Assess whether observational electric-field uncertainty negates the advantage of E-driving

Determine whether uncertainties in electric-field inversions from observational data compromise the numerical advantage of electric-field driving relative to magnetic-field driving.

Background

The simulations find that prescribing boundary electromotive forces through electric-field driving more accurately reproduces magnetic-field evolution than conventional ghost-cell magnetic-field driving in the tested Athena++ configurations. However, observational electric fields must generally be inferred rather than measured directly, and the paper does not resolve whether errors in those inversions could eliminate the advantage observed with synthetic or ground-truth driving data.

References

This study indicates $\mathbf{E}$-driving may be numerically advantageous, however, it remains to be seen whether the uncertainty in electric field inversions from observational data compromises this advantage when compared to the $\mathbf{B}$-driving.

— Direct Numerical Comparison of Data Driving Strategies for Solar Flux Emergence in Magnetohydrodynamics: B-driving vs E-driving  (2610.11182 - Tapinou et al., 8 Oct 2026) in Conclusions, second paragraph