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WG3: Extreme Events Summary N. Gopalswamy & A. Vourlidas

WG3: Extreme Events Summary N. Gopalswamy & A. Vourlidas

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WG3: Extreme EventsSummary

N. Gopalswamy & A. Vourlidas

WG3 Questions

1. What can the extreme events tell us about the maximum free energy available in the source region?

2. How can we distinguish between CME and flare onsets?

3.  Is a flare precursor a precursor or a preceding flare? (Same question for CMEs).

4.  What is the relation between flare evolution and CME acceleration?

What WG3 discussed

• Historical Events

• October – November 2003 Events

• Energy Budget

Extreme Events

• Flare size X10

• CME speed (>2400 km/s)

• SEP intensity (>104 pfu)

• Sun-Earth shock transit time (< 24 h)

• Geoeffectiveness (Dst < -300 nT)

• Active Region Area (>1500 msh)

• Magnetic Energy (potential, free)

Event List & Data Base(Cycle 23)

• Flare size > X10 (5 events)

• Top 10 SOHO CMEs (Vcme > 2400 km/s)

• SEP intensity > 104 pfu (6 events)

• Top 5 Geomagnetic storms (Dst)http://cdaw.gsfc.nasa.gov/RST_Sonoma_WG3/

GOES Flare Size >X10

• 2003/11/04 X28 CME • 2001/04/02 X20 CME • 2003/10/28 X17 CME SEP Dst Shock• 2001/04/15 X14 CME • 2003/10/29 X10 CME SEP Dst Shock

Two of the October events had multiple extreme properties

Relative Absence ofSmaller Active Regions For Fast Transit Events

50%

32%

8%

Sunspot Area Comparison for3 Groups of Events

Cliver, 2004

In Search of Major Solar Eruptions:Geomagnetic Storms (Aam* > 300 and/or Dst < -350)

Fast Transit Events (< 22 hr Sun to Earth)

Fast CMEs (> 2400 km s-1)

Hierarchy of Large Events

-Fast (> 2400 km/s) CMEs: Often arise in moderate ARs

-Eruptions Associated with Great Geomagnetic Storms: Larger ARs, More Energetic Eruptions (Compounding of Smaller Events May Cause Great Storms & Other Factors such as Season Play a Role)

-Fast-Transit Events: Largest ARs, Most Energetic Eruptions (intense & long-lasting)

MostCommon

LeastCommon

Selection Effect: Only Most Energetic Events Maintain High Average Speeds to 1 AU

Cliver, 2004

Historical Storms

• Carrington Event resulted in a -1620 nT storm. Real or some other ionospheric transient?

• How intense can storms get?

• Flare stars have energies in the range 1037-39 erg

• Bmax = 0.047V -1.1 nT ~ 93 nT

Tsurutani, et al. 2003

Empirical Shock Arrival Model

08/72 2850 km/s

Carrington2350 km/s

Empirical Shock Arrival ModelT = abV+c

October 2003 CMEs belong to the class of fast-transit events. There were only 11Events reported since 1859 Gopalswamy et al., 2004

CME speedLimit?

AR Area vs Flares & CMEs

log X = -8.34 + 1.50log A

log V = 2.54 + 0.22log A

Carrington flare had A ~ 2500 msh Estimated GOES flare size: X6

Estimated speed of Carrington CME ~ 1850 km/s,Smaller than what ESA model value (2350 km/s)

Gopalswamy et al., 2004

Mewaldt et al. 2004

The two cycle 23 events have similar spectrum

Not too different from the famous August 72 event, except at low energy

Feb 1956 event had very different spectrum

SEP energy is a significant fraction of the CME kinetic energyElectron energy is ~1-10% of the proton energy

Mewaldt et al. 2004

Oct 28 flare2

October 28 2003 X17 flare and CME

MC

MC

HXR sources

Yurchyshyn, 2004

Helicity of the MC often agreed with theActive region helicity. The direction of the axial magnetic field in the MCs, are closely related to the direction of the axial magnetic fields in the associated post-flare arcades

Why Fast Halos?

• October November ARs were located close to open field lines, so the CMEs had larger speeds

• Synoptic maps show that 484 (464 in the previous rotation and 501 in the next rotation) had clear open field lines nearby

• Magnetic environment seems to control CME motion

Y. Liu

Extreme Solar Flare Effects on the Ionosphere

• 30% increase in TEC in ~5 min (10/28/03)

• X-ray/EUV flare spectrum is highly variable: 11/4 larger in X-rays, but 10/28 larger in EUV

Tsurutani

SEISMIC EMISSION FROM SOLAR FLARES

• Seismic emission from flares represents by far the most localized and

episodic seismic radiation in the solar acoustic spectrum.

• Only a small fraction (~$10^-4$) of the total energy released in a large flare is appropriated into the acoustic spectrum.

• There is significant evidence that a major determinant of acoustic activity is the suddenness of the exciting impulse.

• Acoustic emission from flares could contribute to our understanding of wave propagation in magnetic chromospheres and photospheres. If properly understood, acoustic emission from flares could be a powerful probe of subphotospheric thermal anomalies and flows.

Alina-Catalina Donea and Charles Lindsey

Relativistic Electrons 10/28 Event

• Precursor + pulse + main event + shock spike

• Precursor + pulse: ~E-5.3, E-6.6

• Main Event: ~E-2

• Shock spike: ~E-1.8

• Shock spike and main event: scatter dominant

Simnett

CME/Flare General Issues

• White Light Flare Problem is still open (e.g., are photospheric flares common?)

• CME & Flares are two manifestations of ONE dissipative phenomenon

• Dimensionless scaling should be used for classifications.

Veselovsky

Flare/CME Relationship in ModelsPlausible mechanism: Loss of mechanical equilibrium plus magnetic

reconnection. Reconnection is not a necessity for triggering the eruption, but it plays an essential role in the long-term evolution of the eruption.

The correlation of flares to CMEs depends on the background field of the disrupting configuration: the stronger the background field, the better the correlation.

Reconnection creates both the flare loop system and the expanding CME bubble. The resulting current sheet acts as an intermediary.

In the sheared arcade & break-out models, flare always precedes the CME. For the catastrophe model, flare may occur at any stage depending of the details of the disrupting magnetic field.

J. Lin

Oct/Nov 03: Speed, Width, Mass, KE

The Oct/Nov CMEs were faster and wider on the average and hence more energeticThis resulted in large number of shocks near the Sun and at 1 AU

CME & Flare Recurrence

1

56

Gopalswamy et al. 2004

Energetics

• E:\energetics.xls

Max Energies

------------------------------------------------------------

AR Area VB2p /8 Max KE

(msh) (erg) (erg)

-----------------------------------------------------------• AR0484 1750 3.66E+33 2.4e+32• AR0486 2610 4.57E+33 6.4e+32• AR0488 1750 2.76E+33 1.3e+32

------------------------------------------------------------ 300”

Regnier, Liu