The role of CME in the escape of solar energtic particles
Abstract
Heliospheric manifestations of intense energy release linked to solar activity include the impact at the Earth of energetic particles accelerated during solar eruptions. Observationally, the magnetic configuration of active regions, where solar eruptions occur, agrees well with the standard model of eruption, consisting of a flare and a coronal mass ejection (CME). According to the standard model, particles accelerated at the flare reconnection site should remain trapped in the CME. However, flare-accelerated particles frequently reach the Earth long before the CME does.
We present a 3D model that explains how flare-accelerated particles escape into the interplanetary magnetic flux tubes during a solar eruption. Our model is based on results of large-scale 3D MHD simulations of a breakout-CME erupting into the heliosphere build by an isothermal solar wind. The simulations are performed with the Adaptively Refined Mhd Solver (ARMS). We describe the multiple reconnection episodes that occur during the evolution of the event, and show that the CME magnetic flux reconnect with the open magnetic field from the coronal hole nearby. Such a dynamic implies that the flare-accelerated particles initially trapped in the CME can now be release onto open field lines. Analyzing the dynamics of the reconnected flux during the eruption, we evaluate the spatial distribution of particles beams and find that the particle release can occur over a wide-longitudinal range scaling to the size of the CME front. We discuss the implications of results for CME/flare models and for SEPs observations. This work was supported, in part, by the NASA TR&T and SR&T Programs.- Publication:
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Solar Heliospheric and INterplanetary Environment (SHINE 2014)
- Pub Date:
- June 2014
- Bibcode:
- 2014shin.confE..81M