The Internal Structure of ICMEs: Heavy Ion Composition and the Associated Magnetic Field

The internal structures of an interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) reflects the processes of the CME formation and development within the core layers, as well as the interaction processes within it and with the heliospheric structures during propagation within the outer layers. A common feature in most solar flare-CME models is the formation of a post-CME current sheet (CS) between the outgoing CME and the post-flare loops at the eruption site. Continuous reconnection inside the post-CME CS presumably heats and accelerates particles that stream upwards, are trapped within the structured CME flux rope and carried into the heliosphere. The heavy ions inside the ICME, which become frozen-in within a few solar radii, should then bear direct signatures of magnetic reconnection in the coronal environment. In this work, we test this idea by investigating the relationship between the internal structure of ICME heavy ion properties with its magnetic field structure, and discuss the implications of our results to space weather research issues.