A three-dimensional MHD simulation of the solar wind for a tilted-dipole magnetic field on the Sun

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

Using a three-dimensional MHD model, we simulate the global steady-state structure of the solar corona and solar wind for a dipole magnetic field on the Sun inclined by 30 degrees to the solar rotation axis. This represents the solar conditions typical for a declining phase of solar cycle. Our computational domain extends from the coronal base out to 100 AU and accounts for the population of interstellar neutral hydrogen and its interaction with solar wind protons within the heliosphere. We will present simulation results on the formation of corotating interaction regions and the heliospheric current sheet, their evolution with heliocentric distance, and the effects of pickup protons in this evolution.