Manifestation of the stellar wind cycle in infrared images: Example of the heliosphere

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zabolotnyi, I. P., Izmodenov, V. V.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866912734302437376
author Zabolotnyi, I. P.
Izmodenov, V. V.
author_facet Zabolotnyi, I. P.
Izmodenov, V. V.
contents The regions in which stellar winds interact with the interstellar medium, also known as astrospheres, can be observed in detail through the thermal emission of the interstellar dust particles, resided in plasma. Interstellar dust is also directly observed in the vicinity of the Sun with dust detectors onboard spacecraft, and it is known to be affected by the interplanetary magnetic field. The main goal of this work is to show how the change in the interplanetary magnetic field with the solar cycle affects the infrared picture of the heliosphere. To compose a synthetic intensity map of the interstellar dust thermal emission, we used the Monte Carlo method to calculate the distribution of the dust particles inside the heliosphere. We considered the effects of the heliosphere boundaries and the non-stationary current sheet. The change in the Parker magnetic field caused by the solar activity cycle leads distinguishable features in the mid-infrared emission maps of the heliosphere. The distribution of the interstellar dust in the vicinity of the Sun we calculated suggests that small particles linger outside of the heliosphere, and medium-size particles are mostly affected by the changing interplanetary magnetic field, which leads to number density waves in the tail region of the heliosphere. Finally, large particles form a bulge behind the Sun.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_22401
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Manifestation of the stellar wind cycle in infrared images: Example of the heliosphere
Zabolotnyi, I. P.
Izmodenov, V. V.
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
The regions in which stellar winds interact with the interstellar medium, also known as astrospheres, can be observed in detail through the thermal emission of the interstellar dust particles, resided in plasma. Interstellar dust is also directly observed in the vicinity of the Sun with dust detectors onboard spacecraft, and it is known to be affected by the interplanetary magnetic field. The main goal of this work is to show how the change in the interplanetary magnetic field with the solar cycle affects the infrared picture of the heliosphere. To compose a synthetic intensity map of the interstellar dust thermal emission, we used the Monte Carlo method to calculate the distribution of the dust particles inside the heliosphere. We considered the effects of the heliosphere boundaries and the non-stationary current sheet. The change in the Parker magnetic field caused by the solar activity cycle leads distinguishable features in the mid-infrared emission maps of the heliosphere. The distribution of the interstellar dust in the vicinity of the Sun we calculated suggests that small particles linger outside of the heliosphere, and medium-size particles are mostly affected by the changing interplanetary magnetic field, which leads to number density waves in the tail region of the heliosphere. Finally, large particles form a bulge behind the Sun.
title Manifestation of the stellar wind cycle in infrared images: Example of the heliosphere
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.22401