Numerical simulations of impulsively generated Alfv\'en waves in solar magnetic arcades

TL;DR

This study uses numerical simulations to analyze how impulsively generated Alfvén waves propagate, reflect, and attenuate in a modeled solar magnetic arcade, revealing effects of arcade size, initial pulse width, and plasma properties.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed 2.5D MHD simulation of Alfvén wave behavior in an asymmetric solar arcade considering realistic temperature and magnetic field configurations.

Findings

Alfvén wave amplitude decreases due to partial reflection in the transition region.

Wider initial pulses lead to faster attenuation of Alfvén waves.

Wave propagation is significantly influenced by the spatial variation of Alfvén speed and phase-mixing.

Abstract

We perform numerical simulations of impulsively generated Alfv\'en waves in an isolated solar arcade, which is gravitationally stratified and magnetically confined. We study numerically the propagation of Alfv\'en waves along such magnetic structure that extends from the lower chromosphere, where the waves are generated, to the solar corona, and analyze influence of the arcade size and width of the initial pulses on the wave propagation and reflection. Our model of the solar atmosphere is constructed by adopting the temperature distribution based on the semi-empirical VAL-C model and specifying the curved magnetic field lines that constitute the asymmetric magnetic arcade. The propagation and reflection of Alfv\'en waves in this arcade is described by 2.5D magnetohydrodynamic equations that are numerically solved by the FLASH code. Our numerical simulations reveal that the Alfv\'en wave amplitude decreases as a result of a partial reflection of Alfv\'en waves in the solar transition region, and that the waves which are not reflected leak through the transition region and reach the solar corona. We also find the decrement of the attenuation time of Alfv\'en waves for wider initial pulses. Moreover, our results show that the propagation of Alfv\'en waves in the arcade is affected by spatial dependence of the Alfv\'en speed, which leads to phase-mixing that is stronger for more curved and larger magnetic arcades. We discuss processes that affect the Alfv\'en wave propagation in an asymmetric solar arcade and conclude that besides phase-mixing in the magnetic field configuration, plasma properties of the arcade and size of the initial pulse as well as structure of the solar transition region all play a vital role in the Alfv\'en wave propagation.