Valentin Aslanyan

[Slide 1] We have used a potential field source surface model to generate a Solar magnetic field with a pseudostreamer. An isolated mid-latitude coronal hole is bounded by this pseudosteamer from the north and a helmet streamer from the south. We use the so-called squashing factor Q at the photosphere and source surface to visualize the magnetic field. [Slide 2] We simulate this geometry with a fully self-consistent magnetohydrodynamic code, ARMS. We impose flows at the photosphere to mimic supergranules. This results in the twisting of magnetic field lines, as seen from the squashing factor Q. Magnetic field lines at the open/closed boundary undergo interchange reconnection. The twisted magnetic field lines, and those which have opened up as a result of interchange reconnection, propagate out to the source surface. The latter form “finger”-like narrow bands. [Slide 3] We consider a circular orbit at 20 Solar radii. We calculate the magnetic field lines which map up to this orbit, and the path on the photosphere that these footpoints take. From a combination of the local magnetic field and the connectivity of the field lines, open or closed, we generate a synthetic electron spectrum. Reconnected open field lines leave a distinct signal in this spectrum. [Slide 4] In our simulations, we observe that interchange reconnection smooths out the open/closed boundary at the border of a pseudostreamer, but much less so at the border of a helmet streamer. We have generated synthetic x-ray images of a coronal hole in each instance, showing clearly observable differences between the two.