  Data-driven simulation is becoming an important approach for realistically
characterizing the configuration and evolution of solar active regions,
revealing the onset mechanism of solar eruption events and hopefully achieving
the goal of accurate space weather forecast, which is beyond the scope of any
existing theoretical modelling. Here we performed a full 3D MHD simulation
using the data-driven approach and followed the whole evolution process from
quasi-static phase to eruption successfully for solar active region NOAA 11429.
The MHD system was driven at the bottom boundary by photospheric velocity
field, which is derived by the DAVE4VM method from the observed vector
magnetograms. The simulation shows that a magnetic flux rope was generated by
persistent photospheric flow before the flare onset and then triggered to erupt
by torus instability. Our simulation demonstrates a high degree of consistency
with observations in the pre-eruption magnetic structure, the time scale of
quasi-static stage, the pattern of flare ribbons as well as the time evolution
of magnetic energy injection and total unsigned magnetic flux. We further found
that an eruption can also be initiated in the simulation as driven by only the
horizontal components of photospheric flow, but a comparison of the different
simulations indicates that the vertical flow at the bottom boundary is
necessary in reproducing more realistically these observed features,
emphasizing the importance of flux emergence during the development of this AR.
