Data driven modelling of solar wind : a predictive toolbox for space weather

Abstract

The interaction of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) with the magnetosphere involves a huge amount of energy which is eventually pumped into the upper atmosphere during the magnetic reconnection events at the night-side magneto-tail. The foundations for the study of such interaction starts with the modelling of the background solar wind in which the CME propagates. The modelling of the background wind is mainly done using two methods, (a) empirical models such as Wang-Sheeley(WS) and Wang-SheeleyArge(WSA) models involving relations between the parameters of the open magnetic flux tubes that drive the solar wind in conjunction with extrapolation models such as the HUX and numerical methods involving magneto-hydrodynamic simulations of the propagating wind. In this work 1, we present a comparison between the results from the empirical models and the numerical MHD models and their validations with the observed data obtained from OMNI database. These background models will be the initial stepping stones for developing a complete pipeline to model the CME propagation and interaction in the inner helio-sphere.