Extended MHD modeling of the steady solar corona and the solar wind

TL;DR

This paper reviews the development and current state of large-scale MHD models of the solar corona and solar wind, highlighting historical evolution, scientific challenges, and future directions.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of the evolution of global MHD models for the solar corona and wind, including recent advancements and future prospects.

Findings

Historical context of solar atmosphere modeling

Development of first-generation global models

Discussion of scientific and computational challenges

Abstract

The history and present state of large-scale magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) modeling of the solar corona and the solar wind with steady or quasi-steady coronal physics is reviewed. We put the evolution of ideas leading to the recognition of the existence of an expanding solar atmosphere into historical context. The development and main features of the first generation of global corona and solar wind models are described in detail. This historical perspective is also applied to the present suite of global corona and solar wind models. We discuss the evolution of new ideas and their implementation into numerical simulation codes. We point out the scientific and computational challenges facing these models and discuss the ways various groups tried to overcome these challenges. Next, we discuss the latest, state-of-the art models and point to the expected next steps in modeling the corona and the interplanetary medium.