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Plasma flows in the heliosheath
Author(s) -
Richardson J. D.,
Stone E. C.,
Kasper J. C.,
Belcher J. W.,
Decker R. B.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2009gl038421
Subject(s) - physics , heliosphere , amplitude , bow shock (aerodynamics) , shock (circulatory) , flow (mathematics) , plane (geometry) , plasma , oscillation (cell signaling) , solar wind , meridional flow , heliospheric current sheet , zonal flow (plasma) , azimuth , shock wave , mechanics , zonal and meridional , solar cycle , geometry , atmospheric sciences , astronomy , optics , medicine , mathematics , biology , tokamak , genetics , quantum mechanics
Voyager 2 is making the first plasma measurements in the heliosheath. The radial flow speeds in the heliosheath vary between 80 and 200 km/s with an average speed of 138 km/s. The flow in the T (azimuthal) direction is fairly constant and averages about 48 km/s; the flow direction is consistent with flow away from the heliospheric nose. Flow in the N (meridional) direction is also away from the nose and averages −14 km/s. These flows suggest that the shock is blunter in the T than in the N direction, so that the heliosphere is wider than it is high. The flow in the RN plane has quasi‐periodic oscillation with a period of 110 days and an amplitude of 21 km/s. The oscillation in flow angle is about 6° in the RN plane and 17° in the TN plane and may result from periodic variations of the termination shock normal direction.