The Pervasive Influence of the Interstellar Magnetic Field on the Global Heliosphere Revealed By The Interstellar Boundary Explorer

Three years of data from the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) has provided six consecutive all-sky maps of energetic neutral atoms (ENA) from the interaction of the heliosphere with the local interstellar medium (LISM). The IBEX maps reveal globally distributed ENA emissions with a superimposed "ribbon" of enhanced ENA emission. Over half-a-dozen theories are competing to explain the ribbon's true origin. IBEX observations show remarkably rapid time-dependence controlled by the solar conditions in the protracted minimum. The center of the IBEX ribbon is used to infer the LISM magnetic field direction. The separation of IBEX globally distributed emissions from the ribbon shows the deflection of the heliospheric tail toward the interstellar field direction and is used to infer the strength of the interstellar magnetic field and morphology of the termination shock. Both the heliosheath pressure derived from the globally distributed flux and the deflected tail result in a local interstellar magnetic field strength of ~3μG. Remarkably, a similar global ordering seen in the IBEX ribbon appears to be manifest in structures observed in TeV cosmic ray anisotropies. These manifestations of the IBEX ribbon appear to be defined by the deformation of the local interstellar magnetic field around the heliosphere and the local galactic structures to which our heliosphere is magnetically connected. Further, the strong local interstellar magnetic field likely results in conditions where a bow shock fails to form in front of our heliosphere. Thus, IBEX charts the remarkable outer boundaries of our solar system, opening a new paradigm in the magnetically influenced interstellar interactions, and their implications for our cosmic environment.