Heidelberg 2006 – scientific programme
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EP: Extraterrestrische Physik
EP 12: Heliosph
äre: Fernerkundung
EP 12.2: Fachvortrag
Wednesday, March 15, 2006, 14:30–14:45, B
ALL-SKY ENA FLUX MAPS FOR IBEX FROM 3D MODELLING — •Oliver Sternal1, Klaus Scherer1, Horst Fichtner1, and Hans Fahr2 — 1Institut für theoretische Physik IV, Ruhr-Universität Bochum — 2Institut für Astrophysik und extraterrestrische Forschung, Universität Bonn
The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) will measure energetic neutral atoms (ENAs), which are mainly produced by charge exchange processes between protons and interstellar hydrogen in the inner heliosheath. On the basis of a 3D model of the heliosphere (Bochum code), we have extended the 2D computations with the Bonn model to derive all-sky ENA flux maps. According to these studies, there are at least three seed populations that contribute significantly to the total ENA flux in the energy range to be observed by IBEX, namely the shocked, i.e. heated, solar wind protons and the pick-up ions (PUIs) upstream and downstream of the termination shock. While the solar wind contribution can be directly obtained from the Bochum code, that due to the PUIs can be approximated. The resulting all-sky ENA flux maps enable us to study their sensitivity to different structures of the heliospheric interface and to compare them with forthcoming IBEX maps.