Three‐dimensional MHD simulation of CMEs in three‐dimensional background solar wind with the self‐consistent structure on the source surface as input: Numerical simulation of the January 1997 Sun‐Earth connection event

Abstract

[1] A three-dimensional time-dependent, numerical magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model is used to investigate the propagation of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in the nonhomogenous background solar wind flow. On the basis of the observations of the solar magnetic field and K-coronal brightness, the self-consistent structure on the source surface of 2.5 Rs is established with the help of MHD equations. Using the self-consistent source surface structures as initial-boundary conditions, we develop a three-dimensional MHD regional combination numerical model code to obtain the background solar wind from the source surface of 2.5 Rs to the Earth's orbit (215 Rs) and beyond. This model considers solar rotation and volumetric heating. Time-dependent variations of the pressure and velocity configured from a CME model at the inner boundary are applied to generate transient structures. The dynamical interaction of a CME with the background solar wind flow between 2.5 and 215 Rs (1 AU) is then investigated. We have chosen the well-defined halo-CME event of 6-12 January 1997 as a test case. Because detailed observations of this disturbance at 1 AU (by WIND spacecraft) are available, this event gives us an excellent opportunity to verify our MHD methodology and to learn about the physical processes of the Sun-Earth connection. In this study, we find that this three-dimensional MHD model, with the self-consistent structures on the source surface as input, provides a relatively satisfactory comparison with the WIND spacecraft observations. Citation: Shen, F., X. Feng, S. T. Wu, and C. Xiang (2007), Three-dimensional MHD simulation of CMEs in three-dimensional background solar wind with the self-consistent structure on the source surface as input: Numerical simulation

Magnetic Field Configuration Models and Reconstruction Methods for Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections

“…Using 2-D and 3-D numerical simulations, it is possible to show that a CME initiated at the solar surface (for example using a twisted flux rope) evolves through its interaction with the solar wind into a typical ICME (Riley, Gosling, and Pizzo, 1997;Odstrčil and Pizzo, 1999;Manchester et al, 2004;Chané et al, 2006;Shen et al, 2007). This idea has now been confirmed by STEREO observations (see, for example, Savani et al, 2010).…”

THREE-DIMENSIONAL SOLARWINDMODELING FROM THE SUN TO EARTH BY A SIP-CESE MHD MODEL WITH A SIX-COMPONENT GRID

“…Using the self-consistent source surface structures as inputs, Feng et al (2005) and Shen et al (2007) develop a 3D MHD code (COIN-TVD MHD model) for the study of the ambient solar wind from the source surface to the Earth or beyond.…”

“…The most convenient grid system for solar wind modeling is the latitude-longitude grid under spherical shell geometry, which is especially welcomed for numerical schemes for governing equations in the spherical polar coordinates (Usmanov & Dryer 1995;Usmanov 1996;Wu et al 1999;Usmanov & Goldstein 2003;Linker et al 1999;Odstrcil et al 2002;Feng et al 2005;Hayashi 2005;Shen et al 2007) since its orthogonality is expected from numerical reasons. The grid mesh of the latitude-longitude grid is uniform when it is seen in the computational space of the spherical surface S = {(θ, φ), 0 θ π , 0 φ 2π } but it is in fact nonuniform when observed in real space.…”

“…The spherical shell is a key computational domain in both computational geophysics and solar-terrestrial physics (Kageyama & Sato 2004;Kageyama 2005;Yoshida & Kageyama 2004;Usmanov & Dryer 1995;Usmanov 1996;Wu et al 1999;Usmanov & Goldstein 2003;Linker et al 1999;Odstrcil et al 2002;Feng et al 2005;Hayashi 2005;Shen et al 2007). Simulations in these fields such as geodynamo, mantle convection, global circulation of the atmosphere, and space weather modeling from the Sun to Earth are all performed in spherical shell geometry, such as (r, θ, φ) with radius r between some intervals (for example, r 0 r r 1 , 0 θ π , and 0 φ 2π ), if defined in the spherical coordinates.…”

Development of the global simulation model of the heliosphere

“…The hybrid model developed by Detman et al (2006) combined the source surface current sheet model for the corona with the MHD solar wind model to predict the MHD parameters at the earth's orbit. Full MHD models from the solar surface to the solar wind region have also been developed by several authors (Linker et al, 1999;Riley et al, 2001;Manchester et al, 2004;Tóth et al, 2005;Shen et al, 2007). Although there are differences in the details for each model, these models can extrapolate the surface magnetic field together with self-consistently described plasma into the interplane-tary space.…”