English

A Study on the Nested Rings CME Structure Observed by the WISPR Imager Onboard Parker Solar Probe

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics 2024-10-15 v1 Space Physics

Abstract

Despite the significance of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in space weather, a comprehensive understanding of their interior morphology remains a scientific challenge, particularly with the advent of many state-of-the-art solar missions such as Parker Solar Probe (Parker) and Solar Orbiter (SO). In this study, we present an analysis of a complex CME as observed by the Wide-Field Imager for Solar PRobe (WISPR) heliospheric imager during Parker's seventh solar encounter. The CME morphology does not fully conform with the general three-part density structure, exhibiting a front and core not significantly bright, with a highly structured overall configuration. In particular, its morphology reveals non-concentric nested rings, which we argue are a signature of the embedded helical magnetic flux rope (MFR) of the CME. For that, we analyze the morphological and kinematical properties of the nested density structures and demonstrate that they outline the projection of the three-dimensional structure of the flux rope as it crosses the lines of sight of the WISPR imager, thereby revealing the magnetic field geometry. Comparison of observations from various viewpoints suggests that the CME substructures can be discerned owing to the ideal viewing perspective, close proximity, and spatial resolution of the observing instrument.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2410.09601,
  title  = {A Study on the Nested Rings CME Structure Observed by the WISPR Imager Onboard Parker Solar Probe},
  author = {Shaheda Begum Shaik and Mark G. Linton and Sarah E. Gibson and Phillip Hess and Robin C. Colaninno and Guillermo Stenborg and Carlos R. Braga and Erika Palmerio},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2410.09601},
  year   = {2024}
}

Comments

21 pages, 11 figures