Premium
Can a charge‐exchange induced density rise at the heliopause explain the frequency drift of the 3 kHz Voyager signal?
Author(s) -
Czechowski Andrzej,
Grzedzielski Stanislaw
Publication year - 1994
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 - 10.1029/94gl02722
Subject(s) - heliosphere , solar wind , physics , plasma , shock (circulatory) , magnetohydrodynamics , charge exchange , computational physics , shock wave , mechanics , ion , nuclear physics , quantum mechanics , medicine
A physical model for the recently advanced interpretation of the 3 kHz data [Gurnett, Kurth et al., 1993] is proposed. Basing on the results of the flow dynamical model of the heliosheath [Czechowski and Grzedzielski, 1993, 1994] we conclude that the post‐shock solar wind (SW) plasma, cooled down by charge‐exchange with neutral hydrogen of LISM origin, should form a high density layer on the inner side of the surface of the heliopause. The model allows us to estimate the plasma density profile and the size of the layer. These we use as input for MHD calculation of (1) a transient shock moving through this layer towards the heliopause and (2) of resulting 2ω p (frequency) drift of VLF emissions generated at the shock. For the heliopause distance L= 150‐180 A.U. our model reproduces both the time duration of the emissions and their typical frequency drifts.