MHD simulation of the three-dimensional structure of the heliospheric current sheet

¹ Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences, Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, 69978 Tel Aviv, Israel
² Space Physics Research Laboratory, Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
³ Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA

Corresponding author: P. L. Israelevich, peter@luna.tau.ac.il

Received: 18 April 2001
Accepted: 15 June 2001

Abstract

The existence of the radial component of the electric current flowing toward the Sun is revealed in numerical simulation. The total strength of the radial current is ~ A. The only way to fulfil the electric current continuity is to close the radial electric current by means of field- aligned currents at the polar region of the Sun. Thus, the surface density of the closure current flowing along the solar surface can be estimated as ~4 A/m, and the magnetic field produced by this current is T, i.e. several percent of the intrinsic magnetic field of the Sun. This seems to mean that any treatment of the solar magnetic field generation should take into account the heliospheric current circuit as well as the currents flowing inside the Sun.