Nonlinear Extrapolation Research Articles

On the Nature of Nonthermal Broadening of Spectral Lines Observed by IRIS

The origin of nonthermal broadening in solar spectra is one of the long-standing questions in solar physics. Various processes have been invoked—including unresolved flows, waves, and turbulent processes—but definitive answers are lacking. To investigate the physical processes responsible for nonthermal broadening, we examine its relation with the angle between the magnetic field and the line of sight in three different closed-field regions above plage regions at different locations on the solar disk. We obtained the nonthermal width of transition-region Si iv 1403 Å spectra observed in active regions by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, after subtraction of the thermal and instrumental line broadening. To investigate the dependence of the measured broadening on the viewing angle between the line of sight and magnetic field direction, we determined the magnetic field direction at transition-region heights using nonlinear force-free extrapolations based on the observed photospheric vector magnetic field taken by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory. We found that the nonthermal broadening shows a correlation with downward motion (redshifts) and alignment between the magnetic field and the observer’s line-of-sight direction. Based on the observed correlations, we suggest that velocity gradients within plasma flowing down along the magnetic field may lead to a significant portion of the observed nonthermal broadening of transition-region spectral lines in closed fields above plage regions.

Why Could a Newborn Active Region Produce Coronal Mass Ejections?

Solar active regions (ARs) are the main sources of flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). NOAA AR 12089, which emerged on 2014 June 10, produced two C-class flares accompanied by CMEs within 5 hr after its emergence. When producing the two eruptive flares, the total unsigned magnetic flux (ΦAR) and magnetic free energy (E f ) of the AR are much smaller than the common CME-producing ARs. Why can this extremely small AR produce eruptive flares so early? We compare the AR magnetic environment for the eruptive flares to that for the largest confined flare from the AR. In addition to the ΦAR and E f , we calculate the ratio between the mean characteristic twist parameter (α FPIL) within the flaring polarity inversion line (FPIL) region and ΦAR, a parameter considering both background magnetic field constraint and nonpotentiality of the core region, for the three flares. We find higher α FPIL/ΦAR values during the eruptive flares than during the confined flare. Furthermore, we compute the decay index along the polarity inversion line, revealing values of 1.69, 3.45, and 0.98 before the two eruptive and the confined flares, respectively. Finally, nonlinear force-free field extrapolation indicates that a flux rope was repeatedly formed along the FPIL before eruptive flares, which ejected out and produced CMEs. No flux rope was found before the confined flare. Our research suggests that even a newly emerged, extremely small AR can produce eruptive flares if it has sufficiently weak background field constraint and strong nonpotentiality in the core region.

Magnetic Eruption from a Three-ribbon Flare

We present observations and analysis of an eruptive M1.5 flare (SOL2014-08-01T18:13) in NOAA active region (AR) 12127, characterized by three flare ribbons, a confined filament between ribbons, and rotating sunspot motions as observed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory. The potential field extrapolation model shows a magnetic topology involving two intersecting quasi-separatrix layers (QSLs) forming a hyperbolic flux tube (HFT), which constitutes the fishbone structure for the three-ribbon flare. Two of the three ribbons show separation from each other, and the third ribbon is rather stationary at the QSL footpoints. The nonlinear force-free field extrapolation model implies the presence of a magnetic flux rope (MFR) structure between the two separating ribbons, which was unclear in the observation. This suggests that the standard reconnection scenario for eruptive flares applies to the two ribbons, and the QSL reconnection for the third ribbon. We find rotational flows around the sunspot, which may have caused the eruption by weakening the downward magnetic tension of the MFR. The confined filament is located in the region of relatively strong strapping field. The HFT topology and the accumulation of reconnected magnetic flux in the HFT may play a role in holding it from eruption. This eruption scenario differs from the one typically known for circular ribbon flares, which is mainly driven by a successful inside-out eruption of filaments. Our results demonstrate the diversity of solar magnetic eruption paths that arises from the complexity of the magnetic configuration.

