Wide Coronal Mass Ejections Research Articles

SOLAR ENERGETIC PARTICLE EVENTS AND THE KIPLINGER EFFECT

The Kiplinger effect is an observed association of solar energetic (E > 10 MeV) particle (SEP) events with a soft-hard-harder (SHH) spectral evolution during the extended phases of the associated solar hard (E > 30 keV) X-ray (HXR) flares. Besides its possible use as a space weather predictor of SEP events, the Kiplinger effect has been interpreted as evidence of SEP production in the flare site itself, contradicting the widely accepted view that particles of large SEP events are predominately or entirely accelerated in shocks driven by coronal mass ejections (CMEs). We review earlier work to develop flare soft X-ray (SXR) and HXR spectra as SEP event forecast tools and then examine recent Reuven Ramaty High-Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) evidence supporting the association of SHH HXR flares with large SEP events. We point out that ad hoc prediction criteria using the CME widths and SXR flare durations of associated RHESSI hard X-ray bursts (HXBs) can yield results comparable to those of the SHH prediction criteria. An examination of the RHESSI dynamic plots reveals several ambiguities in the determination of whether and when the SHH criteria are fulfilled, which must be quantified and applied consistently before an SHH-based predictive tool can be made. A comparative HXR spectral study beginning with the large population of relatively smaller SEP events has yet to be done, and we argue that those events will not be so well predicted by the SHH criteria. SHH HXR flares and CMEs are both components of large eruptive flare events, which accounts for the good connection of the SHH HXR flares with SEP events.

Statistical study of coronal mass ejection source locations: 2. Role of active regions in CME production

[1] This is the second paper of the statistical study of coronal mass ejection (CME) source locations, in which the relationship between CMEs and active regions (ARs) is statistically studied on the basis of the information of CME source locations and the ARs automatically extracted from magnetic synoptic charts of Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) during 1997–1998. Totally, 224 CMEs with a known location and 108 MDI ARs are included in our sample. It is found that about 63% of the CMEs are related with ARs, at least about 53% of the ARs produced one or more CMEs, and particularly about 14% of ARs are CME-rich (3 or more CMEs were generated) during one transit across the visible disk. Several issues are then tried to clarify: whether or not the CMEs originating from ARs are distinct from others, whether or not the CME kinematics depend on AR properties, and whether or not the CME productivity depends on AR properties. The statistical results suggest that (1) there is no evident difference between AR-related and non-AR-related CMEs in terms of CME speed, acceleration and width, (2) the size, strength and complexity of ARs do little with the kinematic properties of CMEs, but have significant effects on the CME productivity, and (3) the sunspots in all the most productive ARs at least belong to βγ type, whereas 90% of those in CME-less ARs are α or β type only. A detailed analysis on CME-rich ARs further reveals that (1) the distribution of the waiting time of same-AR CMEs, consists of two parts with a separation at about 15 hours, which implies that the CMEs with a waiting time shorter than 15 hours are probably truly physical related, and (2) an AR tends to produce such related same-AR CMEs at a pace of 8 hours, but cannot produce two or more fast CMEs (>800 km s−1) within a time interval of 15 hours. This interesting phenomenon is particularly discussed.

DERIVING THE PHYSICAL PARAMETERS OF A SOLAR EJECTION WITH AN ISOTROPIC MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC EVOLUTIONARY MODEL

The time-space evolution of a ~50° wide coronal mass ejection (CME) on 2007 May 21 is followed remotely with the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory heliospheric imager HI-1, and measured in situ near Venus by the MESSENGER and Venus-Express spacecraft. The paper compares the observations of the CME structure with a simple, analytical magnetohydrodynamic force-free solution. It corresponds to a self-similar evolution, which gives a consistent picture of the main spatial-temporal features for both remote and in situ observations. Our main findings are (1) the self-similar evolution allows us to map the CME bright front into about 1/3 of the whole interplanetary counterpart of the coronal mass ejection (ICME, i.e., corresponding to the in situ observed passage of the plasma and magnetic field structure), in good quantitative agreement with the imaging measurements, (2) the cavity following the CME front maps into the rest of the ICME structure, 80% or more of which is consistent with a force free, cylindrically shaped flux rope, and (3) time and space conditions constrain the translational speed of the FR center to 301 km s–1, and the expansion speed of the FR core to 26 km s–1. A careful determination of the ICME cross-section and volume allows us to calculate the mass of the CME bright region (4.3 ± 1.1 1014 g) from the in situ measurements of the proton number density, which we assume to be uniform inside the bright region, of excellent agreement with the value estimated from the SECCHI HI-1 observations for the same structure. We provide model estimates for several global parameters including FR helicity (~2 × 1026 Weber2).

