全晕CME与太阳质子事件的关系

日冕物质抛射（CME）是太阳质子事件的重要源头.CME的速度和源区位置是太阳质子事件产生的重要因素.通过统计最近5年全晕CME与太阳质子事件的关系发现,速度大且源区位置距离日面上连接地球磁力线足点近的全晕CME更易引发太阳质子事件,其中速度大于1200km…-1、角距离60°以内的样本引发太阳质子事件的概率最高.对3个未引发太阳质子事件的高速全晕CME进行了详细分析,发现CME的主体爆发方向和行星际磁场环境的变化也影响太阳质子事件的产生.因此,在太阳质子事件的实际预报中,综合CME爆发速度、源区位置、主体抛射方向和行星际环境等多个因素才能给出更准确的事件预报结果.      

X级质子耀斑的特征研究

为了更加准确地判断X级耀斑是否引发质子事件,对X级质子耀斑和非质子耀斑的耀斑积分通量、源区、CME速度、CME角宽度、背景太阳风速度及背景X射线通量的分布进行了统计研究.发现非质子耀斑和质子耀斑的积分通量、经度、CME速度和CME角宽度具有明显不同的分布.非质子耀斑大多集中在东部,耀斑积分通量小于0.3J·m-2,CME速度小于1300km·s-1的区域内;质子耀斑大多集中在中部或西部,耀斑积分通量大于0.3J·m-2,CME速度大于1300km·s-1的区域内.质子耀斑伴随的CME角宽度主要集中在360°,非质子耀斑的CME角宽度分布则相对分散.两类耀斑的背景太阳风速度和背景X射线通量分布差别不大.利用两类耀斑各个参量分布上的差异,有望提高X级耀斑预报的准确率.      

太阳风速度及日球电流片对CME渡越时间的影响

基于1996-2005年88个引起重大地磁暴的CME(日冕物质抛射)事件、1996-2000年的47个CME事件以及1997-2002年的29个全晕状CME事件,结合ACE卫星在1AU处的太阳风和行星际磁场观测资料以及Wilcox Solar Observatory(WSO)天文台的太阳光球层磁图,分析了背景太阳风速度和日球电流片对CME到达1AU处渡越时间预报误差的影响.结果表明,背景太阳风速度与CME渡越时间误差并没有明显的相关性,在考虑了磁云通量管轴相对黄道面夹角的影响后相关性依然不明显.然而日球电流片对CME渡越时间却有明显的影响,对于初速度较小的异侧CME事件,其渡越时间大于同侧事件;而对于具有较大初速度的CME事件,异侧事件的渡越时间明显小于同侧事件.研究结果表明,CME与太阳风以及日球电流片的相互作用并不是简单的对流相互作用,造成高速CME异侧事件快于同侧事件到达地球的因素非常复杂,有待深入研究.      

2009年2月13日EUV波现象数值研究

结合STEREO卫星的观测和三维磁流体力学数值模拟方法, 采用WSO (Wilcox Solar Observatory)磁场数据和势场源表面模型建立日冕初始磁场, 并在日面活动区加上时变的压强扰动, 对2009年2月13日05:35UT爆发的CME-EUV波(Coronal Mass Ejections-Extreme Ultraviolet wave, 日冕物质抛射-远紫外波)事件进行研究. 从COR1/STEREO-A图像判断, 此次CME前沿速度约340km·s-1, 角宽度约60°; 分析EUVI/STEREO-B 195 ?的差分图像, 可以看到, 环形亮环波前从活动区向四周传播, 亮环波前后面是日冕暗化区, 取四个方向的波前位置进行线性拟合可知, 该EUV波速度为247km·s-1, 数值模拟得到的EUV波速度为245km·s-1, 将计算结果采用IDL可视化后可以看到明显的亮环和暗区结构, 数值模拟结果与卫星观测相一致, 表明该EUV波现象是快磁声波.      

缓变型太阳高能粒子事件特征时间及其经向分布

利用SOHO,STEREO高能粒子观测数据,对2011-2014年30个通量短时间内显著增强的缓变型太阳高能粒子（SEP）事件的两个特征时间（局地爆发时间,起始释放时间）及其经向分布进行统计分析.研究结果显示,多颗卫星同时观测到的SEP事件伴随的日冕物质抛射（CME）角宽明显较一般事件大,且基本都为Halo CME;不同卫星观测到的粒子通量局地增强时间差与卫星位置经度差明显线性正相关且东西不对称;局地爆发时间和起始释放时间相对于耀斑时间的延迟与卫星相对经度正相关;卫星所有能量通道的两个特征时间极差与卫星相对经度呈现较好的正相关,这表明不同能量SEP释放的时间跨度具有明显经度差异;高低能释放时间差与CME速度正相关.这些结论表明,SEP事件的两个特征时间具有明显的经向依赖性,并都与CME速度相关.      

