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Effects of a local interstellar magnetic field on voyager 1 and 2 observations

Mar, 2006
12 pages
Published in:
  • Astrophys.J.Lett. 640 (2006) L71-L74
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Abstract: (arXiv)
We show that that an interstellar magnetic field can produce a north/south asymmetry in solar wind termination shock. Using Voyager 1 and 2 measurements, we suggest that the angle α\alpha between the interstellar wind velocity and magnetic field is 30∘<α<60∘30^{\circ} < \alpha < 60^{\circ}. The distortion of the shock is such that termination shock particles could stream outward along the spiral interplanetary magnetic field connecting Voyager 1 to the shock when the spacecraft was within ∼2 AU\sim 2~AU of the shock. The shock distortion is larger in the southern hemisphere, and Voyager 2 could be connected to the shock when it is within ∼5 AU\sim 5~AU of the shock, but with particles from the shock streaming inward along the field. Tighter constraints on the interstellar magnetic field should be possible when Voyager 2 crosses the shock in the next several years.
  • interplanetary medium
  • ISM: kinematics and dynamics
  • solar wind
  • Sun: magnetic fields