The relationship between prominence eruptions and coronal mass ejections

The SOHO observations with LASCO and EIT present an ideal opportunity to study the relationship between prominence eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CME). High-cadence measurements of prominence eruptions demonstrate that the prominence eruption is not generally the cause of the associated CME, but that it is more probable that the destabilisation of the CME in fact releases the constraints on the prominence, causing it to erupt. We report here selected observations of associated CMEs and prominence eruptions covering the period of SOHO operations from mid-January 1996 to October 1999. In addition to the causality, we find that in general the projected speed of the prominence eruption matches fairly closely the projected speed of the associated CME, but it is always lower. Furthermore, the prominence eruption is generally simply one facet of the coronal transient activity, of which there are often several other discrete parts. The prominence eruption is also generally offset in heliolatitude from the centre of the CME.     

Large solar flares and coronal mass ejections: Their manifestations in the chromosphere

A phenomenological model of a united (solar flare-coronal mass ejection (CME)) event is briefly described. The model is based on the analysis of the images of the development of some events in various spectral ranges. A modified classification of the chomospheric manifestations of the event is proposed. A phenomenological model describing phenomena in the process of the development of intense solar flare-CME events in the activity complexes on the Sun is briefly presented. The model is based on the analysis of the observation data for some major flares (May 16, 1981, October 19, 2001, July 23, 2002).     

Spectral-temporal peculiarities of the microwave emission preceding geoeffective coronal mass ejections

Data on the complex of wave and spectral phenomena in the sporadic microwave emission that are associated with the formation and initial propagation of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in the solar atmosphere are presented. Their characteristic time interval extends from 2–3 days preceding the event to the time of CME recording on coronagraphs.     

Investigation of coronal mass ejections by the two-position radio sounding method

The two-position radio sounding of the solar wind by the Galileo and Cassini spacecraft has been first performed. These spacecraft followed the Sun from east to west from May 12 to 24, 2000 and sounded the regions spaced in radial directions by several millions of kilometers. Stable correlation has been revealed between fluctuation effects detected in spatially spaced radio-sounding paths of disturbed plasma structures of the coronal mass ejection (CME) type. The radio effects have been found to correlate also with the data on the solar wind density near the Earth orbit. It has been shown that the two-position radio-sounding method together with the data on solar radiation in the X-ray and optic ranges and with the results of local plasma measurements provides information on the structure and velocity of the propagation of CMEs from the photosphere to the Earth orbit. In the most powerful event recorded on May 13, 2000, the CME velocity at the heliocentric distances of about 15R _⊙ (R _⊙ is the solar radius) reached 1200 km/s. At (15–25) R _⊙, the velocity was about 1300 km/s. At distances larger than 25R _⊙, disturbance was decelerated from 1300 to 450 km/s near the Earth orbit.     

Method for determining the parameters of full halo coronal mass ejections

A method for determining the parameters of halo-type coronal mass ejections (full halo CMEs)—direction of motion, angular size, CME velocity along the Sun-Earth axis, etc.—has been proposed and tested. The method is based on the found empirical dependence between the angular sizes of CMEs located near the sky plane and angular sizes of associated eruptive prominences or post-eruptive arcades as well as on the relationships between the halo CME parameters derived in a simple geometrical CME model. Using this method and the SOHO/LASCO C3 and SOHO/EIT data, the parameters of 33 full halo CMEs have been determined. It is concluded that (1) the trajectories of all considered full halo CMEs deviate with recession of the CME front to R _F > (2–5)R ₀ toward the Sun-Earth axis; (2) the majority of full halo CMEs recorded by LASCO C3 coronagraphs have relatively large angular sizes, 2α > 60°.     

Formation of coronal mass ejections at different phases of solar activity

This paper investigates the dependence of the observed coronal mass ejections and their parameters on evolutionary changes in the global solar magnetic field at different phases of solar cycles 23?C24. Four periods in the evolution of the solar cycle are identified, depending on the dominance ratio of the sectoral and zonal magnetic field structures. The parameters of coronal mass ejections observed during these periods are analyzed. The evolving structure in the global magnetic field is identified, and its influence on coronal mass ejections is examined.     

