Carrington Rotation Research Articles

Improving Coronal Hole Detections and Open Flux Estimates

One systematic limitation of solar coronal hole (CH) detection at extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelengths is the obscuration of dark regions of the corona by brighter structures along the line of sight. Another problem arises when using CHs to compute the Sun’s open magnetic flux, where surface measurements of the radial magnetic field, , are situated slightly below the effective height of coronal EUV emission. In this paper, we explore these two limitations utilizing a thermodynamic magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model of the corona for Carrington rotation (CR) 2101, where we generate CH detections from EUV 193 Å images of the corona forward-modeled from the MHD solution, and where the modeled open field is known. We demonstrate a method to combine EUV images into a full Sun map that helps alleviate CH obscuration called the minimum intensity disk merge (MIDM). We also show the variation in measured open flux and CH area that is due to the effective height differences between EUV and measurements. We then apply the MIDM method to SDO/AIA 193 Å observations from CR 2101, and conduct an analogous analysis. In this case, the MIDM method uses time-varying images, the effects of which are discussed. We show that overall, the MIDM method and an appreciation of the effective height mismatch provide a useful new way to extract a broader view of CHs, especially near the poles. In turn, they enable improved estimates of the open magnetic flux, and help facilitate comparisons between models and observations.

Bayesian Inference and Global Sensitivity Analysis for Ambient Solar Wind Prediction

AbstractThe ambient solar wind plays a significant role in propagating interplanetary coronal mass ejections and is an important driver of space weather geomagnetic storms. A computationally efficient and widely used method to predict the ambient solar wind radial velocity near Earth involves coupling three models: Potential Field Source Surface, Wang‐Sheeley‐Arge (WSA), and Heliospheric Upwind eXtrapolation. However, the model chain has 11 uncertain parameters that are mainly non‐physical due to empirical relations and simplified physics assumptions. We, therefore, propose a comprehensive uncertainty quantification (UQ) framework that is able to successfully quantify and reduce parametric uncertainties in the model chain. The UQ framework utilizes variance‐based global sensitivity analysis followed by Bayesian inference via Markov chain Monte Carlo to learn the posterior densities of the most influential parameters. The sensitivity analysis results indicate that the five most influential parameters are all WSA parameters. Additionally, we show that the posterior densities of such influential parameters vary greatly from one Carrington rotation to the next. The influential parameters are trying to overcompensate for the missing physics in the model chain, highlighting the need to enhance the robustness of the model chain to the choice of WSA parameters. The ensemble predictions generated from the learned posterior densities significantly reduce the uncertainty in solar wind velocity predictions near Earth.

Boundary Treatment for the Subsonic/Alfvénic Inner Boundary at 2.5 R ⊙ in a Time-dependent 3D Magnetohydrodynamics Solar Wind Simulation Model

A new magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulation model of the global solar corona and solar wind is presented. The model covers the range of heliocentric distance from 2.5 solar radii, so that coronal mass ejections at the earliest phase near the Sun can be treated in the future. This model is constructed by introducing a characteristics-based boundary treatment to an existing heliosphere 3D MHD model. In tailoring a set of characteristic equations for this new model, we assume that the coronal magnetic field is open to interplanetary space and that the solar coronal plasma is flowing outward everywhere at 2.5 solar radii. The characteristic equations for the subsonic/Alfvénic inner boundary surface are satisfied by altering the plasma density and/or temperature to maintain a polytropic relationship. In this article, the details of the characteristics-based boundary treatment for the middle of the corona (named CharM) are provided. The quasi-steady states of the solar wind derived from simulations with various choices of a parameter in the boundary treatments are compared and examined. Although further improvements are needed, we apply the new boundary treatment to simulations for three Carrington rotation periods from the minimum to maximum phase of the solar activity cycle, and show that an optimal choice yields a reasonable quasi-steady state of the transonic/Alfvénic solar wind matching the specified subsonic/Alfvénic plasma speed at 2.5 R ⊙.

