Simulating the Heliosphere with Kinetic Hydrogen and Dynamic MHD Source Terms

Heerikhuisen, Jacob; Pogorelov, Nikolai; Zank, Gary

Title: Simulating the Heliosphere with Kinetic Hydrogen and Dynamic MHD Source Terms

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Abstract

The interaction between the ionized plasma of the solar wind (SW) emanating from the sun and the partially ionized plasma of the local interstellar medium (LISM) creates the heliosphere. The heliospheric interface is characterized by the tangential discontinuity known as the heliopause that separates the SW and LISM plasmas, and a termination shock on the SW side along with a possible bow shock on the LISM side. Neutral Hydrogen of interstellar origin plays a critical role in shaping the heliospheric interface, since it freely traverses the heliopause. Charge-exchange between H-atoms and plasma protons couples the ions and neutrals, but the mean free paths are large, resulting in non-equilibrated energetic ion and neutral components. In our model, source terms for the MHD equations are generated using a kinetic approach for hydrogen, and the key computational challenge is to resolve these sources with sufficient statistics. For steady-state simulations, statistics can accumulate over arbitrarily long time intervals. In this paper we discuss an approach for improving the statistics in time-dependent calculations, and present results from simulations of the heliosphere where the SW conditions at the inner boundary of the computation vary according to an idealized solar cycle.

Authors:

Heerikhuisen, Jacob ^[1]; Pogorelov, Nikolai ^[1]; Zank, Gary ^[1]

Univ. of Alabama, Huntsville, AL (United States)

Publication Date:: Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 EDT 2013

Research Org.:: Univ. of Alabama, Huntsville, AL (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Fusion Energy Sciences (FES)

OSTI Identifier:: 1326022

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0008334

Resource Type:: Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:: Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series

Additional Journal Information:: Journal Volume: 474; Conference: 7th International Conference on Numerical Modeling of Space Plasma Flows, Big Island, HI (United States), 25-29 Jun 2012; Related Information: ISBN 978-1-58381-832-9; Journal ID: ISSN 1050-3390

Publisher:: Astronomical Society of the Pacific

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS

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                    Heerikhuisen, Jacob, Pogorelov, Nikolai, and Zank, Gary. Simulating the Heliosphere with Kinetic Hydrogen and Dynamic MHD Source Terms.  United States: N. p., 2013. 
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                    Heerikhuisen, Jacob, Pogorelov, Nikolai, & Zank, Gary. Simulating the Heliosphere with Kinetic Hydrogen and Dynamic MHD Source Terms.  United States.

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                    Heerikhuisen, Jacob, Pogorelov, Nikolai, and Zank, Gary. Mon .  
"Simulating the Heliosphere with Kinetic Hydrogen and Dynamic MHD Source Terms".  United States.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1326022.

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@article{osti_1326022,

  title        = {Simulating the Heliosphere with Kinetic Hydrogen and Dynamic MHD Source Terms},

  author       = {Heerikhuisen, Jacob and Pogorelov, Nikolai and Zank, Gary},

  abstractNote = {The interaction between the ionized plasma of the solar wind (SW) emanating from the sun and the partially ionized plasma of the local interstellar medium (LISM) creates the heliosphere. The heliospheric interface is characterized by the tangential discontinuity known as the heliopause that separates the SW and LISM plasmas, and a termination shock on the SW side along with a possible bow shock on the LISM side. Neutral Hydrogen of interstellar origin plays a critical role in shaping the heliospheric interface, since it freely traverses the heliopause. Charge-exchange between H-atoms and plasma protons couples the ions and neutrals, but the mean free paths are large, resulting in non-equilibrated energetic ion and neutral components. In our model, source terms for the MHD equations are generated using a kinetic approach for hydrogen, and the key computational challenge is to resolve these sources with sufficient statistics. For steady-state simulations, statistics can accumulate over arbitrarily long time intervals. In this paper we discuss an approach for improving the statistics in time-dependent calculations, and present results from simulations of the heliosphere where the SW conditions at the inner boundary of the computation vary according to an idealized solar cycle.},

  doi          = {},

  journal      = {Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series},

  number       = ,

  volume       = 474,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 EDT 2013},

  month        = {Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 EDT 2013}

}

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