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Kinematic Treatment of CME Evolution in the Solar WindWe present a kinematic study of the evolution of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in the solar wind. Specifically, we consider the effects of: (1) spherical expansion; and (2) uniform expansion due to pressure gradients between the Interplanetary CME (ICME) and the ambient solar wind. We compare these results with an MHD model, which allows us to isolate these effects from the combined kinematic and dynamical effects, which are included in MHD models. They also provide compelling evidence that the fundamental cross section of so-called "force-free" flux ropes (or magnetic clouds) is neither circular or elliptical, but rather a convex-outward, "pancake" shape. We apply a force-free fitting to the magnetic vectors from the MHD simulation to assess how the distortion of the flux rope affects the fitting. In spite of these limitations, force-free fittings, which are straightforward to apply, do provide an important description of a number of parameters, including the radial dimension, orientation and chirality of the ICME.
Document ID
20040191319
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Riley, Pete
(Science Applications International Corp. San Diego, CA, United States)
Crooker, N. U.
(Boston Univ. Boston, MA, United States)
Date Acquired
September 7, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2004
Subject Category
Solar Physics
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAG5-10881
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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