Multi-fluid Modeling of Magnetosonic Wave Propagation in the Solar Chromosphere: Effects of Impact Ionization and Radiative Recombination

Journal Article · Mon Feb 20 00:00:00 EST 2017 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/AA5B83· OSTI ID:22663774

Maneva, Yana G.; Laguna, Alejandro Alvarez; Poedts, Stefaan ^[1]; Lani, Andrea ^[2]

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1. Department of Mathematics, Center for Mathematical Plasma Astrophysics, Catholic University of Leuven, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium)
2. von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, CFD group, Aeronautics and Aerospace, Rhode Saint-Genèse (Belgium)

In order to study chromospheric magnetosonic wave propagation including, for the first time, the effects of ion–neutral interactions in the partially ionized solar chromosphere, we have developed a new multi-fluid computational model accounting for ionization and recombination reactions in gravitationally stratified magnetized collisional media. The two-fluid model used in our 2D numerical simulations treats neutrals as a separate fluid and considers charged species (electrons and ions) within the resistive MHD approach with Coulomb collisions and anisotropic heat flux determined by Braginskiis transport coefficients. The electromagnetic fields are evolved according to the full Maxwell equations and the solenoidality of the magnetic field is enforced with a hyperbolic divergence-cleaning scheme. The initial density and temperature profiles are similar to VAL III chromospheric model in which dynamical, thermal, and chemical equilibrium are considered to ensure comparison to existing MHD models and avoid artificial numerical heating. In this initial setup we include simple homogeneous flux tube magnetic field configuration and an external photospheric velocity driver to simulate the propagation of MHD waves in the partially ionized reactive chromosphere. In particular, we investigate the loss of chemical equilibrium and the plasma heating related to the steepening of fast magnetosonic wave fronts in the gravitationally stratified medium.

• OSTI ID: 22663774
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 836, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
ANISOTROPY
CHROMOSPHERE
COLLISIONS
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS
HEAT FLUX
IONIZATION
LOSSES
MAGNETIC FIELD CONFIGURATIONS
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MAGNETOACOUSTIC WAVES
MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS
MAXWELL EQUATIONS
OSCILLATIONS
PLASMA
PLASMA HEATING
RECOMBINATION
SHOCK WAVES
SUN
WAVE PROPAGATION