Unveiling the True Nature of Plasma Dynamics from the Reference Frame of a Superpenumbral Fibril

The magnetic geometry of the solar atmosphere, combined with projection effects, makes it difficult to accurately map the propagation of ubiquitous waves in fibrillar structures. These waves are of interest due to their ability to carry energy into the chromosphere and deposit it through damping and dissipation mechanisms. To this end, the Interferometric Bidimensional Spectrometer at the Dunn Solar Telescope was employed to capture high-resolution Hα spectral scans of a sunspot, with the transverse oscillations of a prominent superpenumbral fibril examined in depth. The oscillations are reprojected from the helioprojective Cartesian frame to a new frame of reference oriented along the average fibril axis through nonlinear force-free field extrapolations. The fibril was found to be carrying an elliptically polarized, propagating kink oscillation with a period of 430 s and a phase velocity of 69 ± 4 km s−1. The oscillation is damped as it propagates away from the sunspot with a damping length of approximately 9.2 Mm, resulting in the energy flux decreasing at a rate on the order of 460 W m−2/Mm. The Hα line width is examined and found to increase with distance from the sunspot, a potential sign of a temperature increase. Different linear and nonlinear mechanisms are investigated for the damping of the wave energy flux, but a first-order approximation of their combined effects is insufficient to recreate the observed damping length by a factor of at least 3. It is anticipated that the reprojection methodology demonstrated in this study will aid with future studies of transverse waves within fibrillar structures.

Source Region and Launch Characteristics of Magnetic-arch-blowout Solar Coronal Mass Ejections Driven by Homologous Compact-flare Blowout Jets

We study the formation of four coronal mass ejections (CMEs) originating from homologous blowout jets. All of the blowout jets originated from NOAA Active Region (AR) 11515 on 2012 July 2, within a time interval of ≈14 hr. All of the CMEs were wide (angular widths ≈ 95°–150°), and propagated with speeds ranging between ≈300 and 500 km s−1 in LASCO coronagraph images. Observations at various EUV wavelengths in Solar Dynamics Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly images reveal that in all the cases, the source region of the jets lies at the boundary of the leading part of AR 11515 that hosts a small filament before each event. Coronal magnetic field modeling based on nonlinear force-free extrapolations indicates that in each case, the filament is contained inside of a magnetic flux rope that remains constrained by overlying compact loops. The southern footpoint of each filament is rooted in the negative polarity region where the eruption onsets occur. This negative polarity region undergoes continuous flux changes, including emergence and cancellation with opposite polarity in the vicinity of the flux rope, and the EUV images reveal brightening episodes near the filament’s southeastern footpoint before each eruption. Therefore, these flux changes are likely the cause of the subsequent eruptions. These four homologous eruptions originate near adjacent feet of two large-scale loop systems connecting from that positive polarity part of the AR to two remote negative polarity regions, and result in large-scale consequences in the solar corona.

Evidence for Plasmoid-mediated Magnetic Reconnection during a Small-scale Flare in the Partially Ionized Low Solar Atmosphere

Magnetic reconnection plays a crucial role in the energy release process for different kinds of solar eruptions and activities. The rapid solar eruption requires a fast reconnection model. Plasmoid instability in the reconnecting current sheets is one of the most acceptable fast reconnection mechanisms for explaining the explosive events in the magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) scale, which is also a potential bridge between the macroscopic MHD reconnection process and microscale dissipations. Plenty of high-resolution observations indicate that the plasmoid-like structures exist in the high-temperature solar corona, but such evidences are very rare in the lower solar atmosphere with partially ionized plasmas. Utilizing joint observations from the Goode Solar Telescope and the Solar Dynamics Observatory, we discovered a small-scale eruptive phenomenon in NOAA Active Region 13085, characterized by clear reconnection cusp structures, supported by nonlinear force-free field extrapolation results. The plasmoid-like structures with a size of about 150 km were observed to be ejected downward from the current sheet at a maximum velocity of 24 km s−1 in the Hα line wing images, followed by enhanced emissions at around the postflare loop region in multiple wavelengths. Our 2.5D high-resolution MHD simulations further reproduced such a phenomenon and revealed reconnection fine structures. These results provide comprehensive evidences for the plasmoid-mediated reconnection in partially ionized plasmas, and suggest a unified reconnection model for solar flares with different length scales from the lower chromosphere to the corona.

3D Magnetic Free Energy and Flaring Activity Using 83 Major Solar Flares

In this Letter, we examine the relationship between 3D magnetic free energy (MFE) and flaring activity using 83 major solar flares (M-class and X-class) in nine solar active regions (ARs). For this, we use 998 nonlinear force-free field extrapolations compiled by the “Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research Database” at Nagoya University. These ARs produced at least three major flares with distinct rising and peak phases of 3D MFE. For each phase, the solar flare occurrence rate (FOR) is calculated as a ratio of the number of flares to the duration. The major results from this study are summarized as follows. First, there is no clear linear correlation (CC = 0.15) between 3D MFE and flare peak flux. Second, the FOR (3.4 day−1) of the rising phase is a little higher than that (3.1 day−1) of the peak phase, depending on AR. Third, for several flares, there are noticeable decreases in 3D MFE, which correspond to the typical energy of a major flare (about 1032 erg). Fourth, it is interesting to note that there are noticeable enhancements in FORs at several local maxima of 3D MFE, which may be associated with flux emergence and/or shearing motions. Fifth, the flare index rates, which are defined as the summation of flaring activity divided by the duration, of rising and peak phases are 151 day−1 and 314 day−1, respectively. Our results imply that the traditional and simple “storage and release” model does not apply to flare activities, and the random perturbation may be important for triggering flares.

