Data Release 9

Direct Sampling the Local Interstellar Medium

ABSTRACT
The interstellar medium arises from material ejected as stellar winds and from cataclysmic phenomena such as novae and supernovae. The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) directly observes neutral atoms from the local interstellar medium surrounding the Sun that penetrate our heliosphere and survive into Earth’s orbit. This material is partially ionized and the ions and neutrals interact with each other, coupling these components together and allowing various aspects of the plasma interactions between the interstellar medium and heliosphere to also imprint themselves onto the observed neutral atom distributions.

IBEX interstellar neutral observations now span six years (2009-2014) and provide a wealth of new information about the very local interstellar medium and its heliospheric interaction. In this Astrophysical Journal Supplement special issue, we collect together 14 new studies that describe the IBEX interstellar neutral results over this interval and provide other supporting and relevant observational and theoretical results. The first paper in this issue, McComas et al. 2015, lists the titles and first authors of each of the contributions; that paper also provides an overview and summary of the entire special issue and recommends the best combined interstellar parameters currently available for other researchers to use for theory and modeling studies. Each of the papers in this special issue provides great insight into various detailed aspects of the observations, interpretations, and theories related to IBEX’s unique interstellar neutral data set.

Collectively, the 14 studies in this special issue, along with the prior papers, open a completely new window on the local interstellar medium in terms of its composition, properties, and even the processes at work in the interstellar region around our heliosphere. These observations provide the ground truth for understanding the interstellar medium more generally, which is critical for stellar and planetary system formation. They also inform the formation of astrospheres around other stars and a deeper understanding of the tenuous material throughout our galaxy and the other galaxies beyond.

Local Interstellar Medium: Six Years of Direct Sampling by IBEX

by McComas et al.

Abstract: The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) has been directly observing neutral atoms from the local interstellar medium for the last six years (2009–2014). This paper ties together the 14 studies in this Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series Special Issue, which collectively describe the IBEX interstellar neutral results from this epoch and provide a number of other relevant theoretical and observational results. Interstellar neutrals interact with each other and with the ionized portion of the interstellar population in the "pristine" interstellar medium ahead of the heliosphere. Then, in the heliosphere's close vicinity, the interstellar medium begins to interact with escaping heliospheric neutrals. In this study, we compare the results from two major analysis approaches led by IBEX groups in New Hampshire and Warsaw. We also directly address the question of the distance upstream to the pristine interstellar medium and adjust both sets of results to a common distance of ~1000 AU. The two analysis approaches are quite different, but yield fully consistent measurements of the interstellar He flow properties, further validating our findings. While detailed error bars are given for both approaches, we recommend that for most purposes, the community use "working values" of ~25.4 km s−1, ~75.7 degree ecliptic inflow longitude, ~ −5.1 degree ecliptic inflow latitude, and ~7500 K temperature at ~1000 AU upstream. Finally, we briefly address future opportunities for even better interstellar neutral observations to be provided by the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe mission, which was recommended as the next major Heliophysics mission by the NRC's 2013 Decadal Survey.

Determination of Interstellar He Parameters using 5 years of data from the Interstellar Boundary Explorer – beyond closed form approximations

by Schwadron et al.

