An estimate of the nearby interstellar magnetic field using neutral atoms

Abstract

The strength and orientation of the magnetic field in the nearby interstellar medium have remained elusive, despite continual improvements in observations and models. Data from NASA's Voyager mission and the Solar Wind ANisotropies (SWAN) experiment on board Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) have placed observational constraints on the magnetic field, and the more recent Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) data appear to also bear an imprint of the interstellar magnetic field (ISMF). In this paper, we combine computational models of the heliosphere with data from Voyager, SOHO/SWAN, and IBEX to estimate both the strength and direction of the nearby ISMF. On the basis of our simulations, we find that a field strength of 2-3 μG pointing from ecliptic coordinates (220-224, 39-44), combined with an interstellar hydrogen density of 0.15cm-3, produces results most consistent with observations. © 2011. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved..