Automatic Detection and Tracking of Coronal Mass Ejections in Coronagraph Time Series

We present the current capabilities of a software tool to automatically detect coronal mass ejections (CMEs) based on time series of coronagraph images: the solar eruptive event detection system (SEEDS). The software developed consists of several modules: preprocessing, detection, tracking, and event cataloging. The detection algorithm is based on a 2D to 1D projection method, where CMEs are assumed to be bright regions moving radially outward as observed in a running-difference time series. The height, velocity, and acceleration of the CME are automatically determined. A threshold-segmentation technique is applied to the individual detections to automatically extract an approximate shape of the CME leading edge. We have applied this method to a 12-month period of continuous coronagraph images sequence taken at a 20-minute cadence by the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) instrument (using the C2 instrument only) onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft. Our automated method, with a high computational efficiency, successfully detected about 75% of the CMEs listed in the CDAW CME catalog, which was created by using human visual inspection. Furthermore, the tool picked up about 100% more small-size or anomalous transient coronagraph events that were ignored by human visual inspection. The output of the software is made available online at . The parameters of scientific importance extracted by the software package are the position angle, angular width, velocity, peak, and average brightness. Other parameters could easily be added if needed. The identification of CMEs is known to be somewhat subjective. As our system is further developed, we expect to make the process significantly more objective.     

日冕物质抛射

评述了近几年来冕物抛射研究的新进展,包括Ｙｏｈｋｏｈ、ＳＯＨＯ、ＷＩＮＤ、Ｕｌｙｓｓｅｓ、Ｇｅｏｔａｉｌ和ＰＯＬＡＲ等飞船最近取得的观测结果,并由典型事件探计日冕物质抛射与太阳活动、行星际扰动和地球空间环境变化之间的关系。进而介绍日冕物质抛射形成机制和传播过程的主要理论模型和数值模拟结果,提出今后日冕物质抛射研究中一些值得注意的问题。     

Deceleration of Coronal Mass Ejections

Decelerated motion of 12 coronal eruptions is studied. It is found that the measured decelerations and deceleration rates depend on the events' plane-of-sky velocities and heights. The dependence of deceleration on the velocity is described better by a quadratic function then by linear fit. Results are interpreted in terms of a viscous drag. An empirical relation expressing the decrease of the drag effectiveness with the projected height is established. The interplay between the Lorentz force, viscous drag, and gravity is discussed. Several examples are considered to illustrate the relative contributions of these forces under various circumstances.     

基于Faster R-CNN的日冕物质抛射检测方法

日冕物质抛射(Coronal Mass Ejection,CME)是一种强烈的太阳爆发现象,对空间天气和人类生活有巨大的影响,因此,日冕物质抛射检测对预报日冕物质抛射、保障人类的生产生活安全具有重要意义。现有的日冕物质抛射检测多采用人为定义特征和界定阈值等方法。由于人为定义特征不能准确表征日冕物质抛射且具有普适性的阈值难于选择,现有的方法对日冕物质抛射的检测效果有待提高。提出一种基于Faster R-CNN(Faster Region-based Convolutional Neural Networks)的日冕物质抛射检测算法。该方法首先结合CDAW(Coordinated Data Analysis Workshop Data Center),SEEDS(Solar Eruptive Even Detection System)和CACTus(Computer Aoded CME Tracking software package)3个著名的日冕物质抛射目录信息,人工标注了包含9113幅日冕图像的数据集,然后根据日冕物质抛射的图像特征较自然图像少、目标尺寸与自然图像有差异等特点,在特征提取和锚点选择方面对Faster R-CNN进行改进。以2007年6月的日冕物质抛射标注数据为测试集,本文算法检出了全部22个强日冕物质抛射事件和151个弱日冕物质抛射事件中的138个,对日冕物质抛射事件的中心角和角宽度等特征参数的检测误差分别在5°和10°以内。     

日冕物质抛射基本物理参数的统计特征

日冕物质抛射(CME),是太阳大气中尺度最大,最为壮观的太阳活动现象.自1971年12月14日,人类第一次观测到CME以来,CME受到了越来越多的关注,许多空基日冕仪和地面设备对其观测得到了丰富的观测资料.但是,直到现在,CME的基本物理参数研究中还是存在一些不确定性,当然其中也受观测设备局限性的制约.该文综述了近年来CME基本物理参数的统计特征--速度、加速度、角宽度及纬度等--研究的新进展,指出了这些基本物理参数中存在的一些问题,并提出了今后日冕物质抛射研究中要加强的一些重大问题.     