Abstract: Interstellar He represents a key sample of interstellar matter that, due to its high first ionization potential, survives the journey from beyond our solar system’s heliospheric boundaries to Earth. Ongoing analysis of interstellar neutral (ISN) He atoms by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) has resulted in a growing sophistication in our understanding of local interstellar flow. A key feature of the IBEX observations near perihelion of the ISN trajectories is a narrow “tube” of approximately degenerate interstellar parameters. These degenerate solutions provide a tightly coupled relationship between interstellar flow longitude and latitude, speed, and temperature. However, IBEX analysis resulting in a specific solution for inflow longitude, inflow speed, temperature and inflow latitude was accompanied with a sizeable uncertainty along the parameter tube. Here, we use the three-step method to find the interstellar parameters: 1) the ISN He peak rate in ecliptic longitude determines uniquely a relation (as part of the tube in parameter space) between the longitude λISN∞ and the speed VISN∞ of the He ISN flow at infinity; 2) the ISN He peak latitude (on the great circle swept out in each spin) is compared to simulations to derive unique values for λISN∞ and VISN∞ along the parameter tube; 3) the angular width of the He flow distributions as a function of latitude is used to derive the interstellar He temperature. For simulated peak latitudes, we use a relatively new analytical tool that traces He atoms from beyond the termination shock into the position of IBEX and incorporates the detailed response function of IBEX-Lo. By varying interstellar parameters along the IBEX parameter tube, we find the specific parameters that minimize the chi-square difference between observations and simulations. The new computational tool for simulating neutral atoms through the integrated IBEX-Lo response function makes no assumptions or expansions with respect to spin axis pointing or frame of reference. Thus, we are capable of moving beyond closed form approximations and utilize observations of interstellar He during the complete 5 year period from 2009 to 2013 when the primary component of interstellar He is most prominent. Chi-square minimization of simulations compared to observations results in a He ISN flow longitude 75.6 degrees ± 1.40 degrees, latitude −5.12 degrees ± 0.27 degrees , speed 25.4 ± 1.1 km/s, and temperature 8000 ± 1300 K, where the uncertainties are related and apply along the IBEX parameter tube. This paper also provides documentation for a new release of ISN data and associated model runs.

Interstellar Neutral Helium in the Heliosphere from IBEX Observations. III. Mach number of the flow, velocity vector, and temperature from the first six years of measurements

by Bzowski et al.

Abstract: We analyzed observations of interstellar neutral helium (ISN He) obtained from the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) satellite during its first six years of operation. We used a refined version of the ISN He simulation model, presented in the companion paper by Sok´oł et al. (2015a), and a sophisticated data correlation and uncertainty system and parameter fitting method, described in the companion paper by Swaczyna et al. (2015). We analyzed the entire data set together and the yearly subsets, and found the temperature and velocity vector of ISN He in front of the heliosphere. As seen in the previous studies, the allowable parameters are highly correlated and form a four-dimensional tube in the parameter space. The inflow longitudes obtained from the yearly data subsets show a spread of ~6°, with the other parameters varying accordingly along the parameter tube, and the minimum X2 value is larger than expected. We found, however, that the Mach number of the ISN He flow shows very little scatter and is thus very tightly constrained. It is in excellent agreement with the original analysis of ISN He observations from IBEX and recent reanalyses of observations from Ulysses. We identify a possible inaccuracy in the Warm Breeze parameters as the likely cause of the scatter in the ISN He parameters obtained from the yearly subsets, and we suppose that another component may exist in the signal, or a process that is not accounted for in the current physical model of ISN He in front of the heliosphere. From our analysis, the inflow velocity vector, temperature, and Mach number of the flow are equal to λISNHe = 255.8° ± 0.5°, βISNHe = 5.16° ± 0.10°, TISNHe = 7440 ±260 K, vISNHe = 25.8 ± 0.4 km s-1, and MISNHe = 5.079 ± 0.028, with uncertainties strongly correlated along the parameter tube.

Interstellar Flow and Temperature Determination with IBEX: Robustness and Sensitivity to Systematic Effects

by Möbius et al.

Abstract: The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) samples the interstellar neutral (ISN) gas flow of several species every year from December through late March when the Earth moves into the incoming flow. The first quantitative analyses of these data resulted in a narrow tube in four-dimensional interstellar parameter space, which couples speed, flow latitude, flow longitude, and temperature, and center values with approximately 3° larger longitude and 3 km s-1 lower speed, but with temperature similar to that obtained from observations by the Ulysses spacecraft. IBEX has now recorded six years of ISN flow observations, providing a large database over increasing solar activity and using varying viewing strategies. In this paper, we evaluate systematic effects that are important for the ISN flow vector and temperature determination. We find that all models in use return ISN parameters well within the observational uncertainties and that the derived ISN flow direction is resilient against uncertainties in the ionization rate. We establish observationally an effective IBEX-Lo pointing uncertainty of ±0.18° in spin angle and confirm an uncertainty of ±0.1° in longitude. We also show that the IBEX viewing strategy with different spin-axis orientations minimizes the impact of several systematic uncertainties, and thus improves the robustness of the measurement. The Helium Warm Breeze has likely contributed substantially to the somewhat different center values of the ISN flow vector. By separating the flow vector and temperature determination, we can mitigate these effects on the analysis, which returns an ISN flow vector very close to the Ulysses results, but with a substantially higher temperature. Due to coupling with the ISN flow speed along the ISN parameter tube, we provide the temperature TVISN∞ = 8710 +440/ -680 K for VISN∞ = 26 km s-1 for comparison, where most of the uncertainty is systematic and likely due to the presence of the Warm Breeze.

