What space missions instruments may see at the heliospheric interface?
Abstract
In the future, the scientific community is expecting a new generation deep space mission with multiple instruments onboard (IBEX -Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or the Interstellar Probe Mission, etc.) This opportunity provides a big challenge for theoreticians dealing with the numerical simulations of these interactions and, in particular, of the heliospheric interface. The 3D MHD models of the solar wind - interstellar plasma interaction including in a self-consistent way interactions of various populations of plasma and neutral particles should be ready to confront their results with the forthcoming data that will be obtained from space missions. Meanwhile, in the near future, predictions made by sophisticated theoretical models should help refine the goals and optimize the capabilities of the instruments that will explore the far heliosphere and the local ISM. In this paper we address questions about physical interpretation of numerical results obtained by three-dimensional MHD simulations of the interaction between the solar wind and the interstellar medium. We discuss configurations of the heliospheric interface shaped by the influence of the strength and orientation of the interstellar magnetic field in the presence of the neutral particles and interplanetary magnetic field.
- Publication:
-
35th COSPAR Scientific Assembly
- Pub Date:
- 2004
- Bibcode:
- 2004cosp...35.2347R