Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Feb 2012
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2012apj...746...64h&link_type=abstract
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 746, Issue 1, article id. 64 (2012).
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Interplanetary Medium, Methods: Data Analysis, Solar-Terrestrial Relations, Sun: Coronal Mass Ejections: Cmes, Sun: Heliosphere, Sun: Magnetic Topology
Scientific paper
Understanding the evolution of flux ropes in coronal mass ejections (CMEs) is of importance both to the scientific and technological communities. Scientifically their presence is critical to models describing CME launch and they likely play a role in CME evolution. Technologically they are the major contributor to severe geomagnetic storms. Using a new processing technique on the STEREO/SECCHI heliospheric imaging data, we have tracked a magnetic flux rope observed by the Wind spacecraft in December 2008 to its origins observed by coronagraphs. We thereby establish that the cavity in the classic three-part coronagraph CME is the feature that becomes the magnetic cloud. This implies that the bright material ahead of the cavity is piled-up coronal or solar wind material. We track the evolution of the cavity en-route and find that its structure transforms from concave inward (curving away from the Sun) to concave outward (toward the Sun) around 0.065 AU from the Sun. The pileup was tracked and its leading edge remained concave inward throughout its journey. Two other CMEs in January 2009 are also inspected and a similar cavity is observed in each, suggesting that they too each contained a flux rope. The results presented here are the first direct observation, through continuous tracking, associating a particular flux rope observed in situ with the same flux rope before ejection from the corona. We speculate that detailed heliospheric imagery of CMEs may lead to a means by which flux ropes can be identified remotely in the heliosphere.
DeForest Craig Edward
Howard Tim A.
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