太阳高能粒子事件强度与相关双CME事件关系的两个事例

太阳高能粒子事件常伴随太阳耀斑和日冕物质抛射事件(Coronal Mass Ejections,CME)出现,由于太阳高能粒子事件的关键因素是双CME的相互作用,利用SOHO卫星观测的高能粒子强度、耀斑强度以及CME的相对高度与时间,通过高度与时间拟合得到的速度,分析了2001年4月15日和2005年1月20日的太阳高能粒子事件强度与相关双CME事件的关系,发现这两个太阳高能粒子事件中E ≥ 10MeV质子的强度与双CME事件无关.因此在这两次太阳高能粒子事件早期,E ≥ 10MeV质子的强度只与相关太阳耀斑和CME有关.      

利用锥模型反演CME三维参数

CME会影响近地空间环境,带来地磁扰动,预报其能否到达地球及何时到达地球具有重要的应用意义.受观测能力限制,通常根据CME在太阳附近的日冕仪投影观测信息,利用锥模型拟合得到三维参数,进而以经验预报或代入行星际传播过程模拟,预报CME的对地有效性.在拟合过程中,可以采取不同时刻日冕仪观测数据作为输入,也可以选择是否限定CME发生在耀斑附近进行拟合,这有可能得到截然不同的CME三维参数,从而严重影响CME的传播预报结果.本文选取一个全晕CME事件和一个偏晕CME事件,分析了不同的数据输入和拟合方式带来的CME三维参数拟合结果的变化,评估其对CME传播预报的影响.研究发现,不同的数据源和拟合方式得到的CME三维参数有较大差异,影响了CME对地有效性的预报.后续有必要通过统计分析,评估采用哪些输入数据、哪种拟合方式,对CME对地有效性的预报更准确.      

X级以上耀斑与地磁效应关系研究

统计研究了2010年1月至2012年12月期间所有与耀斑爆发相伴生的日冕物质抛射(CME) 引发的地磁暴事件. 结果表明, 对于CME源区其主要分布在日面 45°E-45°W, 占总数的78.95%, 且西半球比东半球多, 即源区位于西半球的CME易产生地磁效应; X级耀斑与地磁效应的关联性更高, 60.0%的 X级耀斑在其爆发后的2～3天内观测到地磁暴, 而其他级别的耀斑与地磁效应的关联性低得多, 均不足10%; 通过对此期间日面爆发的所有X级耀斑研究分析后发现, 对于源区位于日面东经45°E-45°W 的X级耀斑, 若在其爆发过程中没有大尺度日面扰动, 则无伴生CME且后续产生地磁效应的可能性很低. 由此提出一种通过分析日面观测数据进行地磁暴预报的方法.      

太阳高能粒子观测特征经向分布统计

基于多卫星联合观测数据,筛选了2006年12月至2017年10月期间122个太阳高能粒子（SEP）事件及其伴随的日冕物质抛射（CME）,分析了SEP事件属性随相对经度的变化、与CME属性之间相关性的经向分布以及与Fe/O比值的关联.研究结果显示:低Fe/O类事件的峰值通量I_p通常更高,伴随CME更大,但通量上升速度较慢,且其D_u（持续时间）和I_p与CME速度呈现更强的相关性;SEP特征时间T_O（CME爆发至SEP事件爆发）与T_R（SEP事件爆发至半峰值）随相对经度增加而增大,D_u与I_p随相对经度增加而减小,通量上升斜率K在±90°范围内自东向西递减;SEP事件属性与伴随CME属性的相关性随相对经度的改变有明显变化,在磁连接好的位置,T_O与CME速度等属性呈现负相关,T_R与CME速度等属性呈现正相关,D_u,I_p与CME速度之间的相关性更强.研究结果进一步表明,SEP事件观测属性既与CME参数相关,同时又具有很强的经度依赖性,在磁连接越好的位置卫星观测到的SEP事件强度越高,SEP观测参数受CME的影响越大,这对大型SEP事件的预报很有意义.此外,高Fe/O类SEP事件与CME相关性的减弱暗示了耀斑加速、种子粒子源等因素的影响.      