Evaluating predictions of ICME arrival at Earth and Mars

We present a study of interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) propagation to Earth and Mars. Because of the significant space weather hazard posed by ICMEs, understanding and predicting their arrival and impact at Mars is important for current and future robotic and manned missions to the planet. We compare running ENLILv2.6 with coronal mass ejection (CME) input parameters from both a manual and an automated method. We analyze shock events identified at Mars in Mars Global Surveyor data in 2001 and 2003, when Earth and Mars were separated by <80° in heliocentric longitude. The shocks identified at Mars were also identified at Earth, and the majority of the shock sources were identified through the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory–Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph catalogue. We find that arrival times predicted by the two methods at both planets are statistically similar, dynamic pressures predicted when using the automated method are better, and the automated method tends to underestimate both CME width and speed. Using the location of the related flare as the CME direction did not improve results. In addition, changing the CME speed toward the plane‐of‐sky speed at 20 RS improves the match to observations, mainly because the speed found by the automated method is underestimated. The time lapse between the shock arrival at Earth and Mars, for the events studied here, is shorter than expected from simulations, and the presence of high speed streams can enable an ICME to arrive almost simultaneously at Earth and Mars. This work will be applied to improve the input parameter methods for ENLIL.

Determining CME parameters by fitting heliospheric observations: Numerical investigation of the accuracy of the methods

Transients in the heliosphere, including coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and corotating interaction regions can be imaged to large heliocentric distances by heliospheric imagers (HIs), such as the HIs onboard STEREO and SMEI onboard Coriolis. These observations can be analyzed using different techniques to derive the CME speed and direction. In this paper, we use a three-dimensional (3-D) magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) numerical simulation to investigate one of these methods, the fitting method of Sheeley et al. (1999) and Rouillard et al. (2008). Because we use a 3-D simulation, we can determine with great accuracy the CME initial speed, its speed at 1 AU and its average transit speed as well as its size and direction of propagation. We are able to compare the results of the fitting method with the values from the simulation for different viewing angles between the CME direction of propagation and the Sun-spacecraft line. We focus on one simulation of a wide (120–140°) CME, whose initial speed is about 800 km s −1. For this case, we find that the best-fit speed is in good agreement with the speed of the CME at 1 AU, and this, independently of the viewing angle. The fitted direction of propagation is not in good agreement with the viewing angle in the simulation, although smaller viewing angles result in smaller fitted directions. This is due to the extremely wide nature of the ejection. A new fitting method, proposed to take into account the CME width, results in better agreement between fitted and actual directions for directions close to the Sun–Earth line. For other directions, it gives results comparable to the fitting method of Sheeley et al. (1999). The CME deceleration has only a small effect on the fitted direction, resulting in fitted values about 1–4° higher than the actual values.

OBSERVED CORE OF A GRADUAL SOLAR ENERGETIC PARTICLE EVENT

Using space-borne particle and EUV detection and radio spectrograms from both ground-based and space-borne instruments, we study the first phase of the major solar energetic particle (SEP) event associated with the western solar flare and fast and wide coronal mass ejection (CME) on 2000 April 4. The SEP event being observed at the magnetic connection to the eruption's center starts with deka-MeV nucl–1 helium- and relativistic electron-rich production from coronal sources identified with the electromagnetic diagnostics and the SEP event modeling. The broadband observations and modeling of the initial phase of the well-connected major SEP event support the idea that acceleration of SEPs starts in the helium-rich plasma of the eruption's core in association with coronal shocks and magnetic reconnections caused by the CME liftoff, and that the coronal component dominates during the first hour of the SEP event considered, not yet being shielded by the CME bow shock in the solar wind. The first phase of the SEP event is followed by a second phase of SEP production associated with a decelerating CME-driven shock wave in the solar wind, which accelerates ions from a distinct, helium-poor seed particle population that may originate from the CME interaction with a coronal streamer.

