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Interfacing MHD Single Fluid and Kinetic Exospheric Solar Wind Models and Comparing Their Energetics

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Abstract

An exospheric kinetic solar wind model is interfaced with an observation-driven single-fluid magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model. Initially, a photospheric magnetogram serves as observational input in the fluid approach to extrapolate the heliospheric magnetic field. Then semi-empirical coronal models are used for estimating the plasma characteristics up to a heliocentric distance of 0.1 AU. From there on, a full MHD model that computes the three-dimensional time-dependent evolution of the solar wind macroscopic variables up to the orbit of Earth is used. After interfacing the density and velocity at the inner MHD boundary, we compare our results with those of a kinetic exospheric solar wind model based on the assumption of Maxwell and Kappa velocity distribution functions for protons and electrons, respectively, as well as with in situ observations at 1 AU. This provides insight into more physically detailed processes, such as coronal heating and solar wind acceleration, which naturally arise from including suprathermal electrons in the model. We are interested in the profile of the solar wind speed and density at 1 AU, in characterizing the slow and fast source regions of the wind, and in comparing MHD with exospheric models in similar conditions. We calculate the energetics of both models from low to high heliocentric distances.

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Notes

  1. NASA spacecraft at the L1 Lagrangian point of the Earth designed for long-term solar wind measurements and its effects on the terrestrial magnetosphere ( https://wind.nasa.gov ).

  2. Multi-source data set for the near Earth solar wind of combined and normalized observational data from ACE (Advanced Composition Explorer), Wind, IMP 8 (Interplanetary Monitoring Platform) and GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) satellite missions.

  3. A 1D version of the kinetic exospheric model developed by the group in IASB-BIRA and collaborators can be found in CCMC ( http://ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov/models/exo.php ), and it can run online for user-defined setups.

  4. More information can be found at http://sidc.oma.be/cactus/ .

  5. As shown in Figure 7, there are two different proton temperatures estimated that in general bracket the real temperature at 1 AU. We denote the integral in the 3D velocity space of the distribution over all measured angles and energy bandwidths as \(T\)-large. The \(T\)-small is calculated by the sum over all angles for a determined energy, then summing the moments of the estimated spectrum of the plasma and by taking the radial component of the temperature tensor ( http://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/ulysses/swoops-ions-user-notes ).

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Acknowledgements

SPM acknowledges financial support by the FWO and NASA Living with a Star grant number NNX16AC11G. This research was supported by projects GOA/2015-014 (KU Leuven, 2014 – 2018), and the Interuniversity Attraction Poles Programme initiated by the Belgian Science Policy Office (IAP P7/08 CHARM).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Mathematical Plasma Astrophysics, Department of Mathematics, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200B, 3001, Heverlee, Belgium

    Sofia-Paraskevi Moschou & Rony Keppens

  2. Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy, 3 Avenue Circulaire, 1180, Brussels, Belgium

    Sofia-Paraskevi Moschou & Viviane Pierrard

  3. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA

    Sofia-Paraskevi Moschou

  4. Université Catholique de Louvain, 1348, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium

    Viviane Pierrard

  5. Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2a, 00560, Helsinki, Finland

    Jens Pomoell

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  1. Sofia-Paraskevi Moschou
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Correspondence to Sofia-Paraskevi Moschou.

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Moschou, SP., Pierrard, V., Keppens, R. et al. Interfacing MHD Single Fluid and Kinetic Exospheric Solar Wind Models and Comparing Their Energetics. Sol Phys 292, 139 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11207-017-1164-6

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