Modelling the Evolution of AR 12673 Through Time-Dependent Data-Driven Magnetofrictional Simulations

This study is centred around the intense flare-producing active region, AR 12673, of September 2017 with a particular focus on the X9.3 flare, and corresponding CME, that occurred on the 6th of September. Six days of HMI vector magnetograms were processed using the Electric Field Inversion Toolkit (ELECTRICIT) to generate a time series of electograms, i.e. 2D maps of the photospheric electric field. Using the electrograms as a lower boundary condition, we then simulated the evolution of the active region and its magnetic field using a time-dependent magnetofrictional modelling approach. The resulting dynamics of the three-dimensional magnetic field was analyzed by computing maps of the squashing factor and twist in an effort to understand the overall evolution of the system and its topology.