STEREO observations of interplanetary coronal mass ejections and prominence deflection during solar minimum period

Abstract. In this paper we study the occurrence rate and solar origin of interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) using data from the two Solar TErrestrial RElation Observatory (STEREO) and the Wind spacecraft. We perform a statistical survey of ICMEs during the late declining phase of solar cycle 23. Observations by multiple, well-separated spacecraft show that even at the time of extremely weak solar activity a considerable number of ICMEs were present in the interplanetary medium. Soon after the beginning of the STEREO science mission in January 2007 the number of ICMEs declined to less than one ICME per month, but in late 2008 the ICME rate clearly increased at each spacecraft although no apparent increase in the number of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) occurred. We suggest that the near-ecliptic ICME rate can increase due to CMEs that have been guided towards the equator from their high-latitude source regions by the magnetic fields in the polar coronal holes. We consider two case studies to highlight the effects of the polar magnetic fields and CME deflection taking advantage of STEREO observations when the two spacecraft were in the quadrature configuration (i.e. separated by about 90 degrees). We study in detail the solar and interplanetary consequences of two CMEs that both originated from high-latitude source regions on 2 November 2008. The first CME was slow (radial speed 298 km/s) and associated with a huge polar crown prominence eruption. The CME was guided by polar coronal hole fields to the equator and it produced a clear flux rope ICME in the near-ecliptic solar wind. The second CME (radial speed 438 km/s) originated from an active region 11007 at latitude 35° N. This CME propagated clearly north of the first CME and no interplanetary consequences were identified. The two case studies suggest that slow and elongated CMEs have difficulties overcoming the straining effect of the overlying field and as a consequence they are guided by the polar coronal fields and cause in-situ effects close to the ecliptic plane. The 3-D propagation directions and CME widths obtained by using the forward modelling technique were consistent with the solar and in-situ observations.

Deriving the radial distances of wide coronal mass ejections from elongation measurements in the heliosphere – application to CME-CME interaction

Abstract. We present general considerations regarding the derivation of the radial distances of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from elongation angle measurements such as those provided by SECCHI and SMEI, focusing on measurements in the Heliospheric Imager 2 (HI-2) field of view (i.e. past 0.3 AU). This study is based on a three-dimensional (3-D) magneto-hydrodynamics (MHD) simulation of two CMEs observed by SECCHI on 24–27 January 2007. Having a 3-D simulation with synthetic HI images, we are able to compare the two basic methods used to derive CME positions from elongation angles, the so-called "Point-P" and "Fixed-φ" approximations. We confirm, following similar works, that both methods, while valid in the most inner heliosphere, yield increasingly large errors in HI-2 field of view for fast and wide CMEs. Using a simple model of a CME as an expanding self-similar sphere, we derive an analytical relationship between elongation angles and radial distances for wide CMEs. This relationship is simply the harmonic mean of the "Point-P" and "Fixed-φ" approximations and it is aimed at complementing 3-D fitting of CMEs by cone models or flux rope shapes. It proves better at getting the kinematics of the simulated CME right when we compare the results of our line-of-sights to the MHD simulation. Based on this approximation, we re-analyze the J-maps (time-elongation maps) in 26–27 January 2007 and present the first observational evidence that the merging of CMEs is associated with a momentum exchange from the faster ejection to the slower one due to the propagation of the shock wave associated with the fast eruption through the slow eruption.

Statistical Analysis of Decimetric Radio Bursts, Flares, and Coronal Mass Ejections

A statistical analysis of decimetric radio bursts (RBs), X-ray flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) is carried out. We consider all radio bursts recorded by the Cracow Solar Radio Telescope from the beginning of 1996 until the end of 2004. It is found that the decimetric radio bursts are associated and strongly correlated with X-ray flares. Correlation coefficients between RBs durations and the maximal fluxes of the radio bursts and flares are found to be 0.60 and 0.87, respectively. We also demonstrated that a significant population of the decimetric radio bursts are associated with CMEs. The correlation coefficient between the maximal radio flux density multiplied by the duration of the RBs versus velocity multiplied by width of CMEs is found to be 0.55.

Solar proton enhancements in different energy channels and coronal mass ejections during the last solar cycle

The main properties of 11622 coronal mass ejections (CMEs) observed by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) mission’s Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO-C2) from January 1996 through December 2006 are considered. Moreover, the extended database of solar proton enhancements (SPEs) with proton flux >0.1 pfu at energy >10 MeV measured at the Earth’s orbit is also studied. A comparison of these databases gives new results concerning the sources and acceleration mechanisms of solar energetic particles. Specifically, coronal mass ejections with width >180° (wide) and linear speed >800 km/s (fast) seem they have the best correlation with solar proton enhancements. The study of some specific solar parameters, such as soft X-ray flares, sunspot numbers, solar flare index etc. has showed that the soft X-ray flares with importance >M5 may provide a reasonable proxy index for the SPE production rate. From this work, it is outlined that the good relation of the fast and wide coronal mass ejections to proton enhancements seems to lead to a similar conclusion. In spite of the fact that in the case of CMEs the statistics cover only the last solar cycle, while the measurements of SXR flares are extended over three solar cycles, it is obvious for the studied period that the coronal mass ejections can also provide a good index for the solar proton production.

