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R. Lionello, J. A. Linker, Z. Mikic (SAIC)
A three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model of the solar corona and of the solar wind has been developed. A magnetic flux distribution is specified on the solar surface and the time dependent MHD equations are integrated to steady state. The model originally employed a polytropic energy equation. In order to improve the physics in our algorithm, thermal conduction along the magnetic field, radiation losses, and heating have been incorporated into the energy equation. The 2D version of the model is able to reproduce the contrast in density between the open and closed magnetic structures in the corona and the fast and slow streams of the solar wind. We now present preliminary results of 3D MHD simulations with improved thermodynamics. The results can be tested against observations by spacecraft and Earth based observatories, in situ solar wind and magnetic field measurements, heliospheric current sheet crossings.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 34
© 2002. The American Astronomical Soceity.