere and its global interaction with the galaxy and help inform possible mechanisms for producing the IBEX ribbon.
Abstract
The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) has been observing the outer heliosphere and its interactions with the very local interstellar medium (VLISM) via measurements of energetic neutral ...atoms (ENAs) for over 14 yr. We discovered the IBEX Ribbon—a structure completely unanticipated by any prior theory or model—that almost certainly resides beyond the heliopause in the VLISM. We also characterized the other major source of heliospheric ENAs, the globally distributed flux (GDF), produced largely in the heliosheath between the termination shock and heliopause. In this study, we make three major new contributions. First, we validate, provide, and analyze the most recent 3 yr of IBEX-Hi (0.5–6 keV FWHM) data (2020–2022) for the first time. Second, we link these observations to the prior 11 yr of observations, exploring long-term variations. Finally, we provide the first IBEX team-validated Ribbon/GDF separation scheme and separated maps. Because of the uncertainty in separating different line-of-sight integrated sources, we provide not just best guess (median) maps, but also maps with upper and lower reasonable values of Ribbon and GDF fluxes, along with bounding fluxes that add the uncertainties to the upper and lower values. This allows theories and models to be compared with a range of possible values that the IBEX team believes are consistent with data. These observations, along with the reanalysis of the prior 11 yr of IBEX-Hi data, provide new insights and even further develop our detailed understanding of the heliosphere’s interaction with the local interstellar medium unlocked by IBEX.
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