Interstellar Neutral Helium in the Heliosphere from IBEX Observations. II. The Warsaw Test Particle Model (WTPM)

by J. M. Sokół, et al.

Abstract: We have developed a refined and optimized version of the Warsaw Test Particle Model of interstellar neutral gas in the heliosphere, specially tailored for analysis of IBEX-Lo observations. The former version of the model was used in the analysis of neutral He observed by IBEX that resulted in an unexpected conclusion that the interstellar neutral He flow vector was different than previously thought and that a new population of neutral He, dubbed the Warm Breeze, exists in the heliosphere. It was also used in the reanalysis of Ulysses observations that confirmed the original findings on the flow vector, but suggested a significantly higher temperature. The present version model has two strains targeted for different applications, based on an identical paradigm, but differing in the implementation and in the treatment of ionization losses. We present the model in detail and discuss numerous effects related to the measurement process that potentially modify the resulting flux of ISN He observed by IBEX, and identify those of them that should not be omitted in the simulations to avoid biasing the results. This paper is part of a coordinated series of papers presenting the current state of analysis of IBEX-Lo observations of ISN He. Details of the analysis method are presented by Swaczyna et al. (2015), and results of the analysis are presented by Bzowski et al. (2015).

Interstellar Neutral Helium in the Heliosphere from IBEX Observations. I. Uncertainties and Backgrounds In the Data and Parameter Determination Method

by Swaczyna et al.

Abstract: This paper is one of three companion papers presenting the results of our in-depth analysis of the interstellar neutral helium (ISN He) observations carried out using the IBEX-Lo during the rst six Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX ) observation seasons. We derive corrections for losses due to the limited throughput of the interface buer and determine the IBEX spin-axis pointing. We develop an uncertainty system for the data, taking into account the resulting correlations between the data points. This system includes uncertainties due to Poisson statistics, background, spin-axis determination, systematic deviation of the boresight from the prescribed position, correction for the interface buer losses, and the expected Warm Breeze (WB) signal. Subsequently, we analyze the data from 2009 to examine the role of various components of the uncertainty system. We show that the ISN He ow parameters are in good agreement with the values obtained by the original analysis. We identify the WB as the principal contributor to the global 2 values in previous analyses. Other uncertainties have a much milder role and their contributions are comparable to each other. The application of this uncertainty system reduced the minimum 2 value 4-fold. The obtained 2 value, still exceeding the expected value, suggests that either the uncertainty system may still be incomplete or the adopted physical model lacks a potentially important element, which is likely an imperfect determination of the WB parameters. The derived corrections and uncertainty system are used in the accompanying paper by Bzowski et al. in an analysis of the data from six seasons.

Statistical Analysis of the Heavy Neutral Atoms Measured by IBEX

by Park et al.

Abstract: We investigate the directional distribution of heavy neutral atoms in the heliosphere by using heavy neutral maps generated with the IBEX -Lo instrument over three years from 2009 to 2011. The interstellar neutral (ISN) O&Ne gas ow was found in the first-year heavy neutral map at 601 keV and its ow direction and temperature were studied. However, due to the low counting statistics, researchers have not treated the full sky maps in detail. The main goal of this study is to evaluate the statistical significance of each pixel in the heavy neutral maps to get a better understanding of the directional distribution of heavy neutral atoms in the heliosphere. Here, we examine three statistical analysis methods: the signal-to-noise filter, the confidence limit method, and the cluster analysis method. These methods allow us to exclude background from areas where the heavy neutral signal is statistically significant. These methods also allow the consistent detection of heavy neutral atom structures. The main emission feature expands toward lower longitude and higher latitude from the observational peak of the ISN O&Ne gas ow. We call this emission the extended tail. It may be an imprint of the secondary oxygen atoms generated by charge exchange between ISN hydrogen atoms and oxygen ions in the outer heliosheath.

