CME Eruption Research Articles

Filament eruption by multiple reconnections

Context. Filament eruption is a common phenomenon in solar activity, but the triggering mechanism is not well understood. Aims. We focus our study on a filament eruption located in a complex nest of three active regions close to a coronal hole. Methods. The filament eruption is observed at multiple wavelengths: by the Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG), the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO), the Solar Upper Transition Region Imager (SUTRI), and the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) and Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO). Thanks to high-temporal-resolution observations, we were able to analyze the evolution of the fine structure of the filament in detail. The filament changes direction during the eruption, which is followed by a halo coronal mass ejection detected by the Large Angle Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). A Type III radio burst was also registered at the time of the eruption. To investigate the process of the eruption, we analyzed the magnetic topology of the filament region adopting a nonlinear force-free-field (NLFFF) extrapolation method and the polytropic global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) modeling. We modeled the filament by embedding a twisted flux rope with the regularized Biot-Savart Laws (RBSL) method in the ambient magnetic field. Results. The extrapolation results show that magnetic reconnection occurs in a fan-spine configuration resulting in a circular flare ribbon. The global modeling of the corona demonstrates that there was an interaction between the filament and open field lines, causing a deflection of the filament in the direction of the observed CME eruption and dimming area. Conclusions. The modeling supports the following scenario: magnetic reconnection not only occurs with the filament itself (the flux rope) but also with the background magnetic field lines and open field lines of the coronal hole located to the east of the flux rope. This multiwavelength analysis indicates that the filament undergoes multiple magnetic reconnections on small and large scales with a drifting of the flux rope.

The global response of terrestrial ionosphere to the December 2015 space weather event

This paper investigates the ionospheric storm of December 19–21, 2015, which was initiated by two successive CME eruptions that caused a G3 space weather event. We used the in situ electron density (Ne) and electron temperature (Te) and the Total Electron Content (TEC) measurements from SWARM-A satellite, as well as the O/N2 observations from TIMED/GUVI to study the ionospheric impact. The observations reveal the longitudinal and hemispherical differences in the ionospheric response to the storm event. A positive ionospheric storm was observed over the American, African and Asian regions on 20 December, and the next day showed a negative storm. Both these exhibited hemispheric differences. A positive storm was observed over the East Pacific region on 21 December. It is seen that the net effect of both the disturbance dynamo electric field and composition differences become important in explaining the observed variability in topside ionospheric densities. In addition, we also discuss the Te variations that occurred as a consequence of the space weather event.

Eruption and Interplanetary Evolution of a Stealthy Streamer-Blowout CME Observed by PSP at ∼0.5 AU

Streamer-blowout coronal mass ejections (SBO-CMEs) are the dominant CME population during solar minimum. Although they are typically slow and lack clear low-coronal signatures, they can cause geomagnetic storms. With the aid of extrapolated coronal fields and remote observations of the off-limb low corona, we study the initiation of an SBO-CME preceded by consecutive CME eruptions consistent with a multi-stage sympathetic breakout scenario. From inner-heliospheric Parker Solar Probe (PSP) observations, it is evident that the SBO-CME is interacting with the heliospheric magnetic field and plasma sheet structures draped about the CME flux rope. We estimate that 18 ± 11% of the CME’s azimuthal magnetic flux has been eroded through magnetic reconnection and that this erosion began after a heliospheric distance of ∼0.35 AU from the Sun was reached. This observational study has important implications for understanding the initiation of SBO-CMEs and their interaction with the heliospheric surroundings.