Cyclical Behavior of Coronal Mass Ejections

With the use of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) observed by the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) from January 1996 through December 2005, it is found that, for the cyclical activity of CMEs, there is surprisingly no equatorward drift at low latitudes (thus, no “butterfly diagram”) and no poleward drift at high latitudes, and no antiphase relationship between CME activity at low and high latitudes. The cyclical behaviors of CMEs differ in a significant way from that of the small-scale solar photospherical and chromospherical phenomena. Thus, our analysis leads to results that are inconsistent with a close, physical relationship with small-scale aspects of solar activity, and it is suggested that there is possibly a single so-called large-scale activity cycle in CMEs.     

Expansion Speed of Coronal Mass Ejections

A large set of limb coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are used to determine the accurate relationship between radial (V _rad) and expansion (V _exp) speeds of CMEs. It is demonstrated that this relation is exceptionally well described by the function f(w)=1/2(1+cot w), representing a full cone model for the CME with a half-width, w. We also demonstrate that for extremely fast CMEs (V _exp>3000 km s⁻¹), it is better to use the approximation V _rad≈V _LE. This implies that such CMEs expand spherically above the solar surface.     

Distributions of Energy and Mass of Coronal Mass Ejections

The present study investigates the energy and mass distributions of all (11 322) coronal mass ejections (CMEs), 1406 CMEs associated solely with flares (FL CMEs), and 325 CMEs associated solely with filament eruptions (FE CMEs), all of which were observed by the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO/LASCO) from January 1996 to December 2009. The results show the following. i) The mean energy of FL CMEs is significantly lower than that of all CMEs. The mean energy of FE CMEs is significantly higher than those of FL CMEs and all CMEs. ii) The mean mass of FL CMEs is slightly larger than that of all CMEs. The mean mass of FE CMEs is significantly larger than those of FL CMEs and all CMEs. Our results suggest that CMEs should shed excess helicity stored in the corona and that the magnetic complexity determines the likelihood of CMEs.     

Earth-Affecting Coronal Mass Ejections Without Obvious Low Coronal Signatures

We present a study of the origin of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that were not accompanied by obvious low coronal signatures (LCSs) and yet were responsible for appreciable disturbances at 1 AU. These CMEs characteristically start slowly. In several examples, extreme ultraviolet (EUV) images taken by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory reveal coronal dimming and a post-eruption arcade when we make difference images with long enough temporal separations, which are commensurate with the slow initial development of the CME. Data from the EUV imager and COR coronagraphs of the Sun Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric Investigation onboard the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory, which provide limb views of Earth-bound CMEs, greatly help us limit the time interval in which the CME forms and undergoes initial acceleration. For other CMEs, we find similar dimming, although only with lower confidence as to its link to the CME. It is noted that even these unclear events result in unambiguous flux rope signatures in in situ data at 1 AU. There is a tendency that the CME source regions are located near coronal holes or open field regions. This may have implications for both the initiation of the stealthy CME in the corona and its outcome in the heliosphere.     

Post-Eruption Arcades and Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections

We compare the temporal and spatial properties of posteruption arcades (PEAs) associated with coronal mass ejections (CMEs) at the Sun that end up as magnetic cloud (MC) and non-MC events in the solar wind. We investigate the length, width, area, tilt angle, and formation time of the PEAs associated with 22 MC and 29 non-MC events and we find no difference between the two populations. According to current ideas on the relation between flares and CMEs, the PEA is formed together with the CME flux-rope structure by magnetic reconnection. Our results indicate that at the Sun flux ropes form during CMEs in association with both MC and non-MC events; however, for non-MC events the flux-rope structure is not observed in the interplanetary space because of the geometry of the observation, i.e. the location of the spacecraft when the structure passes through it.     

