Fig. 4

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Schematic illustration of the diverse pathways of a constellation of Ntot tumbling solar sails traveling over a distance L through the turbulent magnetized ISM (left panel) and the expected value of the perihelion distance as a function of travel distance (right panel). As shown in the left panel, dispersive hydrodynamic and magnetic drag lead to a sideways drift, 4SM, and a dispersion in time of arrival, δt, at the Sun. The expected value E(dISM) (dashed gray circle) is generally much larger than the targeted Oumuamua’s perihelion distance, po. In the right panel, the expected value of the perihelion distance, E(p⊙) (solid lines), is shown as a consequence of deflection after traveling over a distance L through the ISM with a number density nISM. The probability of a single light sail striking the Solar System at a distance p⊙ ≤ pO (represented by a solid dot) from the Sun is shown with dashed lines.
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