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Quantitative Analysis of CME Deflections in the Corona

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Abstract

In this paper, ten CME events viewed by the STEREO twin spacecraft are analyzed to study the deflections of CMEs during their propagation in the corona. Based on the three-dimensional information of the CMEs derived by the graduated cylindrical shell (GCS) model (Thernisien, Howard, and Vourlidas in Astrophys. J. 652, 1305, 2006), it is found that the propagation directions of eight CMEs had changed. By applying the theoretical method proposed by Shen et al. (Solar Phys. 269, 389, 2011) to all the CMEs, we found that the deflections are consistent, in strength and direction, with the gradient of the magnetic energy density. There is a positive correlation between the deflection rate and the strength of the magnetic energy density gradient and a weak anti-correlation between the deflection rate and the CME speed. Our results suggest that the deflections of CMEs are mainly controlled by the background magnetic field and can be quantitatively described by the magnetic energy density gradient (MEDG) model.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAS Key Laboratory of Geospace Environment, Department of Geophysics & Planetary Sciences, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, China

    Bin Gui, Chenglong Shen, Yuming Wang, Pinzhong Ye, Jiajia Liu & Shui Wang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, Center for Space Science and Applied Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Bin Gui & Pinzhong Ye

  3. W.W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA

    Xuepu Zhao

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  1. Bin Gui
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  2. Chenglong Shen
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  3. Yuming Wang
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  4. Pinzhong Ye
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  5. Jiajia Liu
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  6. Shui Wang
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  7. Xuepu Zhao
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Correspondence to Yuming Wang.

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Gui, B., Shen, C., Wang, Y. et al. Quantitative Analysis of CME Deflections in the Corona. Sol Phys 271, 111–139 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11207-011-9791-9

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