CME–CME Interactions as Sources of CME Geoeffectiveness: The Formation of the Complex Ejecta and Intense Geomagnetic Storm in 2017 Early September

Abstract Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are the primary sources of intense disturbances at Earth, where their geoeffectiveness is largely determined by their dynamic pressure and internal magnetic field, which can be significantly altered during interactions with other CMEs in interplanetary space. We analyze three successive CMEs that erupted from the Sun during 2017 September 4–6, investigating the role of CME–CME interactions as a source of the associated intense geomagnetic storm ( nT on September 7). To quantify the impact of interactions on the (geo)effectiveness of individual CMEs, we perform global heliospheric simulations with the European Heliospheric Forecasting Information Asset (EUHFORIA) model, using observation-based initial parameters with the additional purpose of validating the predictive capabilities of the model for complex CME events. The simulations show that around 0.45 au, the shock driven by the September 6 CME started compressing a preceding magnetic ejecta formed by the merging of two CMEs launched on September 4, significantly amplifying its B z until a maximum factor of 2.8 around 0.9 au. The following gradual conversion of magnetic energy into kinetic and thermal components reduced the B z amplification until its almost complete disappearance around 1.8 au. We conclude that a key factor at the origin of the intense storm triggered by the 2017 September 4–6 CMEs was their arrival at Earth during the phase of maximum B z amplification. Our analysis highlights how the amplification of the magnetic field of individual CMEs in spacetime due to interaction processes can be characterized by a growth, a maximum, and a decay phase, suggesting that the time interval between the CME eruptions and their relative speeds are critical factors in determining the resulting impact of complex CMEs at various heliocentric distances (helioeffectiveness).

Features of Geophysical Manifestations of Solar Activity in August 2018 According to Muon Hodoscope URAGAN Data

Variations of the muon flux of cosmic rays (using data from the URAGAN muon hodoscope) and perturbations of the Earth’s magnetic field (OMNI database) were analyzed for August 2018, when there were almost no active regions on the solar disk and the number of sunspots was close to zero. The Kp and Dst geoefficiency coefficients were found to be elevated when the Earth entered the region of fast solar wind from coronal holes. Analysis of the non-stationarity factor C(t) for the muon count time series Nµ(t) shows that there are always elevated C(t) values that are ahead of the fast solar wind from coronal holes by (1–3) days. A predictor was also found in the sequence of values C(t) which is 1-day ahead of the geo-effective storm (SSC-power G3) of the solar CME eruption on August 20.

Plasma Diagnostics of Coronal Dimming Events

Abstract Coronal mass ejections are often associated with coronal dimmings, i.e., transient dark regions that are most distinctly observed in Extreme Ultra-violet wavelengths. Using Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) data, we apply Differential Emission Measure diagnostics to study the plasma characteristics of six coronal dimming events. In the core dimming region, we find a steep and impulsive decrease of density with values up to 50%–70%. Five of the events also reveal an associated drop in temperature of 5%–25%. The secondary dimming regions also show a distinct decrease in density, but less strong, decreasing by 10%–45%. In both the core and the secondary dimming the density changes are much larger than the temperature changes, confirming that the dimming regions are mainly caused by plasma evacuation. In the core dimming, the plasma density reduces rapidly within the first 20–30 minutes after the flare start and does not recover for at least 10 hr later, whereas the secondary dimming tends to be more gradual and starts to replenish after 1–2 hr. The pre-event temperatures are higher in the core dimming (1.7–2.6 MK) than in the secondary dimming regions (1.6–2.0 MK). Both core and secondary dimmings are best observed in the AIA 211 and 193 Å filters. These findings suggest that the core dimming corresponds to the footpoints of the erupting flux rope rooted in the AR, while the secondary dimming represents plasma from overlying coronal structures that expand during the CME eruption.

An application of the weighted horizontal magnetic gradient to solar compact and eruptive events

