Uncertainties in the heliosheath ion temperatures

  • The Voyager plasma observations show that the physics of the heliosheath is rather complex and that the temperature derived from observation particularly differs from expectations. To explain this fact, the temperature in the heliosheath should be based on \(\kappa\) distributions instead of Maxwellians because the former allows for much higher temperature. Here we show an easy way to calculate the \(\kappa\) temperatures when those estimated from the data are given as Maxwellian temperatures. We use the moments of the Maxwellian and \(\kappa\) distributions to estimate the \(\kappa\) temperature. Moreover, we show that the pressure (temperature) given by a truncated \(\kappa\) distribution is similar to that given by a Maxwellian and only starts to increase for higher truncation velocities. We deduce a simple formula to convert the Maxwellian to \(\kappa\) pressure or temperature. We apply this result to the Voyager 2 observations in the heliosheath.

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Metadaten
Author:Klaus SchererGND, Horst FichtnerORCiDGND, Adama SyllaGND, Marian LazarORCiDGND, Hans Jörg FahrGND, John D. RichardsonGND
URN:urn:nbn:de:hbz:294-66387
DOI:https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-36-37-2018
Parent Title (English):Annales Geophysicae (ANGEO)
Publisher:Copernicus Publications
Place of publication:Göttingen
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Date of Publication (online):2019/10/18
Date of first Publication:2018/01/12
Publishing Institution:Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsbibliothek
Tag:Space plasma physics
Volume:36
First Page:37
Last Page:46
Institutes/Facilities:Institut für Theoretische Physik IV, Theoretische Weltraum- und Astrophysik
Research Department Plasmas with Complex Interactions
open_access (DINI-Set):open_access
faculties:Fakultät für Physik und Astronomie
Licence (English):License LogoCreative Commons - CC BY 4.0 - Attribution 4.0 International