Mapping the Interstellar Magnetic Field Around the Heliosphere with Polarized Starlight
P. C. Frisch, A. B. Berdyugin, V. Piirola, A. A. Cole, K. Hill, C., Harlingten, A. M. Magalhaes, D. B. Seriacopi, T. Ferrari, N. L. Ribeiro, F., P. Santos, D. V. Cotton, J. Bailey, L. Kedziora-Chudczer, J. P. Marshall, K., Bott, S. J. Wiktorowicz, C. Heiles, D. J. McComas

TL;DR
This study maps the local interstellar magnetic field using polarized starlight, revealing a polarization band influenced by the heliosphere and identifying magnetic structures within 15 parsecs.
Contribution
It introduces a new polarization band mapping technique and links magnetic field structures to heliospheric and interstellar features.
Findings
Discovery of a polarization band traversing the heliosphere
Alignment of magnetic filaments within 15 parsecs
Correlation between radio emissions and the polarization band
Abstract
Starlight that becomes linearly polarized by magnetically aligned dust grains provides a viable diagnostic of the interstellar magnetic field (ISMF). A survey is underway to map the local ISMF using data collected at eight observatories in both hemispheres. Two approaches are used to obtain the magnetic structure: statistically evaluating magnetic field directions traced by multiple polarization position angles, and least-squares fits that provide the dipole component of the magnetic field. We find that the magnetic field in the circumheliospheric interstellar medium (CHM), which drives winds of interstellar gas and dust through the heliosphere, drapes over the heliopause and influences polarization measurements. We discover a polarization band that can be described with a great circle that traverses the heliosphere nose and ecliptic poles. A gap in the band appears in a region…
Peer Reviews
No public reviews on file for this paper yet. If you reviewed it on a platform where reviews are public (OpenReview, ICLR, NeurIPS, ICML), you can paste yours below so the community can read it here.
Videos
No videos yet. Explain this paper in a talk, walkthrough, or lecture? Add one.
Taxonomy
TopicsSolar and Space Plasma Dynamics · Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies · Geophysics and Gravity Measurements
