English

Is Voyager 1 Inside an Interstellar Flux Transfer Event?

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics 2015-06-17 v2

Abstract

Plasma wave observations from Voyager 1 have recently shown large increases in plasma density, to about 0.1 cm^{-3}, consistent with the density of the local interstellar medium. However, corresponding magnetic field observations continue to show the spiral magnetic field direction observed throughout the inner heliosheath. These apparently contradictory observations may be reconciled if Voyager 1 is inside an interstellar flux transfer event - similar to flux transfer events routinely seen at the Earth's magnetopause. If this were the case, Voyager 1 remains inside the heliopause and based on the Voyager 1 observations we can determine the polarity of the interstellar magnetic field for the first time.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1309.6546,
  title  = {Is Voyager 1 Inside an Interstellar Flux Transfer Event?},
  author = {N. A. Schwadron and D. J. McComas},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1309.6546},
  year   = {2015}
}

Comments

10 pages, 1 figures, in press Astrophysical Journal Letters