We propose to apply the weighted horizontal magnetic gradient (WGM), introduced in Korsós et al., 2015, for analysing the pre-flare and pre-CME behaviour and evolution of Active Regions (ARs) using the SDO/HMI-Debrecen Data catalogue. To demonstrate the power of investigative capabilities of the WGM method, in terms of flare and CME eruptions, we studied two typical ARs, namely, AR 12158 and AR 12192. The choice of ARs represent canonical cases. AR 12158 produced an X1.6 flare with fast “halo” CME (vlinear=1267kms-1) while in AR 12192 there occurred a range of powerful X-class eruptions, i.e. X1.1, X1.6, X3.1, X1.0, X2.0 and X2.0-class energetic flares, interestingly, none with an accompanying CME. The value itself and temporal variation of WGM is found to possess potentially important diagnostic information about the intensity of the expected flare class. Furthermore, we have also estimated the flare onset time from the relationship of duration of converging and diverging motions of the area-weighted barycenters of two subgroups of opposite magnetic polarities. This test turns out not only to provide information about the intensity of the expected flare-class and the flare onset time but may also indicate whether a flare will occur with/without fast CME. We have also found that, in the case when the negative polarity barycenter has moved around and the positive one “remained” at the same coordinates preceding eruption, the flare occurred with fast “halo” CME. Otherwise, when both the negative and the positive polarity barycenters have moved around, the AR produced flares without CME. If these properties found for the movement of the barycenters are generic pre-cursors of CME eruption (or lack of it), identifying them may serve as an excellent pre-condition for refining the forecast of the lift-off of CMEs.

CME development in the corona and interplanetary medium : A multi-wavelength approach

This review focuses on the so called three-part CMEs which essentially represent the standard picture of a CME eruption. It is shown how the multi-wavelength observations obtained in the last decade, especially those with high cadence, have validated the early models and contributed to their evolution. These observations cover a broad spectral range including the EUV, white-light, and radio domains.

MODELING UV AND X-RAY EMISSION IN A POST-CORONAL MASS EJECTION CURRENT SHEET

A post-CME current sheet (CS) is a common feature developed behind an erupting flux rope in CME models. Observationally, white light observations have recorded many occurrences of a thin ray appearing behind a CME eruption that closely resembles a post-CME CS in its spatial correspondence and morphology. UV and X-ray observations further strengthen this interpretation by the observations of high temperature emission at locations consistent with model predictions. The next question then becomes whether the properties inside a post-CME CS predicted by a model agree with observed properties. In this work, we assume that the post-CME CS is a consequence of Petschek-like reconnection and that the observed ray-like structure is bounded by a pair of slow mode shocks developed from the reconnection site. We perform time-dependent ionization calculations and model the UV line emission. We find that such a model is consistent with SOHO/UVCS observations of the post-CME CS. The change of Fe XVIII emission in one event implies an inflow speed of ~10 km/s and a corresponding reconnection rate of M_A ~ 0.01. We calculate the expected X-ray emission for comparison with X-ray observations by Hinode/XRT, as well as the ionic charge states as would be measured in-situ at 1 AU. We find that the predicted count rate for Hinode/XRT agree with what was observed in a post-CME CS on April 9, 2008, and the predicted ionic charge states are consistent with high ionization states commonly measured in the interplanetary CMEs. The model results depend strongly on the physical parameters in the ambient corona, namely the coronal magnetic field, the electron density and temperature during the CME event. It is crucial to obtain these ambient coronal parameters and as many facets of the CS properties as possible by observational means so that the post-CME current sheet models can be scrutinized more effectively.

EVIDENCE OF A PLASMOID-LOOPTOP INTERACTION AND MAGNETIC INFLOWS DURING A SOLAR FLARE/CORONAL MASS EJECTION ERUPTIVE EVENT

Observational evidence is presented for the merging of a downward-propagating plasmoid with a looptop kernel during an occulted limb event on 2007 January 25. RHESSI lightcurves in the 9-18 keV energy range, as well as that of the 245 MHz channel of the Learmonth Solar Observatory, show enhanced nonthermal emission in the corona at the time of the merging suggesting that additional particle acceleration took place. This was attributed to a secondary episode of reconnection in the current sheet that formed between the two merging sources. RHESSI images were used to establish a mean downward velocity of the plasmoid of 12 km/s. Complementary observations from the SECCHI suite of instruments onboard STEREO-Behind showed that this process occurred during the acceleration phase of the associated CME. From wavelet-enhanced EUVI, images evidence of inflowing magnetic field lines prior to the CME eruption is also presented. The derived inflow velocity was found to be 1.5 km/s. This combination of observations supports a recent numerical simulation of plasmoid formation, propagation and subsequent particle acceleration due to the tearing mode instability during current sheet formation.