The Influence of Corotating Regions of Interaction of the Solar Wind on Long-Term Variations in the Intensity of Galactic Cosmic Rays

An analysis of the data of spacecraft that scanned large areas of the heliosphere, as well as the resultsof magnetohydrodynamic calculations, indicates that the corotating interaction regions of solar wind (SW),which are almost always present in the low- and mid-latitude heliosphere, sometimes strongly change thelarge-scale characteristics of the heliosphere that are important for long-term variations in the intensity ofgalactic cosmic rays (GCRs). In particular, for Carrington rotation no. 2066 (January–February 2008), theseregions enhance magnetic fields in the inner (r 3–5 AU) heliosphere and weaken them in the middle andfar heliosphere, as well as significantly changing the polarity distribution of heliospheric magnetic fields. Theassumption is made that in this situation the influence of the corotating interaction regions should lead to anincrease in the GCR intensity in many regions of the heliosphere. This paper discusses the process of changingthe polarity distribution of heliospheric magnetic fields due to the interaction of SW streams for Carringtonrotation no. 2066 of different speeds, the simple model of the heliospheric magnetic field without aninteraction between the SW streams of different speeds, as well as the results of numerical two-dimensionalfinite-difference calculations of longitude-averaged GCR intensity with the use of this model in comparisonwith a three-dimensional Monte Carlo calculation based on three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulationof the heliosphere.

Three-dimensional inversion of corona structure and simulation of solar wind parameters based on the photospheric magnetic field deduced from the Global Oscillation Network Group

In this research, the Potential Field Source Surface–Wang–Sheeley–Arge (PFSS–WSA) solar wind model is used. This model consists of the Potential Field Source Surface (PFSS) coronal magnetic field extrapolation module and the Wang–Sheeley–Arge (WSA) solar wind velocity module. PFSS is implemented by the POT3D package deployed on Tianhe 1A supercomputer system. In order to obtain the three–dimensional (3D) distribution of the coronal magnetic field at different source surface radii (Rss), the model utilizes the Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) photospheric magnetic field profiles for two Carrington rotations (CRs), CR2069 (in 2008) and CR2217 (in 2019), as the input data, with the source surface at Rss = 2Rs, Rss = 2.5Rs and Rss = 3Rs, respectively. Then the solar wind velocity, the coronal magnetic field expansion factor, and the minimum angular distance of the open magnetic field lines from the coronal hole boundary are estimated within the WSA module. The simulated solar wind speed is compared with the value for the corona extrapolated from the data observed near 1 AU, through the calculations of the mean square error (MSE), root mean square error (RMSE) and correlation coefficient (CC). Here we extrapolate the solar wind velocity at 1 AU back to the source surface via the Parker spiral. By comparing the evaluation metrics of the three source surface heights, we concluded that the solar source surface should be properly decreased with respect to Rss = 2.5Rs during the low solar activity phase of solar cycle 23.

Solar Wind Modeling with the Alfvén Wave Solar atmosphere Model Driven by HMI-based Near-real-time Maps by the National Solar Observatory

We explore the performance of the Alfvén Wave Solar atmosphere Model with near-real-time (NRT) synoptic maps of the photospheric vector magnetic field. These maps, produced by assimilating data from the Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory, use a different method developed at the National Solar Observatory (NSO) to provide a near contemporaneous source of data to drive numerical models. Here, we apply these NSO-HMI-NRT maps to simulate three full Carrington rotations: 2107.69 (centered on the 2011 March 7 20:12 CME event), 2123.5 (centered on 2012 May 11), and 2219.12 (centered on the 2019 July 2 solar eclipse), which together cover various activity levels for solar cycle 24. We show the simulation results, which reproduce both extreme ultraviolet emission from the low corona while simultaneously matching in situ observations at 1 au as well as quantify the total unsigned open magnetic flux from these maps.

Interplanetary scintillation observation and space weather modelling

Interplanetary scintillation (IPS) refers to random fluctuations in radio intensity of distant small-diameter celestial object, over time periods of the order of 1 s. The scattering and scintillation of emergent radio waves are ascribed to turbulent density irregularities transported by the ubiquitous solar wind streams. The spatial correlation length of density irregularities and the Fresnel radius of radio diffraction are two key parameters in determining the scintillation pattern. Such a scintillation pattern can be measured and correlated between multi-station radio telescopes on the Earth. Using the “phase-changing screen” scenario based on the Born approximation, the bulk-flow speed and turbulent spectrum of the solar wind streams can be extracted from the single-station power spectra fitting and the multi-station cross-correlation analysis. Moreover, a numerical computer-assisted tomography (CAT) model, iteratively fit to a large number of IPS measurements over one Carrington rotation, can be used to reconstruct the global velocity and density structures in the inner heliosphere for the purpose of space weather modelling and prediction. In this review, we interpret the underlying physics governing the IPS phenomenon caused by the solar wind turbulence, describe the power spectrum and cross correlation of IPS signals, highlight the space weather application of IPS-CAT models, and emphasize the significant benefits from international cooperation within the Worldwide IPS Stations (WIPSS) network.

