%0 Journal Article
%T TPCI: The PLUTO-CLOUDY Interface
%A M. Salz
%A R. Banerjee
%A A. Mignone
%A P. C. Schneider
%A S. Czesla
%A J. H. M. M. Schmitt
%J Physics
%D 2015
%I arXiv
%R 10.1051/0004-6361/201424330
%X We present an interface between the (magneto-) hydrodynamics code PLUTO and the plasma simulation and spectral synthesis code CLOUDY. By combining these codes, we constructed a new photoionization hydrodynamics solver: The PLUTO-CLOUDY Interface (TPCI), which is well suited to simulate photoevaporative flows under strong irradiation. The code includes the electromagnetic spectrum from X-rays to the radio range and solves the photoionization and chemical network of the 30 lightest elements. TPCI follows an iterative numerical scheme: First, the equilibrium state of the medium is solved for a given radiation field by CLOUDY, resulting in a net radiative heating or cooling. In the second step, the latter influences the (magneto-) hydrodynamic evolution calculated by PLUTO. Here, we validated the one-dimensional version of the code on the basis of four test problems: Photoevaporation of a cool hydrogen cloud, cooling of coronal plasma, formation of a Stroemgren sphere, and the evaporating atmosphere of a hot Jupiter. This combination of an equilibrium photoionization solver with a general MHD code provides an advanced simulation tool applicable to a variety of astrophysical problems.
%U http://arxiv.org/abs/1502.06517v1