Formation of a Magnetic Cloud from the Merging of Two Successive Coronal Mass Ejections

Abstract

On 2022 March 28 two successive coronal mass ejections (CMEs) were observed by multiple spacecraft and resulted in a magnetic cloud (MC) at 1 au. We investigate the propagation and interaction properties of the two CMEs correlated with the MC using coordinated multipoint remote sensing and in situ observations from Solar Orbiter, STEREO-A, Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, and Wind. The first CME was triggered by a filament eruption with a high inclination angle. Roughly 9 hr later, the second CME originating from the same active region erupted with a smaller tilt angle and faster speed compared to the first one. The second CME overtook the preceding CME and formed a merged front at approximately 75 R ☉, which developed into a complex ejecta at 1 au. The descending speed and low proton temperature inside the complex ejecta suggest that the two CMEs have fully merged before reaching 1 au, leading them to begin expanding rather than compressing against each other. The complex ejecta appears to have the magnetic field and plasma signatures of an MC, although there is a discontinuity in the magnetic field implying previous interactions. The cross section of the complex ejecta, reconstructed from in situ data using a Grad–Shafranov technique, exhibits a right-handed flux rope structure. These results highlight that an MC-like complex ejecta lacking interaction features could arise from the complete merging of two CMEs.