Reconnection at the Heliopause and the Motion of Energetic Particles in the Outer Heliosphere
Abstract
At the heliopause the uni-directional interstellar magnetic field abuts the piled-up sectored magnetic field and multiple current sheets of the heliosheath. Reconnection of these fields provides a natural pathway for energetic particles (e.g., anomalous cosmic rays produced in the heliosphere and galactic cosmic rays produced outside) to move across the heliopause. Here we report on 2D particle-in-cell simulations of this system that self-consistently include a small number of energetic particles designed to mimic these energetic particles. Reconnection occurs at multiple current layers within the heliosheath and leads to the formation of a bath of magnetic bubbles. By tracing the trajectories of energetic particles through this bath we show that their propagation acquires some characteristics of a random walk. We discuss the implications for this behavior on the detection and propagation of energetic particles throughout the outer heliosphere.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2011
- Bibcode:
- 2011AGUFMSH11B1924S
- Keywords:
-
- 2124 INTERPLANETARY PHYSICS / Heliopause and solar wind termination;
- 2126 INTERPLANETARY PHYSICS / Heliosphere/interstellar medium interactions;
- 7524 SOLAR PHYSICS;
- ASTROPHYSICS;
- AND ASTRONOMY / Magnetic fields;
- 7526 SOLAR PHYSICS;
- ASTROPHYSICS;
- AND ASTRONOMY / Magnetic reconnection