MHD simulation of the evolution of shock structures in the solar corona: implications for coronal shock acceleration

We have employed magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations to study the dynamics of shocks in a solar minimum-like corona caused by an erupting coronal mass ejection (CME). Our simulations show that a highly non-trivial evolution of the shock properties on coronal field lines occurs even for simple coronal conditions. By comparing with recent test particle simulations of an evolving coronal shock employing a simplified shock model, we qualitatively assess the possibility of the shocks given by the MHD simulations to produce energetic particles. Our conclusion is that the evolution of parameters most crucial to particle acceleration at shocks, such as the compression ratio and obliquity, need to be more accurately taken into account in models and simulations of particle acceleration than has been customary, so far.