Interpretation of the ribbon-like ENA feature observed by IBEX

• Applicant: Dr. Mark Siewert
• Subject Area: Astrophysics and Astronomy
• Term: from 2010 to 2014
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 170948514

Very recently, the first data taken by IBEX, the Interstellar Boundary EX-plorer, was first made available exclusively to the IBEX Co-Investigator community, demonstrating a completely unexpected feature in the form of a ribbon-like emission feature of considerably higher than expected intensities of Energetic Neutral Atom (ENA) emissions. This result was completely surprising, being absent up to now both in theory and numerical modelings, thus opening the race for new theoretical explanations. In this project, we will study two ideas alternative to those favoured by the American IBEX Co-Investigators, to explain the observed ENA features not just qualitatively, but also quantitatively.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants