The effect of magnetic field dissipation in the inner heliosheath: reconciling global heliosphere model and voyager data.
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| Title: | The effect of magnetic field dissipation in the inner heliosheath: reconciling global heliosphere model and voyager data. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Korolkov, Sergey D.1 (AUTHOR) sergey.korolkov@cosmos.ru, Baliukin, Igor I.1,2 (AUTHOR), Opher, Merav3 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Advances in Space Research. Mar2026, Vol. 77 Issue 6, p7443-7454. 12p. |
| Subjects: | Magnetic reconnection, Current sheets, Magnetohydrodynamics, Solar wind, Heliosphere, Voyager program |
| Abstract: | Global ideal magnetohydrodynamic models of the heliosphere typically predict a greatly exaggerated magnetic field pile-up in the inner heliosheath (IHS), the region between the termination shock and heliopause. However, Voyager 1 and 2 observations show only a gradual increase throughout this region. This mismatch is largely attributed to the simplified assumption of a unipolar solar magnetic field in many global models, which neglects the complex, folded structure of the heliospheric current sheet (HCS). The IHS, especially at low heliolatitudes, contains these compressed sector boundaries, widely considered prime locations for magnetic dissipation via reconnection. To align global model simulations with observations without incurring the prohibitive computational cost of resolving the kinetic-scale current sheet, this work introduces a phenomenological term into the magnetic field induction equation. This term captures the macroscopic effect of magnetic energy dissipation due to unresolved HCS dynamics. It is designed to mitigate the artificial magnetic pile-up, preserve the topological integrity of the magnetic field lines, and avoid explicit magnetic diffusion. This study demonstrates that incorporating a phenomenological dissipation term into global heliospheric models helps to resolve the longstanding discrepancy between simulated and observed magnetic field profiles in the IHS. The proposed mechanism reduces exaggerated magnetic energy (converts it into thermal energy), aligns model output with Voyager measurements of both magnetic field and proton density, and produces the outward shift in termination shock position and a reduction of the IHS thickness. We found that the characteristic time for magnetic field dissipation of about 6 years provides improved agreement with Voyager data in the IHS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Advances in Space Research is the property of Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 191947630 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: The effect of magnetic field dissipation in the inner heliosheath: reconciling global heliosphere model and voyager data. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Korolkov%2C+Sergey+D%2E%22">Korolkov, Sergey D.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> sergey.korolkov@cosmos.ru</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Baliukin%2C+Igor+I%2E%22">Baliukin, Igor I.</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Opher%2C+Merav%22">Opher, Merav</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Advances+in+Space+Research%22">Advances in Space Research</searchLink>. Mar2026, Vol. 77 Issue 6, p7443-7454. 12p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Magnetic+reconnection%22">Magnetic reconnection</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Current+sheets%22">Current sheets</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Magnetohydrodynamics%22">Magnetohydrodynamics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Solar+wind%22">Solar wind</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Heliosphere%22">Heliosphere</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Voyager+program%22">Voyager program</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Global ideal magnetohydrodynamic models of the heliosphere typically predict a greatly exaggerated magnetic field pile-up in the inner heliosheath (IHS), the region between the termination shock and heliopause. However, Voyager 1 and 2 observations show only a gradual increase throughout this region. This mismatch is largely attributed to the simplified assumption of a unipolar solar magnetic field in many global models, which neglects the complex, folded structure of the heliospheric current sheet (HCS). The IHS, especially at low heliolatitudes, contains these compressed sector boundaries, widely considered prime locations for magnetic dissipation via reconnection. To align global model simulations with observations without incurring the prohibitive computational cost of resolving the kinetic-scale current sheet, this work introduces a phenomenological term into the magnetic field induction equation. This term captures the macroscopic effect of magnetic energy dissipation due to unresolved HCS dynamics. It is designed to mitigate the artificial magnetic pile-up, preserve the topological integrity of the magnetic field lines, and avoid explicit magnetic diffusion. This study demonstrates that incorporating a phenomenological dissipation term into global heliospheric models helps to resolve the longstanding discrepancy between simulated and observed magnetic field profiles in the IHS. The proposed mechanism reduces exaggerated magnetic energy (converts it into thermal energy), aligns model output with Voyager measurements of both magnetic field and proton density, and produces the outward shift in termination shock position and a reduction of the IHS thickness. We found that the characteristic time for magnetic field dissipation of about 6 years provides improved agreement with Voyager data in the IHS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Advances in Space Research is the property of Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1016/j.asr.2026.01.018 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 12 StartPage: 7443 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Magnetic reconnection Type: general – SubjectFull: Current sheets Type: general – SubjectFull: Magnetohydrodynamics Type: general – SubjectFull: Solar wind Type: general – SubjectFull: Heliosphere Type: general – SubjectFull: Voyager program Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: The effect of magnetic field dissipation in the inner heliosheath: reconciling global heliosphere model and voyager data. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Korolkov, Sergey D. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Baliukin, Igor I. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Opher, Merav IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 15 M: 03 Text: Mar2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 02731177 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 77 – Type: issue Value: 6 Titles: – TitleFull: Advances in Space Research Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