太阳高能粒子事件上升时间统计研究

选取1997-2006年共66个较大的缓变型太阳高能粒子(SEP)事件, 分析了不同条件下太阳高能粒子通量廓线上升时间与源区日面经向分布之间的相关关系, 研究了日冕物质抛射(CME)和耀斑在SEP上升阶段的作用特点.统计结果表明,大SEP事件的源区主要分布在太阳西半球, 特别是磁足点东西两侧45°范围内; 在高速太阳风条件下, 低能通道的通量上升时间与日面相对经度有较好的相关性,即离磁足点越远, 上升时间越长,而高能通道相关性则不明显; 全晕状CME产生的SEP事件对应的上升时间与源区位置没有明显的相关性, 而部分晕状CME伴随的SEP事件则与二次拟合曲线符合很好.分析表明,在缓变型SEP事件的通量上升阶段, 耀斑加速过程起着重要作用,这在部分晕状CME伴随的SEP事件中尤为显著.      

A statistical study of CME-associated flare during the solar cycle 24

We investigate on the relationship between flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in which a flare started before and after the CME events which differ in their physical properties, indicating potentially different initiation mechanisms. The physical properties of two types flare-correlated CME remain an interesting and important question in space weather. We study the relationship between flares and CMEs using a different approach requiring both temporal and spatial constraints during the period from December 1, 2008 to April 30, 2017 in which the CMEs data were acquired by SOHO/LASCO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory/Large Angle Spectrometric Coronagraph) over the solar cycle 24. The soft X-ray flare flux data, such as flare class, location, onset time and integrated flux, are collected from Geostationary Environmental satellite (GOES) and XRT Flare catalogs. We selected 307 CMEs-flares pairs applying simultaneously temporal and spatial constraints in all events for the distinguish between two associated CME-flare types. We study the correlated properties of coincident flares and CMEs during this period, specifically separating the sample into two types: flares that precede a CME and flares that follow a CME. We found an opposite correlation relationship between the acceleration and velocity of CMEs in the After- and Before-CMEs events. We found a log-log relation between the width and mass of CMEs in the two associated types. The CMEs and flares properties show that there were significant differences in all physical parameters such as (mass, angular width, kinetic energy, speed and acceleration) between two flare-associated CME types.     

Properties of narrow coronal massejections observed with LASCO

We report the statistical properties of narrow coronal mass ejections (CMEs, angular width < 20°) withparticular emphasis on comparison with normal CMEs. We investigated 806 narrow CMEs from an online LASCO/CME catalog and found that (1) the fraction of narrow CMEs increases from 12% to 22% towards solar maximum, (2) during the solar maximum, the narrow CMEs are generally faster than normal ones, (3) the maximum speed of narrow CMEs (1141 km s⁻¹) is much smaller than that of the normal CMEs (2604 km s⁻¹). These results imply that narrow CMEs do not form a subset of normal CMEs and have a different acceleration mechanism from normal CMEs.     

Ionospheric storm due to solar Coronal mass ejection in September 2017 over the Brazilian and African longitudes

Coronal mass ejection (CME) occurs when there is an abrupt release of a large amount of solar plasma, and this cloud of plasma released by the Sun has an intrinsic magnetic field. In addition, CMEs often follow solar flares (SF). The CME cloud travels outward from the Sun to the interplanetary medium and eventually hits the Earth’s system. One of the most significant aspects of space weather is the ionospheric response due to SF or CME. The direction of the interplanetary magnetic field, solar wind speed, and the number of particles are relevant parameters of the CME when it hits the Earth’s system. A geomagnetic storm is most geo-efficient when the plasma cloud has an interplanetary magnetic field southward and it is accompanied by an increase in the solar wind speed and particle number density. We investigated the ionospheric response (F-region) in the Brazilian and African sectors during a geomagnetic storm event on September 07–10, 2017, using magnetometer and GPS-TEC networks data. Positive ionospheric disturbances are observed in the VTEC during the disturbed period (September 07–08, 2017) over the Brazilian and African sectors. Also, two latitudinal chains of GPS-TEC stations from the equatorial region to low latitudes in the East and West Brazilian sectors and another chain in the East African sector are used to investigate the storm time behavior of the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA). We noted that the EIA was disturbed in the American and African sectors during the main phase of the geomagnetic storm. Also, the Brazilian sector was more disturbed than the African sector.     

