Abstract
Halo coronal mass ejections (HCMEs) are a major cause of geomagnetic storms, hence their three-dimensional structures are important for space weather. We compare three cone models: an elliptical-cone model, an ice-cream-cone model, and an asymmetric-cone model. These models allow us to determine three-dimensional parameters of HCMEs such as radial speed, angular width, and the angle [γ] between sky plane and cone axis. We compare these parameters obtained from three models using 62 HCMEs observed by SOHO/LASCO from 2001 to 2002. Then we obtain the root-mean-square (RMS) error between the highest measured projection speeds and their calculated projection speeds from the cone models. As a result, we find that the radial speeds obtained from the models are well correlated with one another (R > 0.8). The correlation coefficients between angular widths range from 0.1 to 0.48 and those between γ-values range from −0.08 to 0.47, which is much smaller than expected. The reason may be the different assumptions and methods. The RMS errors between the highest measured projection speeds and the highest estimated projection speeds of the elliptical-cone model, the ice-cream-cone model, and the asymmetric-cone model are 376 km s−1, 169 km s−1, and 152 km s−1. We obtain the correlation coefficients between the location from the models and the flare location (R > 0.45). Finally, we discuss strengths and weaknesses of these models in terms of space-weather application.
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Acknowledgements
This work has been supported by the WCU program (No. R31-10016) through the National Research Foundation of Korea funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and by the Korea Research Foundation Grant funded by the Korean Government (MOEHRD, Basic Research Promotion Fund) (20090071744 and 20100014501), and the Korea Meteorological Administration/National Meteorological Satellite Center. SOHO is a mission of international cooperation between ESA and NASA. We acknowledge the use of data from the LASCO CME catalog. The CME catalog is generated and maintained by the Center for Solar Physics and Space Weather, Catholic University of America, in cooperation with the Naval Research Laboratory and NASA.
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Na, H., Moon, YJ., Jang, S. et al. Comparison of Cone Model Parameters for Halo Coronal Mass Ejections. Sol Phys 288, 313–329 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11207-013-0293-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11207-013-0293-9