Reconnection Processes in Heliosphere

Prof. Opher, in several papers, explored with colleagues the possibility that reconnection is playing an important role in the heliosheath (the outer edges of the heliosphere) in accelerating particles, in re-organizing the interstellar magnetic field and producing a boundary (heliopause) that is porous.

Selection of Prof. Opher’s most significant papers on the subject: 

Opher, M., Drake, J. F., Swisdak, M., Zieger, B., Toth, G., “The Twist of the Draped Interstellar Magnetic Field Ahead of the Heliopause: A Magnetic Reconnection Driven Rotational Discontinuity”, The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 839, L12 (2017).

Opher, M., Drake, J., Swisdak, M., Schoeffler, K. M., Richardson, J. D., Decker, R. B., and Toth, G., “Is the Magnetic Field in the Heliosheath Laminar or Turbulent Bath of Bubbles?”, The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 734, 71 (2011).

Drake, J., Opher, M., Swisdak, M., and Chamoun, J., N., “A magnetic reconnection mechanism for the generation of anomalous cosmic rays”, The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 709, 963 (2010).