Heating and Acceleration of Interstellar Pickup Ions at the Heliospheric Termination Shock

Interstellar pickup ions play an important role in the dynamics of the outer heliosphere. The pickup ions are heated and accelerated at the heliospheric termination shock. Observations of energetic ions and neutrals near the heliospheric termination shock have shown some discrepancies from many current models. In our work, kinetic particle-in-cell simulations are used to investigate the roles of turbulence and kinetic effects on pickup ion heating and acceleration.