Energy of coronal mass ejections and large-scale structure of solar magnetic fields

The relationship between variations of the energy and linear velocity of coronal mass ejections (CME) and the typical dimensions of structural elements of the large-scale solar magnetic field structure (LSMFS) is investigated for the period of 1996–2014. It is shown that the maximum linear velocity and maximum energy of CME correspond to the values of the effective solar multipole index n ~ 4.0–4.4. These values determine the maximum size of the complexes of active regions, which, together with the observed maximum values of magnetic field intensity in the complexes, limit the possible maximum CME energy.     

Magnetic field variations accompanying the filament eruption and the flare related to coronal mass ejections

Field variations in the region of eruptive event of June 7, 2011, associated with the filament eruption (FE), flare, and coronal mass ejection are studied based on vector measurements of the photospheric magnetic field with the SDO/HMI instrument. Variations of the module (B), the radial (Br) and transverse (Bt) components of the magnetic induction, and the inclination angle (α) of field lines to the radial direction from the center of the Sun are analyzed. It is shown that the strongest changes of the field before the event were located near the base of the southeastern leg of the eruptive filament; after the beginning of the event, they were located in the CME flare region. It is suggested that the FE is associated with two episodes of strong and rapid field variations: before the beginning of the slow filament rise and before its sudden acceleration. For the first time, variations of the inclination angles of the field lines over time in different parts of the eruptive event are studied in detail. It was found that the inclination angles of the field lines decrease in the vicinity of its channel during the slow rise of the filament, and the inclination angles of the field lines increase sharply after the beginning of the flare in the flare region in the vicinity of the neutral line.     

Determining the parameters of coronal mass ejections using the method of MHD modeling ejection evolutions

The initial parameters of disturbing fluxes of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) such as loop, front, spike, multiple structure ejection, and structureless ejection, which cannot be determined from direct observations, are determined using the data on the interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) registered on the Helios and Pioneer Venus Orbiter spacecraft in the vicinity of Venus. The method of MHD modeling the modified initial parameters of CMEs has been used for this purpose. The ICME parameters have been analyzed in order to determine the types of the solar sources of the considered plasma flows.     

Probing the magnetic topology of coronal mass ejections by means of Ulysses/HI-SCALE energetic particle observations

In this work, solar flare energetic particle fluxes (E_e 42 keV) observed by the HI-SCALE instrument onboard Ulysses, a spacecraft that is probing the heliosphere in 3-D, are utilized as diagnostics of the large-scale structure and topology of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) embedded within two well-identified interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) structures. On the basis of the energetic solar flare particle observations firm conclusions are drawn on whether the detected ICMEs have been detached from the solar corona or are still magnetically anchored to it when they arrive at 2.5 AU. From the development of the angular distributions of the particle intensities, we have inferred that portions of the ICMEs studied consisted of both open and closed magnetic field lines. Both ICMEs present a filamentary structure comprising magnetic filaments with distinct electron anisotropy characteristics. Subsequently, we studied the evolution of the anisotropies of the energetic electrons along the magnetic field loop-like structure of one ICME and computed the characteristic decay time of the anisotropy which is a measure of the amount of scattering that the trapped electron population underwent after injection at the Sun.     

ERNE observations of energetic particles associated with Earth-directed coronal mass ejections in April and May, 1997

Two Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which were most effective in energetic (1–50 MeV) particle acceleration during the first 18 months since the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) launch, occurred on April 7 and May 12, 1997. In the analysis of these events we have deconvoluted the injection spectrum of energetic protons by using the method described by Anttila et al. In order to apply the method developed earlier for data of a rotating satellite (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites, GOES), we first had to develop a method to calculate the omnidirectional energetic particle intensities from the observations of Energetic and Relativistic Nuclei and Electrons (ERNE), which is an energetic particle detector onboard the three-axis stabilized SOHO spacecraft. The omnidirectional intensities are calculated by fitting an exponential pitch angle distribution from directional information of energetic protons observed by ERNE. The results of the analysis show that, compared to a much faster and more intensive CMEs observed during the previous solar maximum, the acceleration efficiency decreases fast when the shock propagates outward from the Sun. The particles injected at distances <0.5 AU from the Sun dominate the particle flux during the whole period, when the shock propagates to the site of the spacecraft. The main portion of particles injected by the shock during its propagation further outward from the Sun are trapped around the shock, and are seen as an intensity increase at the time of the shock passage.     

