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Turbulence in the Outer HeliosphereThe solar wind (SW) and local interstellar medium (LISM) are turbulent media. Their interaction is governed by complex physical processes and creates heliospheric regions with significantly different properties in terms of particle populations, bulk flow and turbulence. Our knowledge of the solar wind turbulence nature and dynamics mostly relies on near-Earth and near-Sun observations, and has been increasingly improving in recent years due to the availability of a wealth of space missions, including multi-spacecraft missions. In contrast, the properties of turbulence in the outer heliosphere are still not completely understood. In situ observations by Voyager and New Horizons, and remote neutral atom measurements by IBEX strongly suggest that turbulence is one of the critical processes acting at the heliospheric interface. It is intimately connected to charge exchange processes responsible for the production of suprathermal ions and energetic neutral atoms. This paper reviews the observational evidence of turbulence in the distant SW and in the LISM, advances in modeling efforts, and open challenges.
Document ID
20250006813
Acquisition Source
2230 Support
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Federico Fraternale ORCID
(University of Alabama in Huntsville Huntsville, United States)
Laxman Adhikari ORCID
(University of Alabama in Huntsville Huntsville, United States)
Horst Fichtner ORCID
(Ruhr University Bochum Bochum, Germany)
Tae K Kim
(University of Alabama in Huntsville Huntsville, United States)
Jens Kleimann ORCID
(Ruhr University Bochum Bochum, Germany)
Sean Oughton ORCID
(University of Waikato Hamilton, New Zealand)
Nikolai V Pogorelov ORCID
(University of Alabama in Huntsville Huntsville, United States)
Vadim S Roytershteyn ORCID
(Space Science Institute Boulder, Colorado, United States)
Charles W Smith ORCID
(University of New Hampshire Durham, United States)
Arcadi V Usmanov ORCID
(University of Delaware Newark, Delaware, United States)
Gary P Zank ORCID
(University of Alabama in Huntsville Huntsville, United States)
Lingling Zhao ORCID
(University of Alabama in Huntsville Huntsville, United States)
Date Acquired
July 7, 2025
Publication Date
August 23, 2022
Publication Information
Publication: Space Science Reviews
Publisher: Springer Nature (New Zealand)
Volume: 218
Issue Publication Date: January 1, 2022
ISSN: 0038-6308
e-ISSN: 1572-9672
Subject Category
Space Sciences (General)
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: 80NSSC22K0524
CONTRACT_GRANT: 80NSSC19K0260
CONTRACT_GRANT: 80NSSC18K1649
CONTRACT_GRANT: 80NSSC18K1212
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX17AB86G
CONTRACT_GRANT: 80NSSC17K0009
CONTRACT_GRANT: 80NSSC18K1215
CONTRACT_GRANT: PHY-2010450
CONTRACT_GRANT: OIA-1655280
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Use by or on behalf of the US Gov. Permitted.
Technical Review
Keywords
Turbulence
Solar wind
Interstellar medium
Heliosphere
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