A STUDY OF THE BUILD-UP, INITIATION, AND ACCELERATION OF 2008 APRIL 26 CORONAL MASS EJECTION OBSERVED BYSTEREO

In this paper, we analyze the full evolution, from a few days prior to the eruption to the initiation, and the final acceleration and propagation, of the CME that occurred on 2008 April 26 using the unprecedented high cadence and multi-wavelength observations by STEREO. There existed frequent filament activities and EUV jets prior to the CME eruption for a few days. These activities were probably caused by the magnetic reconnection in the lower atmosphere driven by photospheric convergence motions, which were evident in the sequence of magnetogram images from MDI (Michelson Doppler Imager) onboard SOHO. The slow low-layer magnetic reconnection may be responsible for the storage of magnetic free energy in the corona and the formation of a sigmoidal core field or a flux rope leading to the eventual eruption. The occurrence of EUV brightenings in the sigmoidal core field prior to the rise of the flux rope implies that the eruption was triggered by the inner tether-cutting reconnection, but not the external breakout reconnection. During the period of impulsive acceleration, the time profile of the CME acceleration in the inner corona is found to be consistent with the time profile of the reconnection electric field inferred from the footpoint separation and the RHESSI 15-25 keV HXR flux curve of the associated flare. The full evolution of this CME can be described in four distinct phases: the build-up phase, initiation phase, main acceleration phase, and propagation phase. The physical properties and the transition between these phases are discussed, in an attempt to provide a global picture of CME dynamic evolution.

Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections Observed in the Heliosphere: 3. Physical Implications

We conclude the heliospheric image series with this third and final instalment, where we consider the physical implications of our reconstruction of interplanetary coronal mass ejections from heliospheric imagers. In Paper 1 a review of the theoretical framework for the appearance of ICMEs in the heliosphere was presented and in Paper 2 a model was developed that extracted the three-dimensional structure and kinematics of interplanetary coronal mass ejections directly from SMEI images. Here we extend the model to include STEREO Heliospheric Imager data and reproduce the three-dimensional structure and kinematic evolution of a single Earth-directed interplanetary coronal mass ejection that was observed in November 2007. These measurements were made with each spacecraft independently using leading edge measurements obtained from each instrument. We found that when data from the three instruments was treated as a single collective, we were able to reproduce an estimate of the ICME structure and trajectory. There were some disparities between the modelled ICME and the in situ data, and we interpret this as a combination of a slightly more than spherically curved ICME structure and a corotating interaction region brought about by the creation of a coronal hole from the CME eruption. This is the first time evidence for such a structure has been presented and we believe that it is likely that many ICMEs are of this nature.

NO TRACE LEFT BEHIND:STEREOOBSERVATION OF A CORONAL MASS EJECTION WITHOUT LOW CORONAL SIGNATURES

The availability of high quality synoptic observations of the EUV and visible corona during the SOHO mission has advanced our understanding of the low corona manifestations of CMEs. The EUV imager/white light coronagraph connection has been proven so powerful, it is routinely assumed that if no EUV signatures are present when a CME is observed by a coronagraph, then the event must originate behind the visible limb. This assumption carries strong implications for space weather forecasting but has not been put to the test. This paper presents the first detailed analysis of a frontside, large-scale CME that has no obvious counterparts in the low corona. The event was observed by the SECCHI instruments. The COR2A coronagraph observed a slow flux-rope type CME, while an extremely faint partial halo was observed in COR2B. The event evolved very slowly and is typical of the streamer-blowout CME class. EUVI A 171 images show a concave feature above the east limb, relatively stable for about two days before the eruption, when it rises into the coronagraphic fields and develops into the core of the CME. None of the typical low corona signatures of a CME were observed in the EUVI-B images, which we attribute to the unusually large height from which the flux-rope lifted off. This interpretation is supported by the CME mass measurements and estimates of the expected EUV dimming intensity. Only thanks to the availability of the two viewpoints we were able to identify the likely source region. The event originated along a neutral line over the quiet sun. No active regions were present anywhere on the visible (from STEREO B) face of the disk. Leaving no trace behind on the solar disk, this observation shows unambiguously that a CME eruption does not need to have clear on-disk signatures.