Testing the asymmetric cone model for halo CMEs using STEREO/SECCHI coronagraphic observations

Space weather is significantly controlled by halo coronal mass ejections (HCMEs) originating close to the central meridian and directing toward the Earth. Unfortunately, coronagraphic observations (especially for HCMEs) are subject to a projection effect which makes it impossible to determine the true radial velocity and width of CMEs. However, these parameters can be estimated by correcting for the projection effect using the asymmetric cone model (Michalek, 2006). A set of 20 CMEs, observed as halo events in the LASCO field of view and simultaneously as limb events in the STEREO/SECCHI field of view, are used to check the accuracy of the asymmetric cone model. For this purpose, characteristics of the considered CMEs (angular widths and radial speeds) measured in STEREO/SECCHI images are compared with those obtained by the asymmetric cone model. We demonstrate that the widths and speeds determined by both methods are very similar. Correlation coefficients for speeds and angular widths are 0.99 and 0.96, respectively. We have also shown that the projection effect is unpredictable and could sometimes be very significant (up to 100% of the velocity measured in the LASCO field of view). On average, the SOHO/LASCO projected speeds for the HCMEs are 23% smaller than the radial velocities obtained from the STEREO/SECCHI images.     

Energetic particle acceleration by coronal mass ejections

The current paradigm for the source of large, gradual solar energetic particle (SEP) events is that theyare accelerated in coronal/interplanetary shocks driven by coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Early studies established that there is a rough correlation between the logs of the CME speed and the logs of the SEP intensities. Here I review two topics challenging the basic paradigm, the recent discovery that CMEs are also associated with impulsive, high-Z rich SEP events and the search for gradual SEP sources other than CME-driven shocks. I then discuss three topics of recent interest dealing with the relationship between the shock or CME properties and the resulting SEP events. These are the roles that CME accelerations, interactions between fast and preceding slow CMEs, and widths of fast CMEs may play in SEP production.     

Study of CME transit speeds for the event of 07-NOV-2004

Several methods for CME speed estimation are discussed. These include velocity derivation based on the frequency drifts observed in metric and decametric radio wave data using a range of coronal density models. Coronagraph height–time plots allow measurement of plane-of-sky and expansion speeds. These in turn can enable propagation speeds to be derived from a range of empirical relations. Simple geometric e.g., cone, models can provide propagation velocity estimates for suitable halo or partial halo events. Interplanetary scintillation observations allow speed estimates at large distances from the Sun detecting in particular the deceleration of the faster CMEs. Related interplanetary shocks and the arrival times and speeds of the associated magnetic clouds at Earth can also be considered. We discuss the application of some of these methods to the transit to Earth of a complex CME that originated earlier than 16:54 U.T. on 07-NOV-2004. The difficulties in making velocity estimates from radio observations, particularly under disturbed coronal conditions, are highlighted.     

Coronal mass ejection interaction and particle acceleration during the 2001 April 14–15 events

Two successive solar energetic particle (SEP) events associated with fast and wide coronal mass ejections (CMEs) on 2001 April 14 and 15 are compared. The weak SEP event of April 14 associated with an 830 km/s CME and an M1.0 flare was the largest impulsive event of cycle 23. The April 15 event, the largest ground level event of cycle 23, was three orders of magnitude more intense than the April 14^th event and was associated with a faster CME (1200 km/s) and an X14.4 flare. We compiled and compared all the activities (flares, CMEs, interplanetary conditions and radio bursts) associated with the two SEP events to understand the intensity difference between them. Different coronal and interplanetary environments of the two events (presence of preceding CME and seed particles ahead of the April 15 event) may explain the intensity difference.     

Solar energetic particle events during the rise phases of solar cycles 23 and 24

We present a comparative study of the properties of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and flares associated with the solar energetic particle (SEP) events in the rising phases of solar cycles (SC) 23 (1996–1998) (22 events) and 24 (2009–2011) (20 events), which are associated with type II radio bursts. Based on the SEP intensity, we divided the events into three categories, i.e. weak (intensity < 1 pfu), minor (1 pfu < intensity < 10 pfu) and major (intensity ? 10 pfu) events. We used the GOES data for the minor and major SEP events and SOHO/ERNE data for the weak SEP event. We examine the correlation of SEP intensity with flare size and CME properties. We find that most of the major SEP events are associated with halo or partial halo CMEs originating close to the sun center and western-hemisphere. The fraction of halo CMEs in SC 24 is larger than the SC 23. For the minor SEP events one event in SC23 and one event in SC24 have widths < 120° and all other events are associated with halo or partial halo CMEs as in the case of major SEP events. In case of weak SEP events, majority (more than 60%) of events are associated with CME width < 120°. For both the SC the average CMEs speeds are similar. For major SEP events, average CME speeds are higher in comparison to minor and weak events. The SEP event intensity and GOES X-ray flare size are poorly correlated. During the rise phase of solar cycle 23 and 24, we find north–south asymmetry in the SEP event source locations: in cycle 23 most sources are located in the south, whereas during cycle 24 most sources are located in the north. This result is consistent with the asymmetry found with sunspot area and intense flares.