A Near-half-century Simulation of the Solar Corona

Abstract

We present an overview of results from a magnetofrictional model of the entire solar corona over a period of 47 yr. The simulation self-consistently reproduces decades of solar phenomena, varying in duration between rapid eruptions and the long-term solar cycles, from an input of observed active regions emerging at the photosphere. We have developed a geometric approach to use magnetic helicity to identify and localize the frequent eruptions that occur in the simulation. This method allows us to match our results to extreme-ultraviolet observations of transient events. We have analyzed the evolving magnetic topology by computing the squashing factor and segmenting the corona into discrete magnetic domains bounded by the Separatrix-Web. The simulations show a more dynamic structure to the Separatrix-Web than is predicted by potential field models, which may explain solar wind observations.