Authors: Gregory Szypko (Rice University), Grant Gorman (Rice University), Stephen Bradshaw (Rice University)

Interchange Reconnection (IR) is a magnetic reconnection scenario occurring at the boundary between open- and closed-field regions of the solar atmosphere, where magnetic connectivity is “interchanged” between the two. IR has been suggested as a mechanism for forming magnetic switchbacks in the solar wind, as have been observed by the Parker Solar Probe, and as a contributor to the high variability of the slow solar wind. In this work, we describe techniques for modeling the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) evolution of the corona out into the solar wind following IR. To create suitable initial conditions, we describe a semi-analytical method for efficiently generating equilibria at coronal open-closed field boundaries. To maintain thermal energy balance in the simulation, we describe a technique for tailoring heating heuristics to match thermal conduction and radiative losses using a simulated annealing algorithm. For the reconnection itself, we describe methods of emulating impulsive heating at the MHD scale, including algorithmic strategies for localizing anomalous resistivity to the reconnection region. Using our code SPRUCE (Simulating Plasmas with modulaR flUid CodE), we demonstrate preliminary IR aftermath simulations using these techniques. We also discuss future plans to couple our modeling with kinetic simulations of the reconnection region as well as plans to address multi-species behavior following IR.