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Heliospheric Observations of Energetic ParticlesHeliospheric observations of energetic particles have shown that, on long time averages, a consistent v^-5 power-law index arises even in the absence of transient events. This implies an ubiquitous acceleration process present in the solar wind that is required to generate these power-law tails and maintain them against adiabatic losses and coulomb-collisions which will cool and thermalize the plasma respectively. Though the details of this acceleration process are being debated within the community, most agree that the energy required for these tails comes from fluctuations in the magnetic field which are damped as the energy is transferred to particles. Given this source for the tail, is it then reasonable to assume that the turbulent LISM should give rise to such a power-law tail as well? IBEX observations clearly show a power-law tail of index approximately -5 in energetic neutral atoms. The simplest explanation for the origins of these ENAs are that they are energetic ions which have charge-exchanged with a neutral atom. However, this would imply that energetic ions possess a v^-5 power-law distribution at keV energies at the source of these ENAs. If the source is presumed to be the LISM, it provides additional options for explaining the, so called, IBEX ribbon. This presentation will discuss some of these options as well as potential mechanisms for the generation of a power-law spectrum in the LISM.
Document ID
20110013411
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Summerlin, Errol J. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 25, 2013
Publication Date
July 11, 2011
Subject Category
Solar Physics
Report/Patent Number
GSFC.ABS.4654.2011
Meeting Information
Meeting: 2011 SHINE (Solar Heliospherice and INplanetary Environment) Conference
Location: Snowmass, CO
Country: United States
Start Date: July 11, 2011
End Date: July 15, 2011
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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