Multispacecraft Validation of a Global Two-Temperature Corona and Inner Heliosphere Model

VAN DER HOLST, BARTHOLOMEUS; JIN, M.; MANCHESTER IV, WARD B.; FRAZIN, RICHARD A.; VÁSQUEZ, ALBERTO M.; LAMY, PHILIPPE; LLEBARIA, ANTOINE; GOMBOSI, T.I.

San Francisco, California, EEUU

Congreso; AGU Fall Meeting 2010; 2010

During the recent solar minimum, the two STEREO spacecrafts have imaged many Corotating Interaction Regions (CIRs) in the interplanetary medium. The multi-spacecraft view of the CIRs during this period of very low activity is a unique opportunity for validating solar wind models. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Space Weather Prediction Center the absolute minimum of Sunspots number for solar cycle 23 happened during CR2077 (2008, November 20 through December 17). We use this rotation to perform a multi-spacecraft validation study for a recently developed three-dimensional two-temperature and Alfvén wave driven global solar wind model within the Space Weather Modeling Framework (SWMF). We compare the CIRs of this model with in situ STEREO A and B, ACE/WIND as well as Venus Express. Near the Sun, we validate the numerical model with the density obtained from the solar rotational tomography on LASCO-C2 data of SOHO in the height range of 2.4 to 6 Rsun and electron temperature and density from differential emission measure tomography on STEREO A and B EUVI images in the height range of 1.035 to 1.225 Rsun.