Solar Parameters for Modeling the Interplanetary Background

The goal of the working group on cross-calibration of past and present ultraviolet (UV) datasets of the International Space Science Institute (ISSI) in Bern, Switzerland was to establish a photometric cross-calibration of various UV and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) heliospheric observations. Realization of this goal required a credible and up-to-date model of the spatial distribution of neutral interstellar hydrogen in the heliosphere, and to that end, a credible model of the radiation pressure and ionization processes was needed. This chapter describes the latter part of the project: the solar factors responsible for shaping the distribution of neutral interstellar H in the heliosphere. In this paper we present the solar Lyman-α flux and the topics of solar Lyman-α resonant radiation pressure force acting on neutral H atoms in the heliosphere. We will also discuss solar EUV radiation and resulting photoionization of heliospheric hydrogen along with their evolution in time and the still hypothetical variation with heliolatitude. Furthermore, solar wind and its evolution with solar activity is presented, mostly in the context of charge exchange ionization of heliospheric neutral hydrogen, and dynamic pressure variations. Also electron-impact ionization of neutral heliospheric hydrogen and its variation with time, heliolatitude, and solar distance is discussed. After a review of the state of the art in all of those topics, we proceed to present an interim model of the solar wind and the other solar factors based on up-to-date in situ and remote sensing observations. This model was used by Izmodenov et al. (2013, this volume) to calculate the distribution of heliospheric hydrogen, which in turn was the basis for intercalibrating the heliospheric UV and EUV measurements discussed in Quémerais et al. (2013, this volume). Results of this joint effort will also be used to improve the model of the solar wind evolution, which will be an invaluable asset in interpretation of all heliospheric measurements, including, among others, the observations of Energetic Neutral Atoms by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX)