NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS OF SOLAR DISTURBANCES AND THEIR INTERPLANETARY CONSEQUENCES

Responses of the solar atmosphere and interplanetary medium to simulated solar disturbances were studied by time-dependent, MHD numerical simulations. This deterministic initial-boundary value problem was attacked in the classical way: a representative steady state is first established, then input parameters at the lower near-Sun boundary are perturbed. We discuss a number of 2- and 3-dimensional examples of coronal mass ejection (CME) simulations and some current controversies concerning the basic process of CME initiation. Footpoint shearing motion is tested to see whether it can provide a reasonable mechanism for CME development from arch filament configurations. We also demonstrate possible interplanetary consequences to CME-like disturbances by using 3-D simulations to determine the dynamic response of the solar wind to a plasmoid injection from an eruptive filament or prominence. We also discuss the separate possibility whereby a plasmoid may be generated in the interplanetary medium by a solar-generated shock that propagates through a heliospheric current sheet. Application of the 3-D model for the interpretation of interplanetary scintillation observations is also discussed.