IBEX-Lo Interstellar Neutral Histogram Counts and Direct Event Counts

by David Heirtzler.

Data description: Interstellar neutral (ISN) histogram and direct event counts for each of the 60 IBEX-Lo angular bins. The data includes start and end times for each 512 spin period in GPS time as well as total accumulation times. Data files are in CSV format and are labelled according to their IBEX orbit and orbit arc. Data are collected for periods within the ISN goodtimes. The analyses of the IBEX He and H ISN flow distributions within this release are based on these data sets.

Accumulated direct event data must meet the following criteria:

Golden triples
“Hydrogen” time-of-flight
Energy Steps 1-3 are included during non-special mode periods.

ISN data product QA checks:

All ISN season orbits are checked for contaminating backgrounds around the ISN peak itself. Times with high backgrounds are eliminated.
Background threshold for this test is determined orbit by orbit using sample quiet times.
Times when the TOF 2 rate exceeds this background by 60% are excluded.
Times with spin issues are excluded
Times with special operations are excluded (gain tests, etc…)

The Analytical Structure of the Primary Interstellar Helium Distribution Function in the Heliosphere

by Lee et al.

Abstract: A new analytical model based on the previous work of Lee et al. (2012) is presented for the distribution of interstellar helium in the heliosphere. The model is tailored for comparison with the IBEX-Lo observations in order to determine the bulk velocity and temperature of helium in the local interstellar cloud. The model includes solar gravity, spherically-symmetric stationary ionization rates, transformation to the Earth/IBEX frame of reference, the IBEX viewing geometry with small spin axis tilt, and integration of the atom differential intensity over energy and the instrument collimator solid angle. The analysis employs an expansion of the count rate about the peak of the velocity distribution to second order in the magnitudes of several small quantities: the ratio of the helium thermal speed to its bulk speed, the angle between the bulk velocity and the ecliptic, the two angles describing the tilt of the IBEX spin axis away from Sun pointing, the collimator angular width, and the angular difference between the observing longitude and the longitude where the projection of the bulk velocity onto the ecliptic is tangential to Earth’s orbit. The model reveals the evolving ellipsoidal shape of the helium distribution as it moves along its average hyperbolic orbit. For specified interstellar parameters, the model predicts the latitudinal and longitudinal structure of the helium distribution. The model is in reasonable agreement with IBEX observations and the predictions of the other available models.

The Interstellar Neutral He Haze in the Heliosphere: What Can We Learn?

by Sokół et al.

Abstract:Neutral interstellar helium has been observed by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) since 2009 with a signal-to-noise ratio well above 1000. Because of the geometry of the observations, the signal observed from January to March each year is the easiest to identify. However, as we show via simulations, the portion of the signal in the range of intensities from 10−3 to 10−2 of the peak value, previously mostly left out from the analysis, may bring important information about the details of the distribution function of interstellar He gas in front of the heliosphere. In particular, these observations may inform us about possible departures of the parent interstellar He population from equilibrium. We compare the expected distribution of the signal for the canonical assumption of a single Maxwell–Boltzmann population with the distributions for a superposition of the Maxwell–Boltzmann primary population and the recently discovered Warm Breeze, and for a single primary population given by a kappa function. We identify the regions on the sky where the differences between those cases are expected to be the most visible against the background. We discuss the diagnostic potential of the fall peak of the interstellar signal, reduced by a factor of 50 due to the Compton–Getting effect but still above the detection limit of IBEX. We point out the strong energy dependence of the fall signal and suggest that searching for this signal in the data could bring an independent assessment of the low-energy measurement threshold of the IBEX-Lo sensor.

Can IBEX Detect Interstellar Neutral Helium Or Oxygen From Anti-ram Directions?

by Galli et al.

Abstract:To better constrain the parameters of the interstellar neutral flow we searched the IBEX-Lo database for helium and oxygen from the interstellar medium in the anti-ram direction in the three years (2009–2011) with the lowest background rates. We found that IBEX-Lo cannot observe interstellar helium from the antiram direction because the helium energy is too low for indirect detection by sputtering off the IBEX-Lo conversion surface. Our results show that this sputtering process has a low energy threshold between 25 and 30 eV, whereas the energy of the incident helium is only 10 eV for these observations. Interstellar oxygen, on the other hand, could in principle be detected in the anti-ram hemisphere, but the expected magnitude of the signal is close to the detection limit imposed by counting statistics and by the magnetospheric foreground.

