The global modulation of Galactic and Jovian electrons in the heliosphere

Abstract

A full three-dimensional, numerical model is used to study the modulation of Jovian and Galactic electrons from 1 MeV to 50 GeV, and from the Earth into the heliosheath. For this purpose the very local interstellar spectrum and the Jovian electron source spectrum are revisited. It is possible to compute the former with confidence at kinetic energies E<50MeV since Voyager 1 crossed the heliopause in 2012 at ∼122AU, measuring Galactic electrons at these energies. Modeling results are compared with Voyager 1 observations in the outer heliosphere, including the heliosheath, as well as observations at or near the Earth from the ISSE3 mission, and in particular the solar minimum spectrum from the PAMELA space mission for 2009, also including data from Ulysses for 1991 and 1992, and observations above 1 MeV from SOHO/EPHIN. Making use of the observations at or near the Earth and the two newly derived input functions for the Jovian and Galactic electrons respectively, the energy range over which the Jovian electrons dominate the Galactic electrons is determined so that the intensity of Galactic electrons at Earth below 100 MeV is calculated. The differential intensity for the Galactic electrons at Earth for E=1MeV is ∼4 electrons m‑2s‑1sr‑1MeV‑1, whereas for Jovian electrons it is ∼350 electrons m‑2s‑1sr‑1MeV‑1. At E=30MeV the two intensities are the same; above this energy the Jovian electron intensity quickly subsides so that the Galactic intensity completely dominates. At 6 MeV, in the equatorial plane the Jovian electrons dominate but beyond ∼15AU the Galactic intensity begins to exceed the Jovian intensity significantly.