Coronal mass ejections, type II radio bursts, and solar energetic particle events in the SOHO era

Abstract. Using the extensive and uniform data on coronal mass ejections (CMEs), solar energetic particle (SEP) events, and type II radio bursts during the SOHO era, we discuss how the CME properties such as speed, width and solar-source longitude decide whether CMEs are associated with type II radio bursts and SEP events. We discuss why some radio-quiet CMEs are associated with small SEP events while some radio-loud CMEs are not associated with SEP events. We conclude that either some fast and wide CMEs do not drive shocks or they drive weak shocks that do not produce significant levels of particle acceleration. We also infer that the Alfvén speed in the corona and near-Sun interplanetary medium ranges from <200 km/s to ~1600 km/s. Radio-quiet fast and wide CMEs are also poor SEP producers and the association rate of type II bursts and SEP events steadily increases with CME speed and width (i.e. energy). If we consider western hemispheric CMEs, the SEP association rate increases linearly from ~30% for 800 km/s CMEs to 100% for ≥1800 km/s. Essentially all type II bursts in the decametre-hectometric (DH) wavelength range are associated with SEP events once the source location on the Sun is taken into account. This is a significant result for space weather applications, because if a CME originating from the western hemisphere is accompanied by a DH type II burst, there is a high probability that it will produce an SEP event.

A comparison of coronal mass ejections identified by manual and automatic methods

Abstract. Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are related to many phenomena (e.g. flares, solar energetic particles, geomagnetic storms), thus compiling of event catalogs is important for a global understanding these phenomena. CMEs have been identified manually for a long time, but in the SOHO era, automatic identification methods are being developed. In order to clarify the advantage and disadvantage of the manual and automatic CME catalogs, we examined the distributions of CME properties listed in the CDAW (manual) and CACTus (automatic) catalogs. Both catalogs have a good agreement on the wide CMEs (width>120°) in their properties, while there is a significant discrepancy on the narrow CMEs (width≤30°): CACTus has a larger number of narrow CMEs than CDAW. We carried out an event-by-event examination of a sample of events and found that the CDAW catalog have missed many narrow CMEs during the solar maximum. Another significant discrepancy was found on the fast CMEs (speed>1000 km/s): the majority of the fast CDAW CMEs are wide and originate from low latitudes, while the fast CACTus CMEs are narrow and originate from all latitudes. Event-by-event examination of a sample of events suggests that CACTus has a problem on the detection of the fast CMEs.

Radio‐Quiet Fast and Wide Coronal Mass Ejections

We report on the properties of radio-quiet (RQ) and radio-loud (RL) coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that are fast and wide (FW). RQ CMEs lack type II radio bursts in the metric and decameter-hectometric (DH) wavelengths. RL CMEs are associated with metric or DH type II bursts. We found that ~40% of the FW CMEs from 1996 to 2005 were RQ. The RQ CMEs had an average speed of 1117 km s−1 compared to 1438 km s−1 for the RL, bracketing the average speed of all FW CMEs (1303 km s−1). The fraction of full halo CMEs (apparent width = 360°) was the largest for the RL CMEs (60%), smallest for the RQ CMEs (16%), and intermediate for all FW CMEs (42%). The median soft X-ray flare size for the RQ CMEs (C6.9) was also smaller than that for the RL CMEs (M3.9). About 55% of RQ CMEs were back sided, while the front-sided ones originated close to the limb. The RL CMEs originated generally on the disk with only ~25% being back sided. The RQ FW CMEs suggest that the Alfven speed in the low-latitude outer corona can often exceed 1000 km s−1 and can vary over a factor of ≥3. None of the RQ CMEs was associated with large solar energetic particle events, which is useful information for space weather applications.

Are halo coronal mass ejections special events?