Rationale for the extrapolation procedure in selected configuration interaction.

Selected configuration interaction (SCI) methods have emerged as state-of-the-art methodologies for achieving high accuracy and generating benchmark reference data for ground and excited states in small molecular systems. However, their precision relies heavily on extrapolation procedures to produce a final estimate of the exact result. Using the structure of the exact electronic energy landscape, we provide a rationale for the common linear extrapolation of the variational energy as a function of the second-order perturbative correction. In particular, we demonstrate that the energy gap and the coupling between the so-called internal and external spaces are the key factors determining the rate at which the linear regime is reached. Starting from the first principles, we also derive a new non-linear extrapolation formula that improves the post-processing of data generated from SCI methods and can be applied to both ground- and excited-state energies.

Advancing Solar Magnetic Field Extrapolations through Multiheight Magnetic Field Measurements

Nonlinear force-free extrapolations are a common approach to estimate the 3D topology of coronal magnetic fields based on photospheric vector magnetograms. The force-free assumption is a valid approximation at coronal heights, but for the dense plasma conditions in the lower atmosphere, this assumption is not satisfied. In this study, we utilize multiheight magnetic field measurements in combination with physics-informed neural networks to advance solar magnetic field extrapolations. We include a flexible height-mapping, which allows us to account for the different formation heights of the observed magnetic field measurements. The comparison to analytical and simulated magnetic fields demonstrates that including chromospheric magnetic field measurements leads to a significant improvement of our magnetic field extrapolations. We also apply our method to chromospheric line-of-sight magnetograms from the Vector Spectromagnetograph (VSM) on the Synoptic Optical Long-term Investigations of the Sun (SOLIS) observatory, in combination with photospheric vector magnetograms from the Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). The comparison to observations in extreme-ultraviolet wavelengths shows that the additional chromospheric information leads to a better agreement with the observed coronal structures. In addition, our method intrinsically provides an estimate of the corrugation of the observed magnetograms. With this new approach, we make efficient use of multiheight magnetic field measurements and advance the realism of coronal magnetic field simulations.

Derivation of no significant risk levels for three lower acrylates: Conclusions and recommendations from an expert panel

A panel of toxicology, mode of action (MOA), and cancer risk assessment experts was engaged to derive no-significant-risk-levels (NSRLs) for three lower acrylates: methyl acrylate (MA), ethyl acrylate (EA), and 2-ethylhexyl acrylate (2EHA) using the best available science, data, and methods. The review was structured as a five-round, modified Delphi format, a systematic process for collecting independent and deliberative input from panel members, and it included several procedural elements to reduce potential sources of bias and groupthink. Input from the panel for key decisions in the dose-response assessments resulted in NSRL values of 530 μg/day (330–800 μg/day), 640 μg/day (280–670 μg/day), and 1700 μg/day (1300–2700 μg/day) for MA, EA, and 2EHA, respectively. Novel to this approach were the use of nonneoplastic lesions reported at point of contact where tumors have been reported in laboratory rodents, along with nonlinear extrapolation to low doses (uncertainty factor approach) based upon panel recommendations. Confidence in these values is considered medium to high for exposures applied to the routes of exposure tested (inhalation for MA and EA, dermal for 2EHA), but confidence is considered lower when applied to other routes of exposure.

The Link between Nonthermal Velocity and Free Magnetic Energy in Solar Flares

The cause of excess spectral line broadening (nonthermal velocity) is not definitively known, but given its rise before and during flaring, the causal processes hold clues to understanding the triggers for the onset of reconnection and the release of free magnetic energy from the coronal magnetic field. A comparison of data during a 9 hr period from the extreme ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer on the Hinode spacecraft—at a 3 minute cadence—and nonlinear force-free field extrapolations performed on Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager magnetograms—at a 12 minute cadence—shows an inverse relationship between nonthermal velocity and free magnetic energy on short timescales during two X-class solar flares on 2017 September 6. Analysis of these results supports suggestions that unresolved Doppler flows do not solely cause nonthermal broadening, and instead other mechanisms like Alfvén wave propagation and isotropic turbulence have a greater influence.