Comparative Solar Minima Using the McIntosh Archive

AbstractThe McIntosh Archive consists of four solar cycles (SC20–23) of synoptic maps of solar features (magnetic polarities, coronal holes, filaments, sunspots, plage) that were produced by Patrick McIntosh and his cartographers. In this paper we present the full Archive for the first time and find a hemispheric pattern of coronal hole polarity reflecting the Hale sunspot polarity pattern. In addition, we present a supplemental set of related maps created for the 2019–2020 solar minimum in support of the Whole Heliosphere and Planetary Interactions (WHPI) interval. To facilitate this addition, we cross calibrate EUV and He‐I 10,830 Å coronal holes and study differences between the WHPI solar minimum and the earlier minima in the main Archive. We find, first, that the visibility of coronal holes in EUV introduces a bias toward larger counts of low‐latitude coronal holes near solar minimum. However, the estimated lifetimes (in Carrington Rotations) of coronal hole complexes are unaffected by this fragmentation, and we find the longest‐lived low‐latitude coronal holes occurred during the 2008–2009 solar minimum, with 2019–2020 solar minimum lifetimes not far behind. In this way, we consider the large‐scale organization of solar magnetic fields between solar minima and study each solar minimum in the context of its solar cycle.

A Mosaic of the Inner Heliosphere: Three Carrington Rotations During the Whole Heliosphere and Planetary Interactions Interval

AbstractThe Whole Heliosphere and Planetary Interactions initiative was established to leverage relatively quiet intervals during solar minimum to better understand the interconnectedness of the various domains in the heliosphere. This study provides an expansive mosaic of observations spanning from the Sun, through interplanetary space, to the magnetospheric response and subsequent effects on the ionosphere‐thermosphere‐mesosphere (ITM) system. To accomplish this, a diverse set of observational datasets are utilized from 2019 July 26 to October 16 (i.e., over three Carrington rotations, CR2220, CR2221, and CR2222) with connections of these observations to the more focused studies submitted to this special issue. Particularly, this study focuses on two long‐lived coronal holes and their varying impact in sculpting the heliosphere and driving of the magnetospheric system. As a result, the evolution of coronal holes, impacts on the inner heliosphere solar wind, glimpses at mesoscale solar wind variability, magnetospheric response to these evolving solar wind drivers, and resulting ITM phenomena are captured to reveal the interconnectedness of this system‐of‐systems.

Reconstructing Synoptic Maps of Solar Wind Radial Velocity between 20 and 60 R ⊙ Based on STEREO/HI1 Images

Previously, we developed a correlation-aided reconstruction method to recognize and locate solar wind transients observed by the Heliospheric Imager-1 (HI1) on board the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory and then developed a technique to infer the radial velocity distribution in each solar wind transient. Considering that the common field of view of HI1 may cover the full longitudes through the solar rotation, we further apply these methods to small-scale transients (STs) in a complete Carrington rotation to reconstruct a synoptic map of the solar wind radial velocity. Our test suggests that the reconstructed synoptic map is in agreement with the preset synthetic STs in latitude, longitude, and radial velocity. Then, Carrington rotation 2095 between 2010 March 26 and April 22 is selected to demonstrate the new technique. The derived synoptic map shows that the solar wind radial velocity corresponding to STs is in the range of 250–550 km s−1 between 20 and 60 R ⊙ in the low-to-middle latitudes. We extrapolate the in situ observation near 1 au to 20 R ⊙ and find that it matches the synoptic velocity map well. The magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the solar wind radial velocity are consistent with the synoptic map near the heliospheric current sheet (HCS) but usually overestimate the velocity values for STs far away from the HCS. We expect that this technique will be a powerful tool to learn about and monitor the solar wind in the inner heliosphere, where the number of human probes is limited.

