Hydrogen wall and heliosheath Lyman-alpha absorption toward nearby stars: possible constraints on the heliospheric interface plasma flow

Abstract

In this paper, we study heliospheric Ly-$\alpha$ absorption toward nearby stars in different lines of sight. We use the Baranov-Malama model of the solar wind interaction with a two-component (charged component and H atoms) interstellar medium. Interstellar atoms are described kinetically in the model. The code allows us to separate the heliospheric absorption into two components, produced by H atoms originating in the hydrogen wall and heliosheath regions, respectively. We study the sensitivity of the heliospheric absorption to the assumed interstellar proton and H atom number densities. These theoretical results are compared with interstellar absorption toward six nearby stars observed by the Hubble Space Telescope.

10 pages, accepted for publication in JGR-Space Physics

References in corpus (4)

• Observational Estimates for the Mass-Loss Rates of Alpha Centauri and Proxima Centauri Using HST Lyman-alpha Spectra
• Heliospheric, Astrospheric, and Insterstellar Lyman-alpha Absorption Toward 36 Oph
• Hydrogen Lyman-alpha Absorption Predictions by Boltzmann Models of the Heliosphere
• Ultraviolet observations of Sirius A and Sirius B with HST-GHRS; An interstellar cloud with a possible low deuterium abundance

Cited by in corpus (3)

• New Mass Loss Measurements from Astrospheric Lyman-alpha Absorption
• Dependence of Heliospheric Lyman-alpha Absorption on the Interstellar Magnetic Field
• Effects of angular scattering and H+p, H+H collisions on the properties of interstellar atoms in the heliosphere