Simulated interaction of MHD shock waves with a complex network-like region

TL;DR

This study models how MHD shock waves propagate through a complex solar magnetic network, revealing how energy transmission and wave frequencies vary with magnetic topology and nonlinear effects.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed comparison of linear and nonlinear wave propagation in a realistic, network-like solar magnetic field with a null point.

Findings

Energy reaching the corona is similar in both regimes.

Wave frequencies differ between linear and nonlinear regimes.

Wave period distribution aligns with observations only in the nonlinear case.

Abstract

We provide estimates of the wave energy reaching the solar chromosphere and corona in a network-like magnetic field topology, including a coronal null point. The waves are excited by an instantaneous strong subphotospheric source and propagate through the subphotosphere, photosphere, chromosphere, transition region, and corona with the plasma beta and other atmospheric parameters varying by several orders of magnitude. We compare two regimes of the wave propagation: a linear and nonlinear regime. While the amount of energy reaching the corona is similar in both regimes, this energy is transmitted at different frequencies. In both cases the dominant periods of waves at each height strongly depend on the local magnetic field topology, but this distribution is only in accordance with observations in the nonlinear case.