Rotation and Confined Eruption of a Double Flux-rope System

We perform a data-constrained simulation with the zero-β assumption to study the mechanisms of strong rotation and failed eruption of a filament in active region 11474 on 2012 May 5 observed by Solar Dynamics Observatory and Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory. The initial magnetic field is provided by nonlinear force-free field extrapolation, which is reconstructed by the regularized Biot–Savart laws and magnetofrictional method. Our simulation reproduces most observational features very well, e.g., the filament large-angle rotation of about 130°, the confined eruption, and the flare ribbons, allowing us to analyze the underlying physical processes behind observations. We discover two flux ropes in the sigmoid system, an upper flux rope (MFR1) and a lower flux rope (MFR2), which correspond to the filament and hot channel in observations, respectively. Both flux ropes undergo confined eruptions. MFR2 grows by tether-cutting reconnection during the eruption. The rotation of MFR1 is related to the shear-field component along the axis. The toroidal field tension force and the nonaxisymmetry forces confine the eruption of MFR1. We also suggest that the mutual interaction between MFR1 and MFR2 contributes to the large-angle rotation and the eruption failure. In addition, we calculate the temporal evolution of the twist and writhe of MFR1, which is a hint of probable reversal rotation.

Deriving cool flame propagation speeds by means of an ozone-seeded, stagnation plate burner configuration

This study aims to investigate the feasibility of experimental determination of DME/O2/O3 cool flame propagation speeds using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) in a stagnation plate burner operated at atmospheric pressure. A specific PIV data analysis procedure was developed in order to improve the accuracy of the measurements in this particular configuration. Five flame conditions, with equivalence ratio varying from 0.3 to 0.5 and ozone mole fraction varying from 1.5 to 2% were investigated to compare experimental results with kinetic modeling. Three ozone-submechanisms, respectively from Jian et al. (Jian et al., 2022), Halter et al. (Halter et al., 2011) and Zhao et al. (Zhao et al., 2016), were coupled with our previously developed DME mechanism (Panaget et al., 2021) and used to compare experimental and simulated axial velocity profiles. Results show that a thoughtful choice of the ozone-submechanism is of particular importance in predicting an accurate cool flame velocity in these conditions. A numerically assisted non-linear extrapolation method is proposed for the determination of the unstrained cool flame speed Su,0. Additionally, simulations for which the plate temperature reaches the maximal flame temperature (adiabatic conditions) were performed, demonstrating a negligible effect of the plate temperature on the determined Su,0. A kinetic analysis is also presented to highlight the most sensitive chemical reactions influencing the reference cool flame speed Su,ref, showing the preponderant role of the fuel low temperature chemistry.

Nonlinear random extrapolation estimates of \(\pi\) under Dirichlet distributions

We construct optimal nonlinear extrapolation estimates of \(\pi\) based on random cyclic polygons generated from symmetric Dirichlet distributions. While the semiperimeter \( S_n \) and the area \( A_n \) of such random inscribed polygons and the semiperimeter (and area) \( S_n' \) of the corresponding random circumscribing polygons are known to converge to \( \pi \) w.p.\(1\) and their distributions are also asymptotically normal as \( n \to \infty \), we study in this paper nonlinear extrapolations of the forms \( \mathcal{W}_n = S_n^{\alpha} A_n^{\beta} S_n'^{\, \gamma} \) and \( \mathcal{W}_n (p) = ( \alpha S_n^p + \beta A_n^p + \gamma S_n'^{\, p} )^{1/p} \) where \( \alpha + \beta + \gamma = 1 \) and \( p \neq 0 \). By deriving probabilistic asymptotic expansions with carefully controlled error estimates, we show that \( \mathcal{W}_n \) and \( \mathcal{W}_n (p) \) also converge to \( \pi \) w.p.\(1\) and are asymptotically normal. Furthermore, to minimize the approximation error associated with \( \mathcal{W}_n \) and \( \mathcal{W}_n (p) \), the parameters must satisfy the optimality condition \( \alpha + 4 \beta - 2 \gamma = 0 \). Our results generalize previous work on nonlinear extrapolations of \( \pi \) which employ inscribed polygons only and the vertices are also assumed to be independently and uniformly distributed on the unit circle.

