Three-dimensional MHD Modeling of the Solar Corona and Solar Wind

Arcadi V. Usmanov, Melvyn L. Goldstein, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA

We present simulation results for the solar corona and solar wind from axisymmetric and fully three-dimensional MHD models. A steady coronal outflow is simulated with an Alfvén waves momentum and energy influx into the open field regions. The governing polytropic single-fluid MHD equations incorporate the Alfvén waves in the WKB approximation and are solved by a combination of a time-relaxation technique in the inner computational region (1-20 solar radii) and a marching-along-radius method in the region extending out to 1 AU. We produce realistic simulations of the inner heliosphere as determined by boundary conditions at the coronal base and compare output from the models with spacecraft data.