Speaker
Prof.
Nikolai Pogorelov
(University of Alabama in Huntsville)
Description
The heliotail structure is of interest for the analysis of the Lyman–alpha absorption in the direction of the nearby stars, the energetic neutrals (ENA) production, and possibly cosmi ray acceleration. Recent Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) observations revealed rather complex topology of the heliotail (McComas et al. 2013). We performed 3D, MHD-kinetic modeling of the solar wind interaction with the local interstellar medium to analyze the heliotail region to distances up to 5000 AU downstream. We examined the role of the interstellar magnetic field in shaping the heliopause. The heliospheric current sheet behavior and the heliopause instability are analyzed. We determined that the heliopause is noticeably squeezed. We also show that there is no well-defined boundary between the solar wind and the local interstellar medium in at distances greater than 1500 AU.
Primary author
Dr
Sergey Borovikov
(University of Alabama in Huntsville)
Co-authors
Prof.
Jacob Heerikhuisen
(University of Alabama in Huntsville)
Prof.
Nikolai Pogorelov
(University of Alabama in Huntsville)
