The Limitation on Coronal Models Due to Magnetic Field Extrapolation

There has recently been significant progress in generating realistic models of the solar coronal. Though full 3D models of the solar corona are on the horizon, it is currently not feasible to generate these models at the resolution required to meet observational specifications. It is now possible, however, to use 1D solutions to the hydrodynamic equations to create 3D models of the solar corona at the required resolution. In these 1D-to-3D models, the magnetic field is first extrapolated from photospheric field measurements, and then the field lines are populated with solutions to the 1D hydrodynamic equations. Observational constraints limit the heating functions used in the 1D solution. By far, the most uncertain aspect of this method is the magnetic field geometry; the lack of an extrapolation method that returns magnetic field lines that adequately reflect the true magnetic field limits the success of this method. In this talk, I will compare solar coronal models calculated using different extrapolation methods to the observed data and discuss the results.