(IBEX) RIBBON OF ENERGETIC NEUTRAL ATOMS

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 direction of the magnetic field within 40 pc obtained from analyzing polarization data using a merit function that determines the field direction that provides the best fit to the polarization data. Multiple magnetic components are identified, including a dominant interstellar field, BPOL, that is aligned with the direction ℓ, b = 36°.2, 49°.0 (±16°.0). Stars tracing BPOL have the same mean distance as stars that do not trace BPOL, but show weaker average polarizations consistent with a smaller column density of polarizing material. BPOL is aligned with the ISMF traced by the IBEX Ribbon to within 7.6 7.6 14.9-+ degrees. The variations in the polarization position angle directions derived from the data that best match BPOL indicate a low level of magnetic turbulence, ∼9°±1°. The direction of BPOL is obtained after excluding polarization data tracing a separat