Coupling MHD Simulations of CMEs to SEP Models

Abstract:

Large Solar Energetic Particle events (SEPs) are a main space weather
hazard and extremely dangerous to astronauts and electronic equipment
in space. They are typically associated with fast Coronal Mass Ejections
(CMEs). Recent results indicate that SEPs can be generated already in
the early phase of CME expansion low in the corona, but the underlying
physical mechanisms are not yet well understood. State-of-the-art
magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of CME initiation and evolution,
combined with numerical models of particle acceleration and propagation,
provide a powerful tool to investigate these mechanisms. In this talk, we
present recent developments in the coupling of CORHEL/MAS thermodynamic
MHD simulations of fast CMEs to the EPREM particle code, and we discuss
the insights that can be gained from such a combined modeling approach.