RECONNECTIONLESS CME ERUPTION: PUTTING THE ALY-STURROCK CONJECTURE TO REST

We demonstrate that magnetic reconnection is not necessary to initiate fast CMEs. The Aly-Sturrock conjecture states that the magnetic energy of a given force free boundary field is maximized when the field is open. This is problematic for CME initiation because it leaves little or no magnetic energy to drive the eruption, unless reconnection is present to allow some of the field to escape without opening. Thus, it has been thought that reconnection must be present to initiate CMEs. This theory has not been subject to rigorous numerical testing because conventional MHD numerical models contain numerical diffusion, which introduces uncontrolled numerical reconnection. We use a quasi-Lagrangian simulation technique to run the first controlled experiments of CME initiation in the complete lack of reconnection. We find that a flux rope confined by an arcade, when twisted beyond a critical amount, can escape to an open state, allowing some of the surrounding arcade to shrink and releasing magnetic energy from the global field. This mechanism includes a true ideal MHD instability. We conclude that reconnection is not a necessary trigger for fast CME eruptions.

On the Relationship between Flux Emergence and CME Initiation

We present in this paper a statistical study aimed at understanding the possible relationship between surface magnetic field variation and CME initiation. The three samples studied comprise 189 CME-source regions, 46 active regions, and 15 newly emerging active regions. Both large-scale and small-scale variations of longitudinal magnetic fields of these regions are studied. To quantitatively study these variations, three physical quantities are calculated: the average total magnetic flux (ATF), the flux variation rate (FVR), and the normalized flux variation rate (NFVR). Our results show that 60% of the CME-source regions are found to have magnetic flux increases during 12 hours before CME eruptions and 40% are found to have magnetic flux decreases. The NFVR of CME-source regions are found to be statistically identical to those of active regions, averaged over 111 hours, and significantly smaller than those of newly emerging active regions. In addition 91% of the CME-source regions are found to have small-scale flux emergence, whereas small-scale flux emergences are also easily identified in active regions during periods with no solar surface activity. Our study suggests that the relationship between flux emergence and CME eruption is complex and the appearance of flux emergence alone is not unique for the initiation of CME eruption.

Coronal Observations of CMEs

CMEs have been observed for over 30 years with a wide variety of instruments. It is now possible to derive detailed and quantitative information on CME morphology, velocity, acceleration and mass. Flares associated with CMEs are observed in X-rays, and several different radio signatures are also seen. Optical and UV spectra of CMEs both on the disk and at the limb provide velocities along the line of sight and diagnostics for temperature, density and composition. From the vast quantity of data we attempt to synthesize the current state of knowledge of the properties of CMEs, along with some specific observed characteristics that illuminate the physical processes occurring during CME eruption. These include the common three-part structures of CMEs, which is generally attributed to compressed material at the leading edge, a low-density magnetic bubble and dense prominence gas. Signatures of shock waves are seen, but the location of these shocks relative to the other structures and the occurrence rate at the heights where Solar Energetic Particles are produced remains controversial. The relationships among CMEs, Moreton waves, EIT waves, and EUV dimming are also cloudy. The close connection between CMEs and flares suggests that magnetic reconnection plays an important role in CME eruption and evolution. We discuss the evidence for reconnection in current sheets from white-light, X-ray, radio and UV observations. Finally, we summarize the requirements for future instrumentation that might answer the outstanding questions and the opportunities that new space-based and ground-based observatories will provide in the future.

