Full compressible 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulation of solar wind

Abstract

Identifying the heating mechanisms of the solar corona and the driving mechanisms of solar wind are key challenges in understanding solar physics. A full three-dimensional compressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation was conducted to distinguish between the heating mechanisms in the fast solar wind above the open field region. Our simulation describes the evolution of the Alfvénic waves, which includes the compressible effects from the photosphere to the heliospheric distance $s$ of 27 solar radii ($R_{\odot }$). The hot corona and fast solar wind were reproduced simultaneously due to the dissipation of the Alfvén waves. The inclusion of the transition region and lower atmosphere enabled us to derive the solar mass loss rate for the first time by performing a full three-dimensional compressible MHD simulation. The Alfvén turbulence was determined to be the dominant heating mechanism in the solar wind acceleration region ($s>1.3R_{\odot }$), as suggested by previous solar wind models. In addition, shock formation and phase mixing are important below the lower transition region ($s<1.03R_{\odot }$) as well.

9 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

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• Role of Longitudinal Waves in Alfvén-wave-driven Solar Wind
• Nonlinear Alfvén Wave Model of Stellar Coronae and Winds from the Sun to M dwarfs
• The Effect of the Chromospheric Temperature on Coronal Heating
• Coronal Properties of Low-mass Population III Stars and the Radiative Feedback in the Early Universe
• Stellar X-rays and magnetic activity in 3D MHD coronal models
• What Determines the Brightness of the Magnetically Open Solar Corona?: Insights from Three-dimensional Radiative Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations and Observations