Coronal Mass Ejections and Non-recurrent Forbush Decreases

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and their interplanetary counterparts (interplanetary coronal mass ejections, ICMEs) are responsible for large solar energetic particle events and severe geomagnetic storms. They can modulate the intensity of Galactic cosmic rays, resulting in non-recurrent Forbush decreases (FDs). We investigate the connection between CME manifestations and FDs. We used specially processed data from the worldwide neutron monitor network to pinpoint the characteristics of the recorded FDs together with CME-related data from the detailed online catalog based upon the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)/Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) data. We report on the correlations of the FD magnitude to the CME initial speed, the ICME transit speed, and the maximum solar wind speed. Comparisons between the features of CMEs (mass, width, velocity) and the characteristics of FDs are also discussed. FD features for halo, partial halo, and non-halo CMEs are presented and discussed.     

Origin of Coronal Shocks without Mass Ejections

We present an analysis of all the events (around 400) of coronal shocks for which the shock-associated metric type IIs were observed by many spectrographs during the period April 1997– December 2000. The main objective of this analysis is to give evidence for the type IIs related to only flare-blast waves, and thus to find out whether there are any type II-associated coronal shocks without mass ejections. By carefully analyzing the data from multi-wavelength observations (Radio, GOES X-ray, Hα, SOHO/LASCO and SOHO/EIT-EUV data), we have identified only 30 events for which there were actually no reports of CMEs. Then from the analysis of the LASCO and EIT running difference images, we found that there are some shocks (nearly 40%, 12/30) which might be associated with weak and narrow mass ejections. These weak and narrow ejections were not reported earlier. For the remaining 60% events (18/30), there are no mass ejections seen in SOHO/LASCO. But all of them are associated with flares and EIT brightenings. Pre-assuming that these type IIs are related to the flares, and from those flare locations of these 18 cases, 16 events are found to occur within the central region of the solar disk (longitude ≤45^∘). In this case, the weak CMEs originating from this region are unlikely to be detected by SOHO/LASCO due to low scattering. The remaining two events occurred beyond this longitudinal limit for which any mass ejections would have been detected if they were present. For both these events, though there are weak eruption features (EIT dimming and loop displacement) in the EIT images, no mass ejection was seen in LASCO for one event, and a CME appeared very late for the other event. While these two cases may imply that the coronal shocks can be produced without any mass ejections, we cannot deny the strong relationship between type IIs and CMEs.     

Waiting Time Distribution of Coronal Mass Ejections

Inspired by the finding that the large waiting time of solar flares presents a power-law distribution, we investigate the waiting time distribution (WTD) of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). SOHO/LASCO CME observations from 1996 to 2003 are used in this study. It is shown that the observed CMEs have a similar power-law behavior to the flares, with an almost identical power-law index. This strongly supports the viewpoint that solar flares and CMEs are different manifestations of the same physical process. We have also investigated separately the WTDs of fast-type and slow-type CMEs and found that their indices are identical, which imply that both types of CME may originate from the same physical mechanism.     

Observations of Coronal Mass Ejections with the Coronal Multichannel Polarimeter

The Coronal Multichannel Polarimeter (CoMP) measures not only the polarization of coronal emission, but also the full radiance profiles of coronal emission lines. For the first time, CoMP observations provide high-cadence image sequences of the coronal line intensity, Doppler shift, and line width simultaneously over a large field of view. By studying the Doppler shift and line width we may explore more of the physical processes of the initiation and propagation of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Here we identify a list of CMEs observed by CoMP and present the first results of these observations. Our preliminary analysis shows that CMEs are usually associated with greatly increased Doppler shift and enhanced line width. These new observations provide not only valuable information to constrain CME models and probe various processes during the initial propagation of CMEs in the low corona, but also offer a possible cost-effective and low-risk means of space-weather monitoring.     

