POTENTIAL FLOW DOWNSTREAM OF THE HELIOSPHERIC TERMINAL SHOCK - A NONSPHERICAL SHOCK

We have solved for the potential flow downstream of the terminal shock of the solar wind in the limit of small departures from a spherical s hock due to a latitudinal ram pressure variation in the supersonic sol ar wind. The solution connects anisotropic streamlines at the shock to uniform streamlines down the heliotail because we use a non-slip boun dary condition on the heliopause at large radii. The rotational veloci ty about the heliotail in the near-field solution decays as the fourth power of distance from the shock. The polar divergence of the streaml ines will have consequences for the previously discussed magnetic pres sure ridge that may build-up just inside the heliopause.