The Kinematics of a Globally Propagating Disturbance in the Solar Corona

Abstract

The kinematics of a globally propagating disturbance (also known as an EIT wave) is discussed using Extreme UltraViolet Imager (EUVI) data from the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO). We show for the first time that an impulsively generated propagating disturbance has similar kinematics in all four EUVI passbands (304, 171, 195, and 284 A). In the 304 A passband the disturbance shows a velocity peak of 238 ± 20 km s−1 within ~28 minutes of its launch, varying in acceleration from 76 to –102 m s−2. This passband contains a strong contribution from a Si XI line (303.32 A) with a peak formation temperature of ~1.6 MK. The 304 A emission may therefore be coronal rather than chromospheric in origin. Comparable velocities and accelerations are found in the coronal 195 A passband, while lower values are found in the lower cadence 284 A passband. In the higher cadence 171 A passband the velocity varies significantly, peaking at 475 ± 47 km s−1 within ~20 minutes of launch, with a variation in acceleration from 816 to –413 m s−2. The high image cadence of the 171 A passband (2.5 minutes compared to 10 minutes for the similar temperature response 195 A passband) is found to have a major effect on the measured velocity and acceleration of the pulse, which increase by factors of ~2 and ~10, respectively. This implies that previously measured values (e.g., using EIT) may have been underestimated. We also note that the disturbance shows strong reflection from a coronal hole in both the 171 and 195 A passbands. The observations are consistent with an impulsively generated fast-mode magnetoacoustic wave.