Accounting for differential rotation in calculations of the Sun’s angular momentum-loss rate

Context. Sun-like stars shed angular momentum due to the presence of magnetised stellar winds. Magnetohydrodynamic models have been successful in exploring the dependence of this ‘wind-braking torque’ on various stellar properties; however the influence of surface differential rotation is largely unexplored. As the wind-braking torque depends on the rotation rate of the escaping wind, the inclusion of differential rotation should effectively modulate the angular momentum-loss rate based on the latitudinal variation of wind source regions. Aims. Here we aim to quantify the influence of surface differential rotation on the angular momentum-loss rate of the Sun, in comparison to the typical assumption of solid-body rotation. Methods. To do this, we exploited the dependence of the wind-braking torque on the effective rotation rate of the coronal magnetic field, which is known to be vitally important in magnetohydrodynamic models. This quantity has been evaluated by tracing field lines through a potential field source surface (PFSS) model, driven by ADAPT-GONG magnetograms. The surface rotation rates of the open magnetic field lines were then used to construct an open-flux weighted rotation rate, from which the influence on the wind-braking torque could be estimated. Results. During solar minima, the rotation rate of the corona decreases with respect to the typical solid-body rate (the Carrington rotation period is 25.4 days), as the sources of the solar wind are confined towards the slowly rotating poles. With increasing activity, more solar wind emerges from the Sun’s active latitudes which enforces a Carrington-like rotation. Coronal rotation often displays a north-south asymmetry driven by differences in active region emergence rates (and consequently latitudinal connectivity) in each hemisphere. Conclusions. The effect of differential rotation on the Sun’s current wind-braking torque is limited. The solar wind-braking torque is ∼10 − 15% lower during solar minimum, (compared with the typical solid body rate), and a few percent larger during solar maximum (as some field lines connect to more rapidly rotating equatorial latitudes). For more rapidly rotating Sun-like stars, differential rotation may play a more significant role, depending on the configuration of the large-scale magnetic field.

A New Method Linking the Solar Wind Speed to the Coronal Magnetic Field

The release and acceleration of the solar wind is still an outstanding question. There are several aspects related to this phenomenon that still need to be investigated, and one of these is the identification of the region within the inner corona where the larger fraction of acceleration occurs. To address this matter, it is necessary to have reliable measurements of the solar wind speed between 1 and 10 solar radii (R ⊙). Moreover, in order to describe the coronal plasma behavior, it is important to consider its interaction with the magnetic field. Within this context, our intent is to investigate a method to combine measurements of the solar wind with the extrapolated magnetic field in the corona to derive how the solar wind velocity evolves along the magnetic field lines, aiming at better understanding the sources, origins, and acceleration of the solar wind. To this purpose, we used outflow speed measurements of the coronal plasma derived by applying the Doppler dimming technique, as well as the global magnetic field configuration derived from the measured photospheric magnetic field by using the Wang–Sheeley–Arge model. These two sets of data are then combined for heliocentric distances between 2.6 and 5 R ⊙. This paper presents the proposed method and the results obtained over two different Carrington rotations (CR 1923 and CR 1924), demonstrating the applicability of the method and the capability to link measured solar wind velocity to the extrapolated coronal magnetic field in order to derive the velocity profile.

The S-Web Origin of Composition Enhancement in the Slow-to-moderate Speed Solar Wind

Connecting the solar wind observed throughout the heliosphere to its origins in the solar corona is one of the central aims of heliophysics. The variability in the magnetic field, bulk plasma, and heavy ion composition properties of the slow wind are thought to result from magnetic reconnection processes in the solar corona. We identify regions of enhanced variability and composition in the solar wind from 2003 April 15 to May 13 (Carrington Rotation 2002), observed by the Wind and Advanced Composition Explorer spacecraft, and demonstrate their relationship to the separatrix–web (hereafter, S-Web) structures describing the corona’s large-scale magnetic topology. There are four pseudostreamer (PS) wind intervals and two helmet streamer (HS) heliospheric current sheet/plasma sheet crossings (and an interplanetary coronal mass ejection), which all exhibit enhanced alpha-to-proton ratios and/or elevated ionic charge states of carbon, oxygen, and iron. We apply the magnetic helicity–partial variance of increments (H m –PVI) procedure to identify coherent magnetic structures and quantify their properties during each interval. The mean duration of these structures are ∼1 hr in both the HS and PS wind. We find a modest enhancement above the power-law fit to the PVI waiting-time distribution in the HS-associated wind at the 1.5–2 hr timescales that is absent from the PS intervals. We discuss our results in the context of previous observations of the ∼90 minutes periodic density structures in the slow solar wind, further development of the dynamic S-Web model, and future Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter joint observational campaigns.