Geoeffective Analysis of CMEs Under Current Sheet Magnetic Coordinates

Using 100 CME–ICME events during 1997.01–2002.11, based on the eruptive source locations of CMEs and solar magnetic field observations at the photosphere, a current sheet magnetic coordinate (CMC) system is established in order to statistically study the characteristics of the CME–ICME events and the corresponding geomagnetic storm intensity. The transit times of CMEs from the Sun to the Earth are also investigated, by taking into account of the angle between the CME eruption normal (defined as the vector from the Sun center to the CME eruption source) and the Sun-Earth line. Our preliminary conclusions are: 1. The distribution of the CME sources in our CMC system is obviously different from that in the ordinary heliographic coordinate system. The sources of CMEs are mainly centralized near the heliospheric current sheet (HCS), and the number of events decreases with the increment of the angular distance from the CME source to the HCS on the solar surface; 2. A large portion of the total events belong to the same–side events (referring to the CME source located on the same side of the HCS as the Earth), while only a small portion belong to the opposite–side events (the CME source located on the opposite side of the HCS as the Earth). 3. The intense geomagnetic storms are usually induced by the same–side events, while the opposite side events are commonly associated with relatively weak geomagnetic storms; 4. The angle between the CME normal and the Sun–Earth line is used to estimate the transit time of the CME in order to reflect the influence of propagation characteristic of the CME along the Sun–Earth direction. With our new prediction method in context of the CMC coordinate, the averaged absolute error for these 100 events is 10.33 hours and the resulting relative error is not larger than 30% for 91% of all the events.

In-situ and remote observations of CMEs

We present studies on a series of ICMEs detected by Ulysses and for which the solar sources on the Sun could be identified. EUV and white light data are used in order to correlate characteristics seen during eruption with those measured in-situ. Particularly, an attempt was made to find solar features that show a relationship with the type of ICME seen later (i.e. cloud or non-cloud ICME). For magnetic clouds (MC) the chirality of the magnetic field was then analyzed. Finally, the charge states of oxygen ions contained in ICMEs were used to obtain freezing-in temperatures and then compare these with the presence of flares occurring close (spatially and temporally) to the CME eruption. We have found no solar feature that could be used to predict the presence of a MC in interplan- etary space, they occur with the same frequency for cloud and non-cloud ICMEs. The chirality of the clouds seems to follow only weakly the hemisphere rule. The presence of solar flares do not seem to be correlated with the oxygen freezing-in temperatures seen in-situ.

MHD Numerical Simulation of Interdependent Flares and CMEs

Using time-dependent resistive magnetohydrodynamic simulations, we study a flux rope eruption caused by magnetic reconnection with implication in coexistent flare-CME events. Without the resistance the flux rope system presents a double catastrophe. We use the first catastrophic state as the initial condition, in which an isolated flux rope coexists with two current sheets: a vertical one below and a transverse one above the flux rope. The flux rope erupts when reconnection starts in the current sheets, and the flux rope dynamics depends on the reconnection sequence in the two current sheets. We obtain three cases: reconnection occurs (1) simultaneously in the two current sheets, (2) first in the transverse one and then in the vertical, and (3) in an order opposite to case 2. Such a model exhibits characteristics of both magnetic breakout model for CME initiation and standard flare model. We argue that both breakout-like and tether-cutting reconnections may be important for CME eruptions.

Two–Current‐Sheet Reconnection Model of Interdependent Flare and Coronal Mass Ejection

Time-dependent resistive magnetohydrodynamic simulations are carried out to study a flux rope eruption caused by magnetic reconnection with implication in coexistent flare-CME (coronal mass ejection) events. An early result obtained in a recent analysis of double catastrophe of a flux rope system is used as the initial condition, in which an isolated flux rope coexists with two current sheets: a vertical one below and a transverse one above the flux rope. The flux rope erupts when reconnection takes place in the current sheets, and the flux rope dynamics depends on the reconnection sequence in the two current sheets. Three cases are discussed: reconnection occurs (1) simultaneously in the two current sheets, (2) first in the transverse one and then in the vertical, and (3) in an order opposite to case 2. Such a two-current-sheet reconnection exhibits characteristics of both magnetic breakout for CME initiation and standard flare model. We argue that both breakout-like and tether-cutting reconnections may be important for CME eruptions and associated surface activities.