1. Title of the forum:
Exploration of the Local Interstellar Medium Intruding in the Heliosphere
2. Names and affiliation information of confirmed conveners:
Qiugang Zong: Peking University, China
Stas Barabash: Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Sweden
Michael Blanc: Institute of Astrophysics and Planetary Science (IRAP), France
Huaiyu He: Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Merav Opher: Boston University, USA
Jiansen He: Peking University, China
Hui Li: National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
3. Forum objectives, scientific relevance, timeliness, multi- and inter-disciplinarity, added-value and role of ISSI-BJ:
3.1 Forum objectives:
The forum plans to invite internationally renowned scientists and engineers to focus on the local interstellar medium invading the heliosphere especially in the enrichment region caused by the focusing effect of solar gravity. The forum will conduct in-depth and extensive debate in the form of special topics, refine relevant cutting-edge scientific issues and list suggestions on relevant exploration targets. The experts participating in this forum will also discuss the subsystem design required by the exploration plan (including orbit and launch, satellite platform design, load configuration, measurement and control data transmission, scientific application, etc.), analyze the key technical breakthrough and early scientific preparation required for exploration, and look forward to the expected breakthrough progress and its scientific significance.
3.2 Scientific relevance:
Our solar system locates in a spiral arm called the Orion Spur, 27,000 light-years from the center of the Milky Way. Many newborn stars have been observed in the interstellar medium of the nebulae inside and outside our galaxy. The solar system evloved from a ordinary but special planetary nebula that harbors our blue star and advanced life. What is the local interstellar medium around our solar system? It is an intriguing and critical topic.
There are four relevant scientific questions:
(1) How does the local interstellar medium affect our heliosphere? The extrinsic interstellar medium and the intrinsic solar wind determine the size, the structure, and the dynamics of our heliosphere. It is impossible to determine the outer boundary conditions of the heliospheric system, and thus the state of the heliospheric system in which we live, without understanding the condition of the local interstellar medium.
(2) What is the past, present, and future of the Sun and the heliosphere in the local interstellar medium? Although revolving around the galactic center together, the local interstellar medium and the solar system have a relative motion. Such relative motion means that the neutral components in the local interstellar medium have a relative motion concerning the solar system. The neutral components can intrude into the heliosphere without being blocked by the interplanetary electromagnetic field. The intrusive local interstellar medium could be detected in-situ and provides a basis for understanding the history and predicting and future of the solar system in the local interstellar medium.
3.2 Scientific relevance:
Our solar system locates in a spiral arm called the Orion Spur, 27,000 light-years from the center of the Milky Way. Many newborn stars have been observed in the interstellar medium of the nebulae inside and outside our galaxy. The solar system evloved from a ordinary but special planetary nebula that harbors our blue star and advanced life. What is the local interstellar medium around our solar system? It is an intriguing and critical topic.
There are four relevant scientific questions:
(1) How does the local interstellar medium affect our heliosphere? The extrinsic interstellar medium and the intrinsic solar wind determine the size, the structure, and the dynamics of our heliosphere. It is impossible to determine the outer boundary conditions of the heliospheric system, and thus the state of the heliospheric system in which we live, without understanding the condition of the local interstellar medium.
(2) What is the past, present, and future of the Sun and the heliosphere in the local interstellar medium? Although revolving around the galactic center together, the local interstellar medium and the solar system have a relative motion. Such relative motion means that the neutral components in the local interstellar medium have a relative motion concerning the solar system. The neutral components can intrude into the heliosphere without being blocked by the interplanetary electromagnetic field. The intrusive local interstellar medium could be detected in-situ and provides a basis for understanding the history and predicting and future of the solar system in the local interstellar medium.
(3) What is the effect of the local interstellar medium on the origin and evolution of the solar system? For exploring the origin and evolution of the solar system, it is crucial to understand and compare the composition of the solar system nebulae with that of the local interstellar medium around the solar system. What are the similarities and differences between the current local interstellar medium and the speculated original nebula in which the solar system (planetary) nebula is located? It is one of the critical frontier scientific questions.
(4) What are the detectable components of the intruding local interstellar medium in the solar-gravity-affected enrichment region (between 2 and 3 au) and the scientific significance of the detection? Can we accurately detect the neutral gas, dust, and energy neutral atoms from the local interstellar medium in the heliosphere? What are the significances of these precise measurements for revealing the properties of the local interstellar medium and its interactions with the heliosphere?