Coronal Magnetic Field Extrapolation and Topological Analysis of Fine-scale Structures during Solar Flare Precursors

Magnetic field plays an important role in various solar eruption phenomena. The formation and evolution of the characteristic magnetic field topology in solar eruptions are critical problems that will ultimately help us understand the origin of these eruptions in the solar source regions. With the development of advanced techniques and instruments, observations with higher resolutions in different wavelengths and fields of view have provided more quantitative information for finer structures. It is therefore essential to improve the method with which we study the magnetic field topology in the solar source regions by taking advantage of high-resolution observations. In this study, we employ a nonlinear force-free field extrapolation method based on a nonuniform grid setting for an M-class flare eruption event (SOL2015-06-22T17:39) with embedded vector magnetograms from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and the Goode Solar Telescope (GST). The extrapolation results for which the nonuniform embedded magnetogram for the bottom boundary was employed are obtained by maintaining the native resolutions of the corresponding GST and SDO magnetograms. We compare the field line connectivity with the simultaneous GST/Hα and SDO/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly observations for these fine-scale structures, which are associated with precursor brightenings. Then we perform a topological analysis of the field line connectivity corresponding to fine-scale magnetic field structures based on the extrapolation results. The analysis results indicate that when we combine the high-resolution GST magnetogram with a larger magnetogram from the SDO, the derived magnetic field topology is consistent with a scenario of magnetic reconnection among sheared field lines across the main polarity inversion line during solar flare precursors.

Photospheric and Chromospheric Magnetic Field Evolution during the X1.6 Flare in Active Region NOAA 12192

We report on observations acquired by the Interferometric Bidimensional Spectropolarimeter (IBIS) during SOL2014-10-22T14:02, an X1.6 flare that occurred in active region NOAA 12192, taken in the Fe i 617.30 nm and Ca ii 854.2 nm line profiles. We analyze polarization signatures in the Stokes profiles of the two lines across one of the flare ribbons. Focusing our attention on the chromospheric signals and using the weak-field approximation (WFA), we study the temporal variation of the line-of-sight (LOS) magnetic field. We find variations of the magnetic field or the opacity along the flare ribbon, in most cases within the first 3 minutes of the observation just after the flare peak, during the tail of the flare impulsive phase. This result was validated by the STiC inversion of the pixels used for the WFA analysis. The analysis of the photospheric magnetic field shows that in this layer, the LOS magnetic field does not show the same changes observed in the chromosphere in the selected pixels, nor clear evidence of changes along the polarity inversion line around a magnetic polarity intrusion. In this respect, we also find that the temporal observing window is not suitable for assessing the presence of stepwise changes. The nonlinear force-free field extrapolations, together with the analysis of the ribbons’ isophotes obtained from Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph data, suggest that the region corresponding to the magnetic intrusion observed by IBIS is characterized by a complex magnetic connectivity and is almost cospatial with the area affected by the initial energy release.

Effect of hydrogen addition on the laminar burning velocity and the flame stability of n-dodecane reacting with air at elevated pressures

The effects of hydrogen addition on the premixed laminar burning characteristics of n-dodecane reacting in air were experimentally investigated using the freely expanding spherical flame method. The initial operating conditions were temperature = 425 K, pressure = 1 ˗ 4 bar, equivalence ratio = 0.8–1.4, and mole fraction of H2 in n-dodecane-H2 mixture = 0–40%. Nonlinear stretch extrapolation schemes were implemented to minimize the uncertainty in the estimation of unstretched flame speed as the binary fuel mixtures of n-dodecane and H2 had non-unity Lewis numbers. All experimental operating conditions were simulated in CHEMKIN using a planar flame model with three different reaction mechanisms. The statistical uncertainty estimated for the LBV was below ±6.93%. The LBV increased by three/two times at off–stoichiometric/stoichiometric mixtures as the mole fraction of hydrogen (XH2) increased from 0 to 40% in n-dodecane. The rich mixtures of n-dodecane-air (ϕ = 1.4) were unstable to thermo-diffusive effects due to the lower mass diffusivity of n-dodecane and Le < 1, in contrast, H2 blending to the n-dodecane by keeping the other parameters being same transformed it from an unstable to a stable one. The effective Lewis number and Markstein length decreased with an increasing XH2 in n-dodecane, indicating that the mixtures were stable to thermo-diffusive effects, but with further increase in XH2, there may be a transition in flame stability. H2 addition resulted in an earlier onset of hydrodynamic instability due to a reduction in the flame thickness. In addition, sensitivity analysis was performed to identify the key reactions responsible for the enhanced reactivity associated with H2 addition. The reaction pathway and emission analysis showed a significant reduction in CO2 and CO emissions. Finally, an increase of initial pressure decreased the LBV for all investigated mixtures.

