Hostname: page-component-54dcc4c588-trf7k Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-09-12T07:42:12.646Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The global structure of astrospheres: Effect of Knudsen number

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 July 2024

Sergey Korolkov Open the ORCID record for Sergey Korolkov [Opens in a new window]  and
Vladislav Izmodenov
Sergey Korolkov*
Affiliation:
Space Research Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia Moscow Center for Fundamental and Applied Mathematics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia Faculty of Physics, HSE University, Moscow, Russia
Vladislav Izmodenov
Affiliation:
Space Research Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia Moscow Center for Fundamental and Applied Mathematics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia Faculty of Physics, HSE University, Moscow, Russia
*
Corresponding author: Sergey Korolkov; Email: korolkovsergey1998@mail.ru
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The interaction between stellar winds and the partially ionized local interstellar medium (LISM) is quite common in astrophysics. However, the main difficulty in describing the neutral components lies in the fact that the mean free path of an interstellar atom, l, can be comparable to the characteristic size of an astrosphere, L (i.e. the Knudsen number, which is equal to l/L, is approximately equal to 1, as in the case of the heliosphere). In such cases, a single-fluid approximation becomes invalid, and a kinetic description must be used for the neutral component. In this study, we consider a general astrosphere and use a kinetic-gas dynamics model to investigate how the global structure of the astrosphere depends on the Knudsen number. We present numerical results covering an extremely wide range of Knudsen numbers (from 0.0001 to 100). Additionally, we explore the applicability of single-fluid approaches for modelling astrospheres of various sizes. We have excluded the influence of interstellar and stellar magnetic fields in our model to make parametric study of the kinetic effects feasible. The main conclusion of this work is that, for large astrospheres (with a distance to the bow shock greater than 600 AU) a heated rarefied plasma layer forms in the outer shock layer near the astropause. The formation of this layer is linked to localized heating of the plasma by atoms (specifically, ENAs) that undergo charge exchange again behind the astropause. This process significantly alters the flow structure in the outer shock layer and the location of the bow shock, and it cannot be described by a single-fluid model. Additionally, this paper discusses how atoms weaken the bow shocks at near-heliospheric conditions.

Keywords

Heliospheresolar windstellar windsastrosphere-interstellar medium interactionscharge exchange ionization

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia , Volume 41 , 2024 , e074
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Astronomical Society of Australia

