The Formation and Early Evolution of a CME and the Associated Shock on 2014 January 8
Abstract
We study the formation and early evolution of a limb coronal mass ejection (CME) and its associated shock wave that occurred on 2014 January 8. The extreme ultraviolet (EUV) images provided by AIA on board \textit{Solar Dynamics Observatory} disclose that the CME first appears as a bubble-like structure. Subsequently, its expansion forms the CME and causes a quasi-circular EUV wave. Both the CME and the wave front are clearly visible at all of the AIA EUV passbands. Through a detailed kinematical analysis, it is found that the expansion of the CME undergoes two phases: a first phase with a strong but transient lateral over-expansion followed by a second phase with a self-similar expansion. The temporal evolution of the expansion velocity coincides very well with the variation of the 25--50 keV hard X-ray (HXR) flux of the associated flare, which indicates that magnetic reconnection most likely plays an important role in driving the expansion. Moreover, we find that, when the velocity of the CME reaches $\sim$600 km s$^{-1}$, the EUV wave starts to evolve into a shock wave, which is evidenced by the appearance of a type II radio burst. Interestingly, we also notice an unusual solar radio signal at $\sim$4 GHz that is similar to the pattern of a type II radio burst but drifts to higher frequencies at a rate of $\sim$0.3 MHz per second during about 7 minutes. Its derived density is $\sim$5$\times$10$^{10}$ cm$^{-3}$ and increases slowly with time. Joint imaging observations of HXR and EUV help to locate the loop-top region and calculate its thermal proprieties, including slowly increasing densities ($\sim$5$\times$10$^{10}$ cm$^{-3}$) and temperatures ($\sim$14 MK). The similar results obtained from two different ways above imply the possibility of this scenario: plasma blobs that are ejected along the current sheet via magnetic reconnection collide with underlying flare loops that are undergoing chromospheric evaporation. Finally, we also study the thermal properties of the CME and the EUV wave. We find that the plasma in the CME leading front and the wave front has a temperature of $\sim$2 MK, while that in the CME core region and the flare region has a much higher temperature of $\ge$8 MK.
- Publication:
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AAS/Solar Physics Division Abstracts #48
- Pub Date:
- August 2017
- Bibcode:
- 2017SPD....4820606W