Magnetic field dynamics based on SOHO/MDI data in the region of flares related to halo coronal mass ejections

Variations in the photospheric magnetic field in the region of solar flares, related to halo coronal mass ejections (HCMEs) with velocities V > 1500, 1000 < V < 1500, and V < 650 km/s, have been studied based on SOHO/MDI data. Using data with a time resolution of 96 min, it has been indicated that on average the ??B _L?? and ??|B _L|?? field characteristics increase nonmonotonically during 1?C1.5 days before a flare and decrease during 0.5?C1 days after a flare for groups of ejections with V > 1000 km/s for all considered HCME groups. Angle brackets designate averaging of the measured B _L magnetic field component and its magnitude |B _L| within an area with specified dimensions and the center coincident with the projection onto the region where the flare center field is measured. It has been established that a solar flare related to an HCME originates when the ??B _L?? and ??|B _L|?? values are larger than the boundary values in the flare region. Based on 1-min data, it has been found for several HCMEs with V > 1500 km/s that the beginning of powerful flares related to ejections is accompanied by rapid impulsive or stepped variations in ??B _L?? and ??|B _L|?? near the center of a flare with a size of approximately 4.5°. It has been established that the HCME velocity positively correlates with the |??B _L??| value at the flare onset.     

Correlation between the parameters of coronal mass ejections and features of their propagation in the corona with the large-scale structure of the solar magnetic field

Correlation between the parameters of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that are detected on the LASCO coronographs and are associated with eruptive prominences and the distances of CME axes from the coronal streamer belt has been analyzed. The deviations of CME trajectories from the radial direction have been investigated.     

Relationship between cyclic variations in the velocity and occurrence frequency of coronal mass ejections and cyclic changes in the structure of the large-scale solar magnetic field

This paper investigates the relationship between cyclic variations in the velocity of coronal mass ejections and cyclic changes in the structure of the large-scale solar magnetic field (LSSMF) in solar cycle 23, using the effective solar multipole index as a parameter of the characteristic dimensions of LSSMF structural elements. Cyclic variations in the velocity and frequency of coronal mass ejections are found to resemble cyclic changes in the effective solar multipole index. It is suggested that cyclic changes in the maximum velocity of coronal mass ejections are associated with different conditions for the formation of complexes of active regions connected by coronal arch structures, the energy of which is the main source of energy (velocity) for coronal mass ejections. The study leads to some suggestions about the possible site of initiation of coronal mass ejections.     

两次大震的视电阻率各向异性特征

对1976年松潘7．1级和唐山7．8级地震的地电阻率变化及各向异性特征作了较全面的分析,并从理论上作了一定程度的解释。结果表明,震前地电阻率变化的各向异性是客观存在的,各向异性主要有两种表现,一是不同台站的方位性差异：二是同台不同测向的差异。这种各向异性主要外观因素是台站的震中距、方位、测向、介质的力学因素和地震本身的机制;内在因素主要是原生裂隙的膨胀、闭合和排列、新生裂隙或破裂的发育、贯通、排列受应力场的作用。     

全球不同地区强震与地球自转之间的关系分析

对全球及一些地区地震在地球自转速率长周期变化的加速和减速段里年发生次数进行了分析,得到的结果表明,就全球地震而言,减速期7级以上地震年发生次数似乎略高于加速期,8级以上地震年发生次数似乎相当,没有明显差异,8.5级以上地震年发生次数似乎比加速期里高.太平洋东带和太平洋北带的地震,在减速期的年发生次数似乎一致地比加速期略...     

地球自转对强震震中附近中小地震的影响

论述2008年5月12日四川汶川Ms8.0地震和2010年4月14日青海玉树Ms7.1地震前震中附近中小地震和地球自转季节性变化的关系,介绍1970年以来中国大陆其他14例M≥7.0地震震例.研究发现,在强震前几年时间内,震中附近地区的中小地震有偏向发生于地球自转速率季节性变化加速或者减速某一阶段的现象.该结果对深入认识地震与地球自转之间的关系具有一定启示意义,对地震预测具有一定指导意义.     

The sound of the Sun

Bill Chaplin and Istvan Ballai review developments in helioseismology – the resonant choir of the Sun – a discipline that now probes the Sun from core to corona.