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ENLIL: 3-D MHD heliospheric code

Submitted by Stijn Calders on Wed, 04/27/2011 - 10:58.

The ENLIL (Sumerian god of windi) code is a numerical model for simulations of the ambient corotating solar windii as well as transient disturbances throughout the inner and mid heliospherei. The model is based on ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations with the ratio of specific heats, usually chosen to be 1.5. Two additional continuity equations may be used for tracing the injected material and the interplanetary magnetic fieldi polarity. The inner heliospheric boundary is at the super-critical flow region (usually 18-30 Rs), thereby simplifying the numerical solution. The inner boundary conditions are prescribed values of all MHD variables as functions of time and all structures rotate along the inner boundary with an azimuthal velocity corresponding to the solar rotation. After an ambient state has been reached, transient disturbances can be specified as time dependent values on the inner boundary. These transient boundary values can be specified from:

  1. analytic formulae;
  2. empirical models;
  3. results from numerical coronal models; or
  4. derived from observations in certain applications (e.g., radial spacecraft alignment or geospace applications).

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References

  • Odstrcil, D., Modeling 3-D solar windii structure, Adv. Space Res., 32(4), doi:10.1016/S0273-1177(03)00332-6, 2003.
  • Odstrcil, D., P. Riley, and X. P. Zhao, Numerical simulation of the 12 May 1997 interplanetary CMEi event, J. Geophys. Res., 109, doi:10.1029/2003JA010135, 2004.
  • Arge, C. N., and Pizzo V. J., Improvement in the prediction of solar windii conditions using near-real time solar magnetic field updates, J. Geophys. Res., 105, doi:10.1029/1999JA000262, 2000.
  • Odstrcil, D., V. J. Pizzo, and C. N. Arge, Propagation of the 12 May 1997 interplanetary CMEi in evolving solar windii structures, J. Geophys. Res., 110, doi:10.1029/2004JA010745, 2005.
  • Pizzo, V., G. Millward, A. Parsons, D. Biesecker, S. Hill, and D. Odstrcil, Wang-Sheeley-Arge–Enlil Cone Model Transitions to Operations, Space Weatheri, 9, S03004, doi:10.1029/2011SW000663, 2011.
  • C.O. Lee, J.G. Luhmann, D. Odstrcil et al., The solar windii at 1 AU during the declining phase of solar cycle 23: Comparison of 3D numerical model results with observations, Solar Phys, 254, doi:10.1007/s11207-008-9280-y, 2009.