Abstract
AbstractIt is possible to deduce LISM properties from observations of interstellar neutral gases in the inner solar system. Parameters accessible by this method are the interstellar wind vector and the densities and temperatures of hydrogen and helium, implying also the deduction of the relative abundance ratios and the degree of ionization in the LISM. Direct inference from observations, for example resonance luminescence measurements of Ly-alpha and He-58.4 nm radiation, yields values appropriate only for the inner solar system, i.e. for the regions within the heliopause dominated by the solar wind plasma.Particularly the subsonic LISM plasma interface ahead of the heliopause causes profound changes in the properties of the neutral LISM gas traversing this region. Mainly p-H charge exchange processes give rise to the destruction of primary hydrogen and the production of secondary hydrogen atoms, the net effect being a depletion of the neutral hydrogen component of the LISM by about 50%.Details on the depletion mechanisms, the hydrogen and oxygen extinctions, and the consequences for the Ly-alpha resonance luminescence intensity interpretations are presented.
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