Exploring the Possibility of O and Ne Contamination in Ulysses Observations of Interstellar Helium

by Wood et al.

Abstract: We explore the possibility that interstellar O and Ne may be contributing to the particle signal from the GAS instrument on Ulysses, which is generally assumed to be entirely He. Motivating this study is the recognition that an interstellar temperature higher than any previously estimated from Ulysses data could potentially resolve a discrepancy between Ulysses He measurements and those from the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX). Contamination by O and Ne could lead to Ulysses temperature measurements that are too low. We esti- mate the degree of O and Ne contamination necessary to increase the inferred Ulysses temperature to 8500 K, which would be consistent with both the Ulysses and IBEX data given the same interstellar flow speed. We find that producing the desired effect requires a heavy element contamination level of ∼ 9% of the total Ulysses/GAS signal. However, this degree of heavy element contribution is about an order of magnitude higher than expected based on our best estimates of detection efficiencies, ISM abundances, and heliospheric survival probabilities, making it unlikely that heavy element contamination is significantly affecting temperatures derived from Ulysses data.

Three-Dimensional Kinetic-MHD Model of the Globel Heliosphere With The Heliopause-Surface Fitting

by Izmodenov & Alexashov

Abstract:This paper provides a detailed description of the latest version of our model of the solar wind (SW) interaction with the local interstellar medium (LISM). This model has already been applied to the analysis of Lyman-alpha absorption spectra toward nearby stars and for analyses of Solar and Heliospheric Observa- tory/SWAN data. Katushkina et al. (this issue) used the model results to analyze IBEX-Lo data. At the same time, the details of this model have not yet been published. This is a three-dimensional (3D) kinetic-magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) model that takes into account SW and interstellar plasmas (including particles in SW and helium ions in LISM), the solar and interstellar magnetic fields, and the interstellar hydrogen atoms. The latitudinal dependence of SW and the actual flow direction of the interstellar gas with respect to the Sun are also taken into account in the model. It was very essential that our numerical code had been developed in such a way that any numerical diffusion or reconnection across the heliopause had not been allowed in the model. The heliospheric current sheet is a rotational discontinuity in the ideal MHD and can be treated kinematically. In the paper, we focus in particular on the effects of the heliospheric magnetic field and on the heliolatitudinal dependence of SW.

Impact of the Solar Radiation Pressure on Fluxes of Interstellar Hydrogen Atoms Measured by IBEX

by Katushkina et al.

Abstract: In this paper, we perform numerical modeling of the interstellar hydrogen fluxes measured by IBEX-Lo during orbit 23 (spring 2009) using a state-of-the-art kinetic model of the interstellar neutral hydrogen distribution in the heliosphere. This model takes into account the temporal and heliolatitudinal variations of the solar parameters as well as non-Maxwellian kinetic properties of the hydrogen distribution due to charge exchange in the heliospheric interface.

We found that there is a qualitative difference between the IBEX-Lo data and the modeling results obtained with the three-dimensional, time-dependent model. Namely, the model predicts a larger count rate in energy bin 2 (20-41 eV) than in energy bin 1 (11-21 eV), while the data shows the opposite case.

We perform study of the model parameter effects on the IBEX-Lo fluxes and the ratio of fluxes in two energy channels. We have shown that the most important parameter, which has a major influence on the ratio of the fluxes in the two energy bins, is the solar radiation pressure. The parameter fitting procedure shows that the best agreement between the model result and the data occurs in the case when the ratio of the solar radiation pressure to the solar gravitation, μ , is 1.26+0.06 −0.076, and the total ionization rate of hydrogen at 1 AU is βE 0.35,= 3.7+0.39 −0.35 × 10−7 s−1. We have found that the value of μ0 is much larger than μ0 = 0.89, which is the value derived from the integrated solar Lyman-alpha flux data for the period of time studied. We discuss possible reasons for the differences.