AsimulationofaCMEpropagationandshockevolutionin.docVIP

A simulation of a CME propagation and shock evolution in the lower solar corona Y. C.-M. Liu, M. Opher, O. Cohen, P. C. Liewer and T. I. Gombosi Abstract We present a detailed simulation of the evolution of a moderately slow Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) (800km/s at 5 Rs, where Rs is the solar radii) in the lower solar corona (2-5Rs). The configuration of the suns magnetic field is based on the MDI data for the solar surface during Carrington Rotation 1922. The pre-CME background solar wind is generated using Wang-Sheeley-Arge (WSA) model. To initiate a CME, we inserted a modified Titov-Demoulin flux rope in an active region near the solar equator using the Space Weather Modeling Framework (SWMF). After the initiation stage (within 2.5 Rs), the CME evolves at a nearly constant and slow acceleration of the order of 100m/s2 which corresponds to an intermediate acceleration CME. Detailed analysis of the pressures shows that the thermal pressure accounts for most of the acceleration of the CME. The magnetic pressure contributes to the acceleration early in the evolution and becomes negligible when the CME moves beyond ~ 3Rs. We also present the evolution of the shock geometry near the nose of the CME which shows that the shock is quasiparallel for most of time. 1.Introduction Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are very energetic phenomena in which 1015-1016 g of plasma with energies on the order of 1031-1032 ergs are ejected from the sun. A fast moving CME in the solar corona interacts with the background solar wind and usually a shock is formed in front of it. CMEs are the primary source for space weather. The CME-driven shocks are believed to accelerate charged particles to very high energy (GeV/neutron). These energetic particles could have hazardous effects on spacecrafts and human exploration. Many unanswered questions remain about the initiation and propagation of CMEs although numerous observational and theoretical effort has been done (e.g., Mikic and Lee 2006; Forb