Fast Reconstruction of 3D Density Distribution around the Sun Based on the MAS by Deep Learning

This study is the first attempt to generate a three-dimensional (3D) coronal electron density distribution based on the pix2pixHD model, whose computing time is much shorter than that of the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation. For this, we consider photospheric solar magnetic fields as input, and electron density distribution simulated with the MHD Algorithm outside a Sphere (MAS) at a given solar radius is taken as output. We consider 155 pairs of Carrington rotations as inputs and outputs from 2010 June to 2022 April for training and testing. We train 152 deep-learning models for 152 solar radii, which are taken up to 30 solar radii. The artificial intelligence (AI) generated 3D electron densities from this study are quite consistent with the simulated ones from lower radii to higher radii, with an average correlation coefficient 0.97. The computing time of testing data sets up to 30 solar radii of 152 deep-learning models is about 45.2 s using the NVIDIA TITAN XP graphics-processing unit, which is much less than the typical simulation time of MAS. We find that the synthetic coronagraphic images estimated from the deep-learning models are similar to the Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)/Large Angle and Spectroscopic Coronagraph C3 coronagraph data, especially during the solar minimum period. The AI-generated coronal density distribution from this study can be used for space weather models on a near-real-time basis.

Modeling the Solar Corona with an Implicit High-order Reconstructed Discontinuous Galerkin Scheme

The present study aims to apply an implicit high-order reconstructed discontinuous Galerkin (DG) scheme (rDG(P 1 P 2)) to simulate the steady-state solar corona. In this scheme, a piecewise quadratic polynomial solution, P 2, is obtained from the underlying piecewise linear DG solution, P 1, by least-squares reconstruction with a weighted essentially nonoscillatory limiter. The reconstructed quadratic polynomial solution is then used for the computation of the fluxes and source terms. In addition, an implicit time integration method with large time steps is considered in this work. The resulting large linear algebraic system of equations from the implicit discretization is solved by the cellwise relaxation implicit scheme which can make full use of the compactness of the DG scheme. The code of the implicit high-order rDG scheme is developed in Fortran language with message passing interface parallelization in Cartesian coordinates. To validate this code, we first test a problem with an exact solution, which confirms the expected third-order accuracy. Then we simulate the solar corona for Carrington rotations 2167, 2183, and 2210, and compare the modeled results with observations. We find that the numerical results basically reproduce the large-scale observed structures of the solar corona, such as coronal holes, helmet streamers, pseudostreamers, and high- and low-speed streams, which demonstrates the capability of the developed scheme.

The quiet chromosphere: differential rotation

ABSTRACTThe solar chromosphere was daily observed in the Ca ii K line at the Mount Wilson Observatory from 1915 August to 1985 July. A digitized data base was created, which includes synoptical maps of the chromosphere in Ca ii intensity from Carrington rotations 827 to 1764. We have used the data base to investigate rotation and its differential of the chromosphere and the quiet chromosphere. The chromosphere is found to rotate faster than sunspots, but the difference in their rotation rates decreases with decreasing latitude, and near the equator they rotate at nearly the same speed. The chromosphere is obviously faster than the quiet photosphere and slightly faster than the quiet chromosphere at low latitudes, but slightly slower than the quiet chromosphere at middle latitudes. The differential degree of the rotation rate at low latitudes, ranging from largest to smallest in order, is found to be: sunspots, the chromosphere, the quiet photosphere, and the quiet chromosphere. The differential of the rotation rate is found to be different in different solar cycles for the chromosphere and the quiet chromosphere. Helioseismology observations suggest that these findings are plausible.

