3D Evolution of Solar Magnetic Fields and High-speed Solar Wind Streams Near the Minimum of Solar Cycle 23

Olesya Yakovchouk¹, Igor Veselovsky¹, 2, Kalevi Mursula³

¹Institute of Nuclear Physics, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
²Space Research Institute (IKI), Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
³University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

We use the numerical method developed by Veselovsky and Ivanov (2006) together with magnetograms of the Sun obtained at the photospheric level as input information to produce model movies showing the evolution of the calculated coronal magnetic field with open, closed and intermittent topology field lines during March-December 2007. The results are compared with stereoscopic images and movies of corona observed by EUV telescopes onboard STEREO and SOHO spacecraft. The sources of the permanent and transient high speed solar wind streams as well as the sector structure and the heliospheric plasma sheet observed at the Earth’s orbit by the ACE and STEREO spacecraft will be indicated and discussed. Coronal holes, active regions and quiet Sun regions are non-locally coupled and contribute to these processes by different relative amounts.

Reference: I. S. Veselovsky, A. V. Ivanov, Visualization of the solar magnetic field using coefficients of harmonic expansion in the potential approximation, Solar System Research, Volume 40, Issue 5, pp.432-436, 2006.