| |
 |
| Paper: |
MHD Simulations: Corotating Interaction Regions |
| Volume: |
488, 8th International Conference of Numerical Modeling of Space Plasma Flows (ASTRONUM 2013) |
| Page: |
186 |
| Authors: |
Wiengarten, T.; Kleimann, J.; Fichtner, H.; Kissmann, R. |
| Abstract: |
Corotating Interaction Regions (CIRs) form in the solar wind when parcels of fast-speed wind interact with slow-speed wind due to the rotation of the Sun. The resulting buildup of pressure generates disturbances that, with increasing time (or distance from the Sun), may develop into a so-called forward-reverse shock pair. During solar-quiet times CIRs can be the dominant force shaping large-scale structures in the heliosphere. Studying CIRs is therefore important because the associated shocks are capable of e.g. accelerating energetic particles or deflecting cosmic rays. The global structure of CIRs can be modeled with an MHD approach that gives the plasma quantities needed to model the transport of particles in the heliosphere with e.g. stochastic differential equations. Here, we show results from 3D-MHD simulations with our code CRONOS for a) analytic boundary conditions where results can be compared to those obtained with a different code and b) boundary conditions derived with the Wang-Sheeley-Arge model from observational data (WSO), which are compared to spacecraft observations. |
|
|
|
|
|