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Alexashov, D., & Izmodenov, V. 2005, AAP, 439, 1171. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20052821 Google Scholar
Alouani-Bibi, F., Opher, M., Alexashov, D., Izmode-nov, V., & Toth, G. 2011, APJ, 734, 45. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/734/1/45. arXiv: 1103.3202 [astro-ph.SR]Google Scholar
Baranov, V. B., Ermakov, M. K., & Lebedev, M. G. 1982, Akademiia Nauk SSSR Izvestiia Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, 122Google Scholar
Baranov, V. B., Izmodenov, V. V., & Malama, Y. G. 1998, JGR, 103, 9575. https://doi.org/10.1029/97JA03662 Google Scholar
Baranov, V. B., & Krasnobaev, K. V. 1971, CR, 9, 568 Google Scholar
Baranov, V. B., Krasnobaev, K. V., & Kulikovskii, A. G. 1970, Akademiia Nauk SSSR Doklady, 194, 41Google Scholar
Baranov, V. B., Lebedev, M. G., & Malama, Iu. G. 1991, APJ, 375, 347. https://doi.org/10.1086/170194 Google Scholar
Baranov, V. B., Lebedev, M. G., & Ruderman, M. S. 1979, APSS, 66, 441. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00650016 Google Scholar
Baranov, V. B., & Malama, Yu. G. 1993, JGR, 98, 15157. https://doi.org/10.1029/93JA01171 Google Scholar
Baranov, V. B., & Ruderman, M. S. 1979, Pisma v Astronomicheskii Zhurnal, 5, 615Google Scholar
Bera, R. K., Fraternale, F., & Pogorelov, N. V. 2024, JPhCS, 2742, 012010. IOP. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/2742/1/012010 Google Scholar
Bertaux, J. L., & Blamont, J. E. 1971, AAP, 11, 200 Google Scholar
Fahr, H. J. 2000, APSS, 274, 35. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026571202117 Google Scholar
Florinski, V., Pogorelov, N. V., Zank, G. P., Wood, B. E., & Cox, D. P. 2004, APJ, 604, 700. https://doi.org/10.1086/382017 Google Scholar
Gazis, P. R., Barnes, A., Mihalov, J. D., & Lazarus, A. J. 1994, JGR, 99, 6561. https://doi.org/10.1029/93JA03144 Google Scholar
Godunov, S. K. 1976, Nauka. https://books.google.ru/books?id=HnQZAAAAIAAJ Google Scholar
Gruntman, M. A. 1982, SvAL, 8, 24 Google Scholar
Heerikhuisen, J., Florinski, V., & Zank, G. P. 2006, JGR (Space Physics), 111, A06110. https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JA011604 Google Scholar
Hirsch, C. 1990, Numerical Computation of Internal and External Flows, vol. 2, Computational Methods for Inviscid and Viscous FlowsGoogle Scholar
Izmodenov, V., Alexashov, D., & Myasnikov, A. 2005, AAP, 437, L35. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:200500132 Google Scholar
Izmodenov, V. V. 2000, APSS, 274, 55. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026579418955 Google Scholar
Izmodenov, V. V., & Alexashov, D. B. 2015, ApJS, 220, 32. https://doi.org/10.1088/0067-0049/220/2/32 Google Scholar
Izmodenov, V. V., & Baranov, V. B. 2006, ISSI SRS, 5, 67 Google Scholar
Kobulnicky, H. A., et al. 2016, ApJS, 227. https://doi.org/10.3847/0067-0049/227/2/18 Google Scholar
Korolkov, S. D., & Izmodenov, V. V. 2021, MNRAS, 504, 4589. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stab1071 Google Scholar
Korolkov, S. D., & Izmodenov, V. V. 2022, AAP, 667, L5. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202244523. arXiv: 2210.15032 [astro-ph.SR].Google Scholar
Korolkov, S. D., & Izmodenov, V. V. 2024, MNRAS, 528, 2812. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stae187. arXiv: 2401.07537 [astro-ph.SR].Google Scholar
Korolkov, S. D., Izmodenov, V. V., & Alexashov, D. B. 2020, JPhCS, 1640, 012012. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1640/1/012012 Google Scholar
Kostenetskiy, P. S., Chulkevich, R. A., & Kozyrev, V. I. 2021, JPhCS, 1740, 012050. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1740/1/012050 Google Scholar
Lazarus, A. J., Belcher, J. W., Paularena, K. I., Richardson, J. D., & Steinberg, J. T. 1995, ASR 16, 77. https://doi.org/10.1016/0273-1177(95)00317-8 Google Scholar
Lindsay, B. G., & Stebbings, R. F. 2005, JGR (Space Physics), 110, A12213. https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JA011298 Google Scholar
Linsky, J. L., & Wood, B. E. 1996, APJ, 463, 254. https://doi.org/10.1086/177238 Google Scholar
Malama, Y. G., Izmodenov, V. V., & Chalov, S. V. 2006, AAP, 445, 693. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20053646. arXiv: astro-ph/0509329 [astro-ph].Google Scholar
Malama, Yu. G. 1991, APSS, 176, 21. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00643074 Google Scholar
McNutt, R. L., Lyon, J., & Godrich, C. C. 1998, JGR, 103. https://doi.org/10.1029/97JA02143 Google Scholar
Miyoshi, T., & Kusano, K. 2005, JCPh, 208, 315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcp.2005.02.017 Google Scholar
Müller, H.-R., Florinski, V., Heerikhuisen, J., Izmodenov, V. V., Scherer, K., Alexashov, D., & Fahr, H.-J. 2008, AAP, 491, 43. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20078708. arXiv: 0804.0125 [astro-ph]Google Scholar
Opher, M., Drake, J. F., Zieger, B., Zieger, M., & Gombosi, T. I. 2015, ApJL, 800, L28. https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/800/2/L28 Google Scholar
Pauls, H. L., Zank, G. P., & Williams, L. L. 1995, JGR, 100, 21595. https://doi.org/10.1029/95JA02023 Google Scholar
Pogorelov, N. V., Borovikov, S. N., Zank, G. P., & Ogino, T. 2009, APJ, 696, 1478. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/696/2/1478 Google Scholar
Pogorelov, N. V., Heerikhuisen, J., Roytershteyn, V., Burlaga, L. F., Gurnett, D. A., & Kurth, W. S. 2017, APJ, 845, 9. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aa7d4f arXiv:1706.09637 [astro-ph.SR].Google Scholar
Pogorelov, N. V., Heerikhuisen, J., Zank, G. P., Mitchell, J. J., & Cairns, I. H. 2009, ASR, 44, 1337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2009.07.019 Google Scholar
Pogorelov, N. V., Suess, S. T., Borovikov, S. N., Ebert, R. W., McComas, D. J., & Zank, G. P. 2013, APJ, 772, 2. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/772/1/2 Google Scholar
Pogorelov, N. V., Zank, G. P., & Ogino, T. 2004, APJ, 614, 1007. https://doi.org/10.1086/423798 Google Scholar
Pogorelov, N. V., Zank, G. P., & Ogino, T. 2006, APJ, 644, 1299. https://doi.org/10.1086/503703 Google Scholar
Richardson, J. D., Burlaga, L. F., Elliott, H., Kurth, W. S., Liu, Y. D., & von Steiger, R. 2022, SSR, 218, 35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-022-00899-y Google Scholar
Sobol, I. M. 1973, Nauka. https://books.google.ru/books?id=qWIVAQAAIAAJ Google Scholar
Thomas, G. E., & Krassa, R. F. 1971, AAP, 11, 218 Google Scholar
Wallis, M. K. 1975, Natur, 254, 202 Google Scholar
Wang, C., & Belcher, J. W. 1998, JGR, 103, 247. https://doi.org/10.1029/97JA02773 Google Scholar
Zank, G. P., Heerikhuisen, J., Wood, B. E., Pogorelov, N. V., Zirnstein, E., & McComas, D. J. 2013, APJ, 763, 20. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/763/1/20 Google Scholar