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Current Sheet Evolution In The Aftermath Of A CME EventWe report on SOHO UVCS observations of the coronal restructuring following a coronal mass ejection (CME) on 2002 November 26, at the time of a SOHO-Ulysses quadrature campaign. Starting about 1.5 hr after a CME in the northwest quadrant, UVCS began taking spectra at 1.7 R, covering emission from both cool and hot plasma. Observations continued, with occasional gaps, for more than 2 days. Emission in the 974.8 A line of [Fe XVIII], indicating temperatures above 6 x 10(exp 6) K, was observed throughout the campaign in a spatially limited location. Comparison with EIT images shows the [Fe XVIII] emission to overlie a growing post-flare loop system formed in the aftermath of the CME. The emission most likely originates in a current sheet overlying the arcade. Analysis of the [Fe XVIII] emission allows us to infer the evolution of physical parameters in the current sheet over the entire span of our observations: in particular, we give the temperature versus time in the current sheet and estimate its density. At the time of the quadrature, Ulysses was directly above the location of the CME and intercepted the ejecta. High ionization state Fe was detected by the Ulysses SWICS throughout the magnetic cloud associated with the CME, although its rapid temporal variation suggests bursty, rather than smooth, reconnection in the coronal current sheet. The SOHO-Ulysses data set provided us with the unique opportunity of analyzing a current sheet structure from its lowest coronal levels out to its in situ properties. Both the remote and in situ observations are compared with predictions of theoretical CME models.
Document ID
20060016373
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Bemporad, A.
(Florence Univ. Italy)
Poletto, G.
(Osservatorio Astrofisico Arcetri, Italy)
Seuss, S. T.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Schwardron, N. A.
(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Cambridge, MA, United States)
Elliott, H. A.
(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Cambridge, MA, United States)
Raymond, J. C.
(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Cambridge, MA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2006
Publication Information
Publication: The Astrophysical Journal
Volume: 638
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: COFIN 2003029124003
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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