Impacts of EUV Wavefronts on Coronal Structures in Homologous Coronal Mass Ejections

Abstract

Abstract Large-scale propagating fronts are frequently observed during solar eruptions, yet whether or not they are waves is an open question, partly because the propagation is modulated by coronal structures, whose magnetic fields we still cannot measure. However, when a front impacts coronal structures, an opportunity arises for us to look into the magnetic properties of both interacting parties in the low-β corona. Here we studied large-scale EUV fronts accompanying three coronal mass ejections (CMEs), each originating from a kinking rope-like structure in the NOAA active region (AR) 12371. These eruptions were homologous and the surrounding coronal structures remained stationary. Hence we treated the events as one observed from three different viewing angles, and found that the primary front directly associated with the CME consistently transmits through (1) a polar coronal hole, (2) the ends of a crescent-shaped equatorial coronal hole, leaving a stationary front outlining its AR-facing boundary, and (3) two quiescent filaments, producing slow and diffuse secondary fronts. The primary front also propagates along an arcade of coronal loops and slows down due to foreshortening at the far side, where local plasma heating is indicated by an enhancement in 211 Å (Fe xiv) but a dimming in 193 Å (Fe xii) and 171 Å (Fe ix). The strength of coronal magnetic field is therefore estimated to be ∼2 G in the polar coronal hole and ∼4 G in the coronal arcade neighboring the AR. These observations substantiate the wave nature of the primary front and shed new light on slow fronts.