A Comprehensive Simulation of Solar Wind Formation from the Solar Interior: Significant Cross-field Energy Transport by Interchange Reconnection near the Sun

TL;DR

This paper presents the first comprehensive 3D simulation of solar wind formation from the solar interior, highlighting the significant role of interchange reconnection in energy transfer and solar wind generation.

Contribution

It introduces a novel simulation approach that captures the connection between the solar interior and wind, emphasizing interchange reconnection's importance.

Findings

Interchange reconnection accounts for about half of the energy transfer to open fields.

The simulation reproduces observed slow solar wind characteristics.

Cross-field energy transport is significant in solar wind formation.

Abstract

The physical connection between thermal convection in the solar interior and the solar wind remains unclear due to their significant scale separation. Using an extended version of the three-dimensional radiative magnetohydrodynamic code RAMENS, we perform the first comprehensive simulation of the solar wind formation, starting from the wave excitation and the small-scale dynamo below the photosphere. The simulation satisfies various observational constraints as a slow solar wind emanating from the coronal hole boundary. The magnetic energy is persistently released in the simulated corona, showing a hot upward flow at the interface between open and closed fields. To evaluate the energetic contributions from Alfv\'en wave and interchange reconnection, we develop a new method to quantify the cross-field energy transport in the simulated atmosphere. The measured energy transport from closed coronal loops to open field accounts for approximately half of the total. These findings suggest a significant role of the supergranular-scale interchange reconnection in solar wind formation.