Coronal mass ejections and their association to active region flaring.

Abstract

Since the discovery of coronal mass ejections (CMEs), flaring has been thought to be associated in some way with the ejection in either cause or effect. When CMEs were first discovered in the 1970s it was suggested that they were powered by solar flares (e.g., Dryer, 1982). Research since then (Harrison, 1986) has indicated that there is an associated flare that occurs shortly after the CME. To investigate this further, and making no assumption that a particular flare is causally connected to the CME, flaring activity in nine active regions that show one or more CME signatures has been studied for several hours before and after CME launch. Although the initiation of the CME may occur on size scales larger than the active region itself, definite changes are seen in the flaring activity which may be related to the ejection. This work indicates that the energy released from the active region magnetic field via flaring is greater prior to the CME launch than after.