We revisited the properties of wide coronal mass ejections (CMEs) called halo CMEs. Using the large LASCO/SOHO CMEs data set, from 1996 to 2004, we examined the statistical properties of (partial and full) halo CMEs and compare with the same properties of “normal” width (lower than 120°) CMEs. We found that halo CMEs have different properties than “normal” CMEs, which cannot be explained merely by the current geometric interpretation that they are seen as halos because they are traveling in the Sun Earth direction. We found that the CME width distribution is formed by, at least, three different populations: Two gaussians: a narrow and a medium distribution centered at ∼17° and ∼38°, respectively; the narrow population most likely corresponds to the “true” observed widths, whereas the medium width population is the product of projection effects. The third distribution corresponds to wider CMEs (80° < W < 210°) which behaves as a power law. Partial and full halo CMEs wider than these do not follow any particular distribution. This lack of regularity may be due to the small number of such events. In particular, we found (and test by a statistical approach) that the number of observed full halo CMEs is lower than expected. The CME speed follows a log‐normal distribution, except for the very low speed CME population, which follows a gaussian distribution centered at ∼100 km/s and is probably due to projection effects. When the CMEs are divided by width into nonhalo, partial halo, and full halo, we found that the peaks of the distributions are shifted toward higher speeds, ∼300, ∼400 and ∼600 km/s for nonhalo, partial halo, and full halo CMEs, respectively. This confirms that halo CMEs tend to be high speed CMEs. The acceleration of full halo CMEs tends to be more negative compared with nonhalo and partial halo CMEs. We introduce a new observational CME parameter: The final observed distance (FOD), i.e., the highest point within the coronograph field of view where a CME can be distinguished from the background. In other words, the highest CME altitude measured. The FOD for nonhalo CMEs decreases exponentially from ∼5 to ∼30 R⊙ in the LASCO field of view. On the other hand, the FOD of halo CMEs increase with distance. This means that it is more likely to see halo CMEs at large distances (from the Sun) than nonhalo CMEs. These halo CME properties may be explained if the white light wide enhancements (or halo) seen by coronographs correspond to a combination of an expanding (shock) wave which disturbs and/or compresses the ambient material and the CME material itself.

Visibility of coronal mass ejections as a function of flare location and intensity

We report the visibility (detection efficiency) of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) of the Large Angle Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). We collected 1301 X‐ray flare events (above C3 level) detected by the GOES satellite and examined their CME associations using data from LASCO coronagraphs. The CME visibility was examined using the longitudinal variation of CME association of X‐ray flares, under the assumption that all CMEs associated with limb flares are detectable by LASCO. Our findings are (1) the CME association rate clearly increased with X‐ray flare size from 20% for C‐class flares (between C3 and C9 levels) to 100% for huge flares (above X3 level), (2) all CMEs associated with X‐class flares were detected by the LASCO coronagraphs, while half (25–67%) of CMEs associated with C‐class flares were invisible. We examined the statistical properties of the flare‐associated CMEs and compared them by flare size and longitude. CMEs associated with X‐class flares were significantly faster (median 1556 km/s) and wider (median 244°) than those of CMEs associated with disk C‐class flares (432 km/s, 68°). We conclude that all fast and wide CMEs are detectable by LASCO, but slow and narrow CMEs may not be visible when the CMEs originate from the disk center.

Fast coronal mass ejection environments and the production of solar energetic particle events

The search continues for coronal environmental factors that determine whether a fast coronal mass ejection (CME) results in a solar energetic particle (SEP) event at 1 AU. From a plot of peak 20 MeV SEP intensities versus associated CME speeds we select for comparison two groups of fast, wide, western hemisphere CMEs observed with the LASCO coronagraph from 1998 to 2002. The SEP‐rich CME group produced the largest observed SEP events, and the SEP‐poor CME group produced the smallest or no observed SEP events. The major differences are that the SEP‐rich CMEs are brighter and more likely to be streamer blowouts and to follow colocated CMEs within 12 or 24 hours. The SEP‐poor CMEs are fainter and less likely to interact with streamers or to follow preceding colocated CMEs. Thus we confirm the recent result that the SEP event peak intensities are higher when the associated driver CMEs are preceded within a day by wide CMEs at the same locations. However, the enhanced brightness, and therefore mass, of the SEP‐rich CMEs appears to be their most dominant characteristic and suggests that either large longitudinal and latitudinal extents or high densities are needed for fast CMEs to produce SEPs.

