The orientation of the local interstellar magnetic field introduces asymmetries in the heliosphere that affect the location of heliospheric radio emissions and the streaming direction of ions from the termination shock of the solar wind. We combined observations of radio emissions and energetic particle streaming with extensive three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic computer simulations of magne...

Tiny interstellar dust grains causing the polarization of light from the nearest stars are deflected sideways in the outer heliosheath regions, along with the interstellar magnetic field. Observations of optical polarization of stars beyond the heliosphere nose, and at distances 5– 200 pc, suggest the direction of the upwind interstellar magnetic field is relatively constant. The polarization v...

Magnetic effects are ubiquitous and known to be crucial in space physics and astrophysical media. We have now the opportunity to probe these effects in the outer heliosphere with the two spacecraft Voyager 1 and 2. Voyager 1 crossed, in December 2004, the termination shock and is now in the heliosheath. On August 30, 2007 Voyager 2 crossed the termination shock, providing us for the first time ...

The deflection of interstellar dust grains in the magnetic field near the heliopause depends on their surface electric charge. We study the electric charging of the grains with emphasis on the secondary electron emission because of its importance in the hot plasma environment near the heliopause. We correct previous models of the secondary electron emission that overestimate the electric charge...

I review the use of polarization data in the study of interstellar magnetic fields. On large scales in the interstellar medium, the polarization of background starlight is a good tracer of the projected plane-of-the-sky magnetic field structure in the neutral gas, and the field there appears to have roughly equal contributions from uniform and nonuniform components. In cases where a localized r...

The interstellar magnetic field (ISMF) near the heliosphere is a fundamental component of the solar galactic environment that can only be studied using polarized starlight. The results of an ongoing survey of the linear polarizations of local stars are analyzed with the goal of linking the ISMF that shapes the heliosphere to the nearby field in interstellar space. We present new results on the ...

The interaction of dust grains originating from the local interstellar cloud with the environment inside the heliosphere is investigated. As a consequence of this interaction the spatial distribution of interstellar dust grains changes with time. Since dust grains are charged in the interplanetary plasma and radiation environment, the interaction of small grains with the heliosphere is dominate...

Faraday rotation of the polarization plane in magnetized thermal plasma provides one of the most efficient methods to deduce regular magnetic fields from radio astronomical observations. Since the Faraday rotation measure RM is proportional to an integral, along the line of sight, of magnetic field weighted with thermal electron density, RM is believed to yield the regular magnetic field averag...