The Formation of a U-shaped Filament Due to the Successive Magnetic Reconnection between a Filament and Its Nearby Chromospheric Fibrils

Although magnetic reconnection plays a key role in the formation of a solar filament, the detailed formation process is still ambiguous. Combining the observational data from the New Vacuum Solar Telescope and the Solar Dynamics Observatory, we analyzed the formation of a U-shaped filament via successive magnetic reconnection in the AR NOAA 11598 on 2012 October 25. The successive reconnection occurred between a filament (F) and its nearby chromospheric fibrils (CF). The associated brightening and magnetic cancellation were observed. The changes in appearance of the CF at the reconnection site were accompanied by the formation and accumulation of some new magnetic loops, as well as plasmas propagated along the formed magnetic loops from the reconnection site, indicating the changes in the topology of the F and CF. These can provide comprehensive observational evidence for successive reconnection. After the reconnection, a longer U-shaped filament was formed. During the formation of the U-shaped filament, two major magnetic energy releases took place. While in the two energy release processes, the injected plasma from the reconnection site can provide part of the material for the formation of the U-shaped filament. Therefore, we conclude that the successive reconnection results in both the dynamical evolution and the subsequent formation associated with the U-shaped filament. And the results of nonlinear force-free field extrapolation demonstrated that the magnetic topology of the F was changed significantly; this is consistent with the observational results and further confirms the formation of the U-shaped filament.

Data-constrained Solar Modeling with GX Simulator

To facilitate the study of solar flares and active regions, we have created a modeling framework, the freely distributed GX Simulator IDL package, that combines 3D magnetic and plasma structures with thermal and nonthermal models of the chromosphere, transition region, and corona. Its object-based modular architecture, which runs on Windows, Mac, and Unix/Linux platforms, offers the ability to either import 3D density and temperature distribution models, or to assign numerically defined coronal or chromospheric temperatures and densities, or their distributions, to each individual voxel. GX Simulator can apply parametric heating models involving average properties of the magnetic field lines crossing a given voxel, as well as compute and investigate the spatial and spectral properties of radio, (sub)millimeter, EUV, and X-ray emissions calculated from the model, and quantitatively compare them with observations. The package includes a fully automatic model production pipeline that, based on minimal users input, downloads the required SDO/HMI vector magnetic field data, performs potential or nonlinear force-free field extrapolations, populates the magnetic field skeleton with parameterized heated plasma coronal models that assume either steady-state or impulsive plasma heating, and generates non-LTE density and temperature distribution models of the chromosphere that are constrained by photospheric measurements. The standardized models produced by this pipeline may be further customized through specialized IDL scripts, or a set of interactive tools provided by the graphical user interface. Here, we describe the GX Simulator framework and its applications.

A comparative study of data-driven MHD simulations of solar coronal evolution with photospheric flows derived from two different approaches

Data-driven simulation proves to be a powerful tool in revealing the dynamic process of the solar corona, but it remains challenging to implement the driving boundary conditions in a self-consistent way and match the observables at the photosphere. Here, we test two different photospheric velocity-driven MHD simulations in studying the quasi-static evolution of solar active region NOAA 11158. The two simulations were identically initialized with an MHD equilibrium as relaxed from a non-linear force-free field extrapolation from a vector magnetogram. Then, we energized the MHD system by applying the time series of photospheric velocity at the bottom boundary as derived by two different codes, the DAVE4VM and PDFI, from the observed vector magnetograms. To mimic the small-scale flux cancellation on the photosphere, the magnetic diffusion at the bottom boundary was set to be inversely proportional to the local scale length of the magnetic field. The result shows the evolution curves of the total magnetic energy and unsigned magnetic flux generated by the PDFI velocity match the corresponding curves from the observations much better than those by the DAVE4VM one. The structure of the current layer and synthetic image in PDFI simulation also has a more reasonable consistency with SDO/AIA 131 Å observation. The only shortage of the PDFI velocity is its capability in reproducing the morphology of sunspots, as characterized by a slightly lower correlation coefficient for the bottom magnetic field in simulations and magnetograms. Overall, this study suggests the superiority of each method in the models driven by the bottom velocity, which represents a further step toward the goal of reproducing more realistically the evolution of coronal magnetic fields using data-driven modeling.