Radio Emission of Flares and Coronal Mass Ejections

We review recent progress on our understanding of radio emission from solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) with emphasis on those aspects of the subject that help us address questions about energy release and its properties, the configuration of flare?–?CME source regions, coronal shocks, particle acceleration and transport, and the origin of solar energetic particle (SEP) events. Radio emission from electron beams can provide information about the electron acceleration process, the location of injection of electrons in the corona, and the properties of the ambient coronal structures. Mildly relativistic electrons gyrating in the magnetic fields of flaring loops produce radio emission via the gyrosynchrotron mechanism, which provides constraints on the magnetic field and the properties of energetic electrons. CME detection at radio wavelengths tracks the eruption from its early phase and reveals the participation of a multitude of loops of widely differing scale. Both flares and CMEs can ignite shock waves and radio observations offer the most robust tool to study them. The incorporation of radio data into the study of SEP events reveals that a clear-cut distinction between flare-related and CME-related SEP events is difficult to establish.     

Coronal Mass Ejections as Expanding Force-Free Structures

We model solar coronal mass ejections (CMEs) as expanding force-free magnetic structures and find the self-similar dynamics of configurations with spatially constant ??, where J=?? B, in spherical and cylindrical geometries, expanding spheromaks and Lundquist fields, respectively. The field structures remain force-free, under the conventional non-relativistic assumption that the dynamical effects of the inductive electric fields can be neglected. While keeping the internal magnetic field structure of the stationary solutions, expansion leads to complicated internal velocities and rotation, caused by inductive electric fields. The structure depends only on overall radius R(t) and rate of expansion $\dot{R}(t)$ measured at a given moment, and thus is applicable to arbitrary expansion laws. In case of cylindrical Lundquist fields, magnetic flux conservation requires that both axial and radial expansion proceed with equal rates. In accordance with observations, the model predicts that the maximum magnetic field is reached before the spacecraft reaches the geometric center of a CME.     

太阳射电米波爆发与日冕物质喷射

利用云南天文台声光频谱仪观测到的一次特殊的太阳射电米波爆发 ,与对应的光学活动及相关事件 ,我们探讨了 1 991年 6月 7日的日冕物质喷射过程     

Uniformity of Longitudinal Distribution of Coronal Mass Ejections

It was found that the heliographic longitudinal distribution of the occurrence of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) was not uniform around the solar minimum of cycle 21. This is confirmed by using the ² test for goodness of fit. Sunspot groups and flares show similar non-uniform distributions during the same period. This suggests that there was a longitudinal range where both large-scale and small-scale solar magnetic activities were very low around the solar minimum of cycle 21. The longitudinal range with low activity was more than 150 degrees and continued for approximately four rotations. As solar activity increased, CMEs occurred almost uniformly in heliographic longitude.     

The ARTEMIS Catalog of LASCO Coronal Mass Ejections

The LASCO-C2 coronagraph aboard the SOHO solar observatory has been providing a continuous flow of coronal images since 1996. Synoptic maps for each Carrington rotation have been built from these images, and offer a global view of the temporal evolution of the solar corona, particularly the occurrence of transient events. Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) present distinct signatures thus offering a novel approach to the problem of their identification and characterization. We present in this article an automated method of detection based on their morphological appearance on synoptic maps. It is based on adaptive filtering and segmentation, followed by merging with high-level knowledge. The program builds a catalog which lists the CMEs detected for each Carrington Rotation, together with their main estimated parameters: time of appearance, position angle, angular extent, average velocity and intensity. Our final catalog LASCO-ARTEMIS (Automatic Recognition of Transient Events and Marseille Inventory from Synoptic maps) is compared with existing catalogs, CDAW, CACTUS and SEEDS. We find that, likewise the automated CACTUS and SEEDS catalogs, we detect many more events than the CDAW catalog which is based on visual detection. The total number of detected CMEs strongly depends upon the sensitivity to small, faint and numerous events.