Abstract
Recently Lallement et al. (2005, Science, 307, 1447) reported that the direction of the flow of interstellar neutral hydrogen in the heliosphere is deflected by ~4° from the direction of the pristine local interstellar gas flow. The most probable physical phenomenon responsible for such a deviation is the interstellar magnetic field inclined to the direction of the interstellar gas flow. In this case the flow of the interstellar charged component is asymmetric and distorted in the region of the solar wind interaction with the local interstellar medium, which is called the heliospheric interface. The interstellar H atoms pass through the heliospheric interface and interact with the plasma component by charge exchange. Some imprints of the asymmetry of the heliospheric plasma interface should be seen in the distribution of the interstellar H atom component. In this letter we explore this scenario quantitatively and demonstrate that our new self-consistent 3D kinetic-MHD model of the solar wind interaction with the magnetized interstellar plasma is able to produce the measured deviation in the case of a rather strong interstellar magnetic field of ~2.5 μ G inclined by ~45° to the direction of interstellar flow.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.