Simulations of structured upflows from plumes and their connection to the solar wind

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Bora, Kamlesh, Chitta, Lakshmi Pradeep, Chen, Yajie, Przybylski, Damien, Pontin, David, Panyam, Nikil
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Bora, Kamlesh
Chitta, Lakshmi Pradeep
Chen, Yajie
Przybylski, Damien
Pontin, David
Panyam, Nikil
author_facet Bora, Kamlesh
Chitta, Lakshmi Pradeep
Chen, Yajie
Przybylski, Damien
Pontin, David
Panyam, Nikil
contents Small-scale transient jetlet activity and associated upflows from coronal hole plumes are potential sources of the solar wind. To elucidate the magnetic origins and driving mechanisms of such upflows, we perform three-dimensional radiative magnetohydrodynamic simulations using the MURaM code, spanning from the upper convection zone to the low corona. We synthesize Fe\,{\sc x} 174\,Å emission to capture the plume evolution comparable to observations, examining underlying plasma flows, thermal structures, and magnetic topologies. We identify a pronounced transition from cool downflows in the lower atmosphere to hot upflows in the corona at the interface between plume-rooted like-polarity flux concentrations. These upflows are threaded by a complex, filamentary network of Quasi-Separatrix Layers (QSLs) -- a topology distinct from standard interchange reconnection scenarios. The domain-averaged mass flux over a 38-minute interval ranges from $10^{-9}$ to $10^{-8}\,\mathrm{g\,cm^{-2}\,s^{-1}}$, substantially exceeding observed solar-wind loss rates. Our results demonstrate that highly structured plasma outflows are channeled along strong QSLs at open--open field boundaries, providing a pathway to sustain the solar wind from coronal-hole plumes without requiring interchange reconnection triggered by opposite-polarity flux emergence.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_12557
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Simulations of structured upflows from plumes and their connection to the solar wind
Bora, Kamlesh
Chitta, Lakshmi Pradeep
Chen, Yajie
Przybylski, Damien
Pontin, David
Panyam, Nikil
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Small-scale transient jetlet activity and associated upflows from coronal hole plumes are potential sources of the solar wind. To elucidate the magnetic origins and driving mechanisms of such upflows, we perform three-dimensional radiative magnetohydrodynamic simulations using the MURaM code, spanning from the upper convection zone to the low corona. We synthesize Fe\,{\sc x} 174\,Å emission to capture the plume evolution comparable to observations, examining underlying plasma flows, thermal structures, and magnetic topologies. We identify a pronounced transition from cool downflows in the lower atmosphere to hot upflows in the corona at the interface between plume-rooted like-polarity flux concentrations. These upflows are threaded by a complex, filamentary network of Quasi-Separatrix Layers (QSLs) -- a topology distinct from standard interchange reconnection scenarios. The domain-averaged mass flux over a 38-minute interval ranges from $10^{-9}$ to $10^{-8}\,\mathrm{g\,cm^{-2}\,s^{-1}}$, substantially exceeding observed solar-wind loss rates. Our results demonstrate that highly structured plasma outflows are channeled along strong QSLs at open--open field boundaries, providing a pathway to sustain the solar wind from coronal-hole plumes without requiring interchange reconnection triggered by opposite-polarity flux emergence.
title Simulations of structured upflows from plumes and their connection to the solar wind
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.12557