The first widespread solar energetic particle event of solar cycle 25 on 2020 November 29 Shock wave properties and the wide distribution of solar energetic particles

Context. On 2020 November 29, an eruptive event occurred in an active region located behind the eastern solar limb as seen from Earth. The event consisted of an M4.4 class flare, a coronal mass ejection, an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wave, and a white-light (WL) shock wave. The eruption gave rise to the first widespread solar energetic particle (SEP) event of solar cycle 25, which was observed at four widely separated heliospheric locations (similar to 230 degrees).Aims. Our aim is to better understand the source of this widespread SEP event, examine the role of the coronal shock wave in the wide distribution of SEPs, and investigate the shock wave properties at the field lines magnetically connected to the spacecraft.Methods. Using EUV and WL data, we reconstructed the global three-dimensional structure of the shock in the corona and computed its kinematics. We determined the magnetic field configurations in the corona and interplanetary space, inferred the magnetic connectivity of the spacecraft with the shock surface, and derived the evolution of the shock parameters at the connecting field lines.Results. Remote sensing observations show formation of the coronal shock wave occurring early during the eruption, and its rapid propagation to distant locations. The results of the shock wave modelling show multiple regions where a strong shock has formed and efficient particle acceleration is expected to take place. The pressure/shock wave is magnetically connected to all spacecraft locations before or during the estimated SEP release times. The release of the observed near-relativistic electrons occurs predominantly close to the time when the pressure/shock wave connects to the magnetic field lines or when the shock wave becomes supercritical, whereas the proton release is significantly delayed with respect to the time when the shock wave becomes supercritical, with the only exception being the proton release at the Parker Solar Probe.Conclusions. Our results suggest that the shock wave plays an important role in the spread of SEPs. Supercritical shock regions are connected to most of the spacecraft. The particle increase at Earth, which is barely connected to the wave, also suggests that the cross-field transport cannot be ignored. The release of energetic electrons seems to occur close to the time when the shock wave connects to, or becomes supercritical at, the field lines connecting to the spacecraft. Energetic protons are released with a time-delay relative to the time when the pressure/shock wave connects to the spacecraft locations. We attribute this delay to the time that it takes for the shock wave to accelerate protons efficiently.</p

Propagation of an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection in three dimensions

Solar coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are the most significant drivers of adverse space weather at Earth, but the physics governing their propagation through the heliosphere is not well understood. While stereoscopic imaging of CMEs with the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) has provided some insight into their three-dimensional (3D) propagation, the mechanisms governing their evolution remain unclear due to difficulties in reconstructing their true 3D structure. Here we use a new elliptical tie-pointing technique to reconstruct a full CME front in 3D, enabling us to quantify its deflected trajectory from high latitudes along the ecliptic, and measure its increasing angular width and propagation from 2-46 solar radii (approximately 0.2 AU). Beyond 7 solar radii, we show that its motion is determined by an aerodynamic drag in the solar wind and, using our reconstruction as input for a 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulation, we determine an accurate arrival time at the Lagrangian L1 point near Earth.Comment: 5 figures, 2 supplementary movie

Exploring the Circular Polarisation of Low–Frequency Solar Radio Bursts with LOFAR

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Multipoint Study of Successive Coronal Mass Ejections Driving Moderate Disturbances at 1 au

We analyze in this work the propagation and geoeffectiveness of four successive coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that erupted from the Sun during 2013 May 21–23 and were detected in interplanetary space by the Wind and/or STEREO-A spacecraft. All these CMEs featured critical aspects for understanding so-called “problem space weather storms” at Earth. In the first three events a limb CMEs resulted in moderately geoeffective in situ structures at their target location in terms of the disturbance storm time (Dst) index (either measured or estimated). The fourth CME, which also caused a moderate geomagnetic response, erupted from close to the disk center as seen from Earth, but it was not visible in coronagraph images from the spacecraft along the Sun–Earth line and appeared narrow and faint from off-angle viewpoints. Making the correct connection between CMEs at the Sun and their in situ counterparts is often difficult for problem storms. We investigate these four CMEs using multiwavelength and multipoint remote-sensing observations (extreme ultraviolet, white light, and radio), aided by 3D heliospheric modeling, in order to follow their propagation in the corona and in interplanetary space and to assess their impact at 1au. Finally, we emphasize the difficulties in forecasting moderate space weather effects that are provoked by problematic and ambiguous events and the importance of multispacecraft data for observing and modeling problem storms.status: publishe

Multipoint Observations of the June 2012 Interacting Interplanetary Flux Ropes

We report a detailed analysis of interplanetary flux ropes observed at Venus and subsequently at Earth’s Lagrange L1 point between June 15 and 17, 2012. The observation points were separated by about 0.28 AU in radial distance and 5◦ in heliographic longitude at this time. The flux ropes were associated with three coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that erupted from the Sun on June 12–14, 2012 (SOL2012-06-12, SOL2012-06-13, and SOL2012-06-14). We examine the CME–CME interactions using in-situ observations from the almost radially aligned spacecraft at Venus and Earth, as well as using heliospheric modeling and imagery. The June 14 CME reached the June 13 CME near the orbit of Venus and significant interaction occurred before they both reached Earth. The shock driven by the June 14 CME propagated through the June 13 CME and the two CMEs coalesced, creating the signatures of one large, coherent flux rope at L1. We discuss the origin of the strong interplanetary magnetic fields related to this sequence of events, the complexity of interpreting solar wind observations in the case of multiple interacting CMEs, and the coherence of the Q14 flux ropes at different observation points.status: publishe

Magnetic Structure and Propagation of Two Interacting CMEs From the Sun to Saturn

One of the grand challenges in heliophysics is the characterization of coronal mass ejection (CME) magnetic structure and evolution from eruption at the Sun through heliospheric propagation. At present, the main difficulties are related to the lack of direct measurements of the coronal magnetic fields and the lack of 3D in-situ measurements of the CME body in interplanetary space. Nevertheless, the evolution of a CME magnetic structure can be followed using a combination of multi-point remote-sensing observations and multi-spacecraft in-situ measurements as well as modeling. Accordingly, we present in this work the analysis of two CMEs that erupted from the Sun on April 28, 2012. We follow their eruption and early evolution using remote-sensing data, finding indications of CME–CME interaction, and then analyze their interplanetary counterpart(s) using in-situ measurements at Venus, Earth, and Saturn. We observe a seemingly single flux rope at all locations, but find possible signatures of interaction at Earth, where high-cadence plasma data are available. Reconstructions of the in-situ flux ropes provide almost identical results at Venus and Earth but show greater discrepancies at Saturn, suggesting that the CME was highly distorted and/or that further interaction with nearby solar wind structures took place before 10 AU. This work highlights the difficulties in connecting structures from the Sun to the outer heliosphere and demonstrates the importance of multi-spacecraft studies to achieve a deeper understanding of the magnetic configuration of CMEs