MHD Modeling of the Solar Corona for the Parker Solar Probe First Perihelion Encounter
Abstract
NASA's Parker Solar Probe (PSP) spacecraft is expected to approach its first perihelion of 35.7 solar radii in early November, 2018. In anticipation of the unprecedented datasets to be returned by the science instruments onboard, we present an initial three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model of the extended solar atmosphere, with conditions likely to have existed during this time interval. Our model, which solves the standard set of time-dependent, resistive MHD equations, incorporates a wave-turbulence-driven (WTD) model for coronal heating and acceleration of the solar wind. We compare the simulation results with a wide range of current remote solar observations and in-situ measurements to assess how well the large-scale structure of the corona and inner heliosphere are captured by the simulations. For PSP in particular, however, these results can then be used to assist in the calibration and interpretation of these nascent datasets, and provide a global context for interpreting the localized PSP measurements. More specifically, we use these simulations to predict what type of solar wind PSP encountered, and when, what the underlying magnetic structure was, and how complexities in the orbital trajectory can be interpreted within a global, inertial frame. Ultimately, we believe, the measurements returned by PSP can be used to constrain current theories for heating the solar corona and accelerating the solar wind, and, in so doing, improve the accuracy of the models.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AGUFMSH42A..01B
- Keywords:
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- 2134 Interplanetary magnetic fields;
- INTERPLANETARY PHYSICSDE: 2164 Solar wind plasma;
- INTERPLANETARY PHYSICSDE: 2169 Solar wind sources;
- INTERPLANETARY PHYSICSDE: 7509 Corona;
- SOLAR PHYSICS;
- ASTROPHYSICS;
- AND ASTRONOMY