Differential rotation: the chromosphere to the quiet chromosphere

ABSTRACT Synoptic maps of Ca II K-normalized intensity at ±40° latitude belt from Carrington rotations 827 (1915 August 10) to 1764 (1985 July 7) are utilized to investigate the long-term variation of the quiet chromospheric differential rotation within solar activity cycles through removing some large values of Ca II-normalized intensity. The equatorial rotation rate of the quiet chromosphere is found to be smaller than that of the chromosphere, and the absolute value of the parameter B is also found to be smaller for the quiet chromosphere than for the chromosphere on the whole, especially during periods of solar cycle maxima. Therefore, we induce that the differential of rotation rate in the quiet chromosphere seems to be enhanced by large-scale magnetic fields. The north–south asymmetry in the solar rotation is also investigated, and the asymmetry coefficients of the chromosphere and the quiet chromosphere are positively correlated in solar cycles 15–17, while they are negatively correlated in solar cycles 18–21.

Global Sensitivity Analysis and Uncertainty Quantification for Background Solar Wind Using the Alfvén Wave Solar Atmosphere Model

AbstractModeling the impact of space weather events such as coronal mass ejections (CMEs) is crucial to protecting critical infrastructure. The Space Weather Modeling Framework is a state‐of‐the‐art framework that offers full Sun‐to‐Earth simulations by computing the background solar wind, CME propagation, and magnetospheric impact. However, reliable long‐term predictions of CME events require uncertainty quantification (UQ) and data assimilation. We take the first steps by performing global sensitivity analysis (GSA) and UQ for background solar wind simulations produced by the Alfvén Wave Solar atmosphere Model (AWSoM) for two Carrington rotations: CR2152 (solar maximum) and CR2208 (solar minimum). We conduct GSA by computing Sobol' indices that quantify contributions from model parameter uncertainty to the variance of solar wind speed and density at 1 au, both crucial quantities for CME propagation and strength. Sobol' indices also allow us to rank and retain only the most important parameters, which aids in the construction of smaller ensembles for the reduced‐dimension parameter space. We present an efficient procedure for computing the Sobol' indices using polynomial chaos expansion surrogates and space‐filling designs. The PCEs further enable inexpensive forward UQ. Overall, we identify three important model parameters: the multiplicative factor applied to the magnetogram, Poynting flux per magnetic field strength constant used at the inner boundary, and the coefficient of the perpendicular correlation length in the turbulent cascade model in AWSoM.

HelioCast: heliospheric forecasting based on white-light observations of the solar corona

We present a new 3D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) heliospheric model for space-weather forecasting driven by boundary conditions defined from white-light observations of the solar corona. The model is based on the MHD code PLUTO, constrained by an empirical derivation of the solar wind background properties at 0.1 au. This empirical method uses white-light observations to estimate the position of the heliospheric current sheet (HCS). The boundary conditions necessary to run HelioCast are then defined from pre-defined relations between the necessary MHD properties (speed, density, and temperature) and the distance to the current sheet. We assess the accuracy of the model over six Carrington rotations during the first semester of 2018. Using point-by-point metrics and event-based analyses, we evaluate the performances of our model varying the angular width of the slow solar wind layer surrounding the HCS. We also compare our empirical technique with two well-tested models of the corona: Multi-VP and WindPredict-AW. We find that our method is well-suited to reproduce high-speed streams, and does – for well-chosen parameters – better than full MHD models. The model shows, nonetheless, limitations that could worsen for rising and maximum solar activity.

A New Numerical Implementation for Solar Coronal Modeling by an HLL Generalized Riemann Problem Solver

In this paper, we employ a Harten–Lax–van Leer (HLL) generalized Riemann problem (HLL-GRP) solver within the framework of a finite volume method to model 3D solar coronal structures for the first time. Based on the rotational invariance of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) equations, the HLL-GRP solver is successfully implemented into 3D MHD simulations. To constrain the divergence of the magnetic field, the locally divergence-free weighted-least-squares-based essentially nonoscillatory reconstruction and the properly discretized Godunov–Powell source term are applied. To keep density and pressure positive, a positivity-preserving limiter is added to the reconstructed polynomials of density and pressure. We first test a 3D blast wave problem to preliminarily validate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme on Cartesian structured grid. Then, we further run our code on a six-component grid to numerically study the steady-state coronal structures of Carrington rotation 2218 during the solar minimum phase. A comparison with the two-stage Runge–Kutta scheme is performed for both the 3D blast wave problem and solar coronal problem. Numerical results of large-scale solar coronal structures are basically consistent with the observational characteristics, indicating the robustness of the proposed model.