On the Origins of Solar EIT Waves

Abstract : Approximately half of the large-scale coronal waves identified in images obtained by the Extreme-Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory from 1997 March to 1998 June were associated with small solar flares with soft X-ray intensities below C class. The probability of a given flare of this intensity having an associated EIT wave is low. For example, of ~8,000 B-class flares occurring during this 15 month period, only 1% were linked to EIT waves. These results indicate the need for a special condition that distinguishes flares with EIT waves from the vast majority of flares that lack wave association. Various lines of evidence, including the fact that EIT waves have recently been shown to be highly associated with coronal mass ejections (CMEs), suggest that this special condition is a CME. A CME is not a sufficient condition for a detectable EIT wave, however, because we calculate that 5 times as many front-side CMEs as EIT waves occurred during this period, after taking the various visibility factors for both phenomena into account. In general, EIT wave association increases with CME speed and width.

Characteristic Times of Gradual Solar Energetic Particle Events and Their Dependence on Associated Coronal Mass Ejection Properties

Abstract : We use 20 MeV proton intensities from the EPACT instrument on Wind and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from the LASCO coronagraph on SOHO observed during 1998-2002 to statistically determine three characteristic times of gradual solar energetic particle (SEP) events as functions of solar source longitude: (1) T(sub 0), the time from associated CME launch to SEP onset at 1 AU, (2) T(sub R), the rise time from SEP onset to the time when the SEP intensity is a factor of 2 below peak intensity, and (3) T(sub D), the duration over which the SEP intensity is within a factor of 2 of the peak intensity. Those SEP event times are compared with associated CME speeds, accelerations, and widths to determine whether and how the SEP event times may depend on the formation and dynamics of coronal/interplanetary shocks driven by the CMEs. Solar source longitudinal variations are clearly present in the SEP times, but T(sub R)and T(sub D) are significantly correlated with CME speeds only for SEP events in the best-connected longitude range. No significant correlations between the SEP times and CME accelerations are found except for T(sub D) in one longitude range, but there is a weak correlation of T(sub R) and T(sub D) with CME widths. We also find no correlation of any SEP times with the solar wind O(exp +6)/O(exp +7) values, suggesting no dependence on solar wind stream type. The SEP times of the small subset of events occurring in interplanetary CMEs may be slightly shorter than those of all events.

Intensity variation of large solar energetic particle events associated with coronal mass ejections

We studied the coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and flares associated with large solar energetic particle (SEP) events of solar cycle 23 (1996–2002) in order to determine what property of the solar eruptions might order the SEP intensity. The SEP events were divided into three groups: (1) events in which the primary CME was preceded by one or more wide CMEs from the same solar source, (2) events with no such preceding CMEs, and (3) events in which the primary CME might have interacted with a streamer or with a nearby halo CME. The SEP intensities are distinct for groups 1 and 2 although the CME properties were nearly identical. Group 3 was similar to group 1. The primary findings of this study are as follows: (1) Higher SEP intensity results whenever a CME is preceded by another wide CME from the same source region. (2) The average flare size was also larger for high‐intensity SEP events. (3) The intensity of SEP events with preceding CMEs showed a tighter correlation with CME speed. The extent of scatter in the CME speed versus SEP intensity plots was reduced when various subgroups were considered separately. (4) The intensities of energetic electrons were better correlated with flare size than with CME speed. (5) The SEP intensity showed poor correlation with the flare size, except for group 3 events. Since only a third of the events did not have preceding CMEs, we conclude that the majority of SEP producing CMEs propagate through the near‐Sun interplanetary medium severely disturbed and distorted by the preceding CMEs. Furthermore, the preceding CMEs are faster and wider on the average, so they may provide seed particles for CME‐driven shocks that follow. Therefore we conclude that the differing intensities of SEP events in the two groups may not have resulted due to the inherent properties of the CMEs. The presence of preceding CMEs seems to be the discriminating characteristic of the high‐ and low‐intensity SEP events.

CME Interaction and the Intensity of Solar Energetic Particle Events

Large Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs) are closely associated with coronal mass ejections (CMEs). The significant correlation observed between SEP intensity and CME speed has been considered as the evidence for such a close connection. The recent finding that SEP events with preceding wide CMEs are likely to have higher intensities compared to those without was attributed to the interaction of the CME-driven shocks with the preceding CMEs or with their aftermath. It is also possible that the intensity of SEPs may also be affected by the properties of the solar source region. In this study, we found that the active region area has no relation with the SEP intensity and CME speed, thus supporting the importance of CME interaction. However, there is a significant correlation between flare size and the active region area, which probably reflects the spatial scale of the flare phenomenon as compared to that of the CME-driven shock.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html