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FastQSL 2: A comprehensive toolkit for magnetic connectivity analysis

  • Jun Chen*
  • , Thomas Wiegelmann
  • , Li Feng*
  • , Chaowei Jiang
  • , Rui Liu
  • *Corresponding author for this work
  • CAS - Purple Mountain Observatory
  • Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
  • University of Science and Technology of China
  • Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We present a new version of FastQSL for locating quasi-separatrix layers (QSLs)—regions characterized by strong magnetic connectivity gradients, preferential current buildup, and subsequent magnetic reconnection. This version now supports spherical coordinates, utilizing a second spherical coordinate system for tracing magnetic field lines around the polar regions. This approach completely resolves the singularity problem at the two poles. Furthermore, our code accommodates arbitrary mesh shapes for output, can provide both magnetic field and electric current density on the mesh, and can save the traced magnetic field lines. We suggest using Qlocal calculated through a localized mapping to locate (quasi-)separators. By quickly and accurately outputting the footpoint coordinates of magnetic field lines, FastQSL can be used to derive the two key parameters used for modeling solar wind speed and slip-squashing factors for the case of zero boundary flow. Compared with the first version, FastQSL 2 achieves significant improvements in terms of application scope.

Original languageEnglish
Article number289611
JournalScience China: Physics, Mechanics and Astronomy
Volume69
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2026
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • magnetic topology
  • open source software
  • solar corona

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