Voyager 1 Observations of Galactic Cosmic Ray Isotopes in the Very Local Interstellar Medium: Evidence for Primary 2H and B

We present the first measurements of the energy spectra of the isotopes of Galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) with nuclear charge $Z$=1--14 in the very local interstellar medium (VLISM). The observations are from the Cosmic Ray Subsystem (CRS) on the Voyager~1 (V1) spacecraft and cover the $Z$-dependent energy range from $\sim$3-661 MeV/nucleon. The data are fit to eight models using the GCR propagation code \galprop{}, and provide a new set of GCR elemental source abundances. The models all have injection spectra as power laws in rigidity, all with the same power-law index, and fit exclusively to the V1 data. The eight models differ in the relative abundances and by having two options for production cross sections and four options for total fragmentation cross sections. The VLISM energy spectra generated by all eight models agree reasonably well with the observed VLISM energy spectra for the isotopes with $Z$ from 1--14. However, in all models it was necessary to add contributions from a primary source of $^2$H and B.

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Publication Details

Published
2025-09-23
DOI
https://doi.org/10.22323/1.501.0098
Primary Topic
Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Voyager 1 Observations of Galactic Cosmic Ray Isotopes in the Very Local Interstellar Medium: Evidence for Primary 2H and B

B. C. Heikkila, G. Jóhannesson, A. C. Cummings, T. A. Porter et al.
Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics
article

Voyager 1 Observations of Galactic Cosmic Ray Isotopes in the Very Local Interstellar Medium: Evidence for Primary 2H and B

B. C. Heikkila, G. Jóhannesson, A. C. Cummings, T. A. Porter, I. V. Moskalenko
article en

Abstract

We present the first measurements of the energy spectra of the isotopes of Galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) with nuclear charge $Z$=1--14 in the very local interstellar medium (VLISM). The observations are from the Cosmic Ray Subsystem (CRS) on the Voyager~1 (V1) spacecraft and cover the $Z$-dependent energy range from $\sim$3-661 MeV/nucleon. The data are fit to eight models using the GCR propagation code \galprop{}, and provide a new set of GCR elemental source abundances. The models all have injection spectra as power laws in rigidity, all with the same power-law index, and fit exclusively to the V1 data. The eight models differ in the relative abundances and by having two options for production cross sections and four options for total fragmentation cross sections. The VLISM energy spectra generated by all eight models agree reasonably well with the observed VLISM energy spectra for the isotopes with $Z$ from 1--14. However, in all models it was necessary to add contributions from a primary source of $^2$H and B.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Nuclear Safety and Security Commission
Openalex Percentile: Top 82%
Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics
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Voyager 1 Observations of Galactic Cosmic Ray Isotopes in the Very Local Interstellar Medium: Evidence for Primary 2H and B — B. C. Heikkila, G. Jóhannesson, et al. · (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS