On the Geometry of the IBEX Ribbon
arXiv:1508.07815 · doi:10.1088/0004-637X/811/2/150
Abstract
The Energetic Neutral Atom (ENA) full-sky maps obtained with the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) show an unexpected bright narrow band of increased intensity. This so-called ENA ribbon results from charge exchange of interstellar neutral atoms with protons in the outer heliosphere or beyond. Amongst other hypotheses it has been argued that this ribbon may be related to a neutral density enhancement, or H-wave, in the local interstellar medium. Here we quantitatively demonstrate, on the basis of an analytical model of the principal large-scale heliospheric structure, that this scenario for the ribbon formation leads to results that are fully consistent with the observed location of the ribbon in the full-sky maps at all energies detected with high-energy sensor IBEX-Hi.
8 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication at ApJ
References in corpus (4)
Cited by in corpus (6)
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- Concerning pressure and entropy of shock-accelerated heliosheath electrons
- An empirical model of Energetic Neutral Atom imaging of the heliosphere and its implications for future heliospheric missions at great heliocentric distances
- An Exact, Time-dependent Analytical Solution for the Magnetic Field in the Inner Heliosheath