Integration of a CME Flux Rope Model with Magnetic Field Draping in Heliospheric Simulations
- 1University of Helsinki
Abstract
Accurate prediction of the magnetic structure of interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) remains a key challenge in space weather forecasting. Despite several efforts using global MHD modeling, it remains difficult to deduce a flux-rope solution that can accurately and reliably reproduce the magnetic structure of a CME. We present the Flux Rope embedded in the Solar Magnetic Field (FROST), a new flux-rope model implementation within the European Heliospheric Forecast Information Asset (EUHFORIA), featuring an initially force-free toroidal flux rope embedded in the low-coronal magnetic field. FROST employs a novel embedding technique that self-consistently generates a draping magnetic field around the flux rope, ensuring continuity of the normal magnetic field component at the CME boundary. The dynamics of the flux rope in the low and middle corona is solved by a nonuniform advection constrained by the observed kinematics of the event. This results in a global, nontoroidal, stretched loop-like magnetic structure. At heliospheric distances, the evolution is modeled as an MHD process using EUHFORIA. We validate the FROST model implementation by simulating the CME event of 2013 April 11 and comparing the results with in situ magnetic field measurements at 1 au. The modeled magnetic field profiles of the flux rope exhibit strong agreement with the observations, with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.64–0.93 for B x , 0.92–0.95 for B y , and 0.82–0.87 for B z component of the magnetic field. These results demonstrate the capability of the proposed flux-rope model to significantly improve ICME magnetic field prediction, highlighting its strong potential for advancing space-weather forecasting capabilities.
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BibTeX
@article{sarkar2026integration,
title = {{Integration of a CME Flux Rope Model with Magnetic Field Draping in Heliospheric Simulations}},
author = {Ranadeep Sarkar and Jens Pomoell and Emilia Kilpua and Eleanna Asvestari},
journal = {The Astrophysical Journal},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3847/1538-4357/aea613},
url = {https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aea613},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Integration of a CME Flux Rope Model with Magnetic Field Draping in Heliospheric Simulations
AU - Ranadeep Sarkar
AU - Jens Pomoell
AU - Emilia Kilpua
AU - Eleanna Asvestari
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/19
JO - The Astrophysical Journal
DO - 10.3847/1538-4357/aea613
UR - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aea613
AB - Accurate prediction of the magnetic structure of interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) remains a key challenge in space weather forecasting. Despite several efforts using global MHD modeling, it remains difficult to deduce a flux-rope solution that can accurately and reliably reproduce the magnetic structure of a CME. We present the Flux Rope embedded in the Solar Magnetic Field (FROST), a new flux-rope model implementation within the European Heliospheric Forecast Information Asset (EUHFORIA), featuring an initially force-free toroidal flux rope embedded in the low-coronal magnetic field. FROST employs a novel embedding technique that self-consistently generates a draping magnetic field around the flux rope, ensuring continuity of the normal magnetic field component at the CME boundary. The dynamics of the flux rope in the low and middle corona is solved by a nonuniform advection constrained by the observed kinematics of the event. This results in a global, nontoroidal, stretched loop-like magnetic structure. At heliospheric distances, the evolution is modeled as an MHD process using EUHFORIA. We validate the FROST model implementation by simulating the CME event of 2013 April 11 and comparing the results with in situ magnetic field measurements at 1 au. The modeled magnetic field profiles of the flux rope exhibit strong agreement with the observations, with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.64–0.93 for B x , 0.92–0.95 for B y , and 0.82–0.87 for B z component of the magnetic field. These results demonstrate the capability of the proposed flux-rope model to significantly improve ICME magnetic field prediction, highlighting its strong potential for advancing space-weather forecasting capabilities.
SN - 0004-637X
SN - 1538-4357
ER -