CHARACTERISTICS OF KINEMATICS OF A CORONAL MASS EJECTION DURING THE 2010 AUGUST 1 CME-CME INTERACTION EVENT
- Kanzelhoehe Observatory-IGAM, Institute of Physics, University of Graz, Universitaetsplatz 5, A-8010 Graz (Austria)
- Hvar Observatory, Faculty of Geodesy, University of Zagreb, Kaciceva 26, HR-10000 Zagreb (Croatia)
- NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, Boulder, CO 80305 (United States)
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)
- Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, A-8042 Graz (Austria)
- Institut fuer Astrophysik, Goettingen University, Friedrich-Hund Platz 1, D-37077 Goettingen (Germany)
- RAL Space, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot OX11 0QX (United Kingdom)
- Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Centre, Palo Alto, CA 94304-1191 (United States)
- Institute of Mathematics and Physics, Aberystwyth University, Ceredigion SY23 3BZ (United Kingdom)
- The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom)
- Computational and Data Sciences, George Mason University/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Mail Code 674, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)
We study the interaction of two successive coronal mass ejections (CMEs) during the 2010 August 1 events using STEREO/SECCHI COR and heliospheric imager (HI) data. We obtain the direction of motion for both CMEs by applying several independent reconstruction methods and find that the CMEs head in similar directions. This provides evidence that a full interaction takes place between the two CMEs that can be observed in the HI1 field of view. The full de-projected kinematics of the faster CME from Sun to Earth is derived by combining remote observations with in situ measurements of the CME at 1 AU. The speed profile of the faster CME (CME2; {approx}1200 km s{sup -1}) shows a strong deceleration over the distance range at which it reaches the slower, preceding CME (CME1; {approx}700 km s{sup -1}). By applying a drag-based model we are able to reproduce the kinematical profile of CME2, suggesting that CME1 represents a magnetohydrodynamic obstacle for CME2 and that, after the interaction, the merged entity propagates as a single structure in an ambient flow of speed and density typical for quiet solar wind conditions. Observational facts show that magnetic forces may contribute to the enhanced deceleration of CME2. We speculate that the increase in magnetic tension and pressure, when CME2 bends and compresses the magnetic field lines of CME1, increases the efficiency of drag.
- OSTI ID:
- 22020484
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 749, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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