SPICULE-LIKE STRUCTURES OBSERVED IN THREE-DIMENSIONAL REALISTIC MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC SIMULATIONS

We analyze features that resemble type I spicules in two different three-dimensional numerical simulations in which we include horizontal magnetic flux emergence in a computational domain spanning the upper layers of the convection zone to the lower corona. The two simulations differ mainly in the pre-existing ambient magnetic field strength and in the properties of the inserted flux tube. We use the Oslo Staggered Code to solve the full magnetohydrodynamic equations with nongray and non-LTE radiative transfer and thermal conduction along the magnetic field lines. We find a multitude of features that show a spatiotemporal evolution that is similar to that observed in type I spicules, which are characterized by parabolic height versus time profiles, and are dominated by rapid upward motion at speeds of 10-30 km s(-1), followed by downward motion at similar velocities. We measured the parameters of the parabolic profile of the spicules and find similar correlations between the parameters as those found in observations. The values for height (or length) and duration of the spicules found in the simulations are more limited in range than those in the observations. The spicules found in the simulation with higher pre-existing ambient field have shorter length and smaller velocities. From the simulations, it appears that these kinds of spicules can, in principle, be driven by a variety of mechanisms that include p-modes, collapsing granules, magnetic energy release in the photosphere and lower chromosphere, and convective buffeting of flux concentrations.