A numerical study of the interaction between two ejecta in the interplanetary medium: one- and two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations
We studied the heliospheric evolution in one and two dimensions of the interaction between two ejecta-like disturbances beyond the critical point: a faster ejecta 2 overtaking a previously launched slower ejecta 1. The study is based on a hydrodynamic model using the ZEUS-3-D code. This model can be...
| Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | article |
| Status: | Published version |
| Publication Date: | 2004 |
| Country: | México |
| Institution: | Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México |
| Repository: | Sistema de Información de la Facultad de Ciencias, UNAM |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:repositorio.fciencias.unam.mx:11154/1522 |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/11154/1522 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | Astronomy & Astrophysics Geosciences, Multidisciplinary Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences interplanetary physics flare and stream dynamics interplanetary shocks solar wind plasma |
| Summary: | We studied the heliospheric evolution in one and two dimensions of the interaction between two ejecta-like disturbances beyond the critical point: a faster ejecta 2 overtaking a previously launched slower ejecta 1. The study is based on a hydrodynamic model using the ZEUS-3-D code. This model can be applied to those cases where the interaction occurs far away from the Sun and there is no merging (magnetic reconnection) between the two ejecta. The simulation shows that when the faster ejecta 2 overtakes ejecta I there is an interchange of momentum between the two ejecta, where the leading ejecta 1 accelerates and the tracking ejecta 2 decelerates. Both ejecta tend to arrive at 1 AU having similar speeds, but with the front of ejecta 1 propagating faster than the front of ejecta 2. The momentum is transferred from ejecta 2 to ejecta 1 when the shock initially driven by ejecta 2 passes through ejecta 1. Eventually the two shock waves driven by the two ejecta merge together into a single stronger shock. The 2-D simulation shows that the evolution of the interaction can be very complex and there are very different signatures of the same event at different viewing angles |
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