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WG3: Extreme Events Summary. N. Gopalswamy & A. Vourlidas. WG3 Questions. What can the extreme events tell us about the maximum free energy available in the source region? How can we distinguish between CME and flare onsets?
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WG3: Extreme EventsSummary N. Gopalswamy & A. Vourlidas
WG3 Questions What can the extreme events tell us about the maximum free energy available in the source region? 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
Sunspot Area Comparison for 3 Groups of Events 50% 32% Relative Absence of Smaller Active Regions For Fast Transit Events 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) 8% Cliver, 2004
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) Most Common Least Common 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 Empirical Shock Arrival Model T = abV+c 08/72 2850 km/s CME speed Limit? Carrington 2350 km/s October 2003 CMEs belong to the class of fast-transit events. There were only 11 Events reported since 1859 Gopalswamy et al., 2004
AR Area vs Flares & CMEs log X = -8.34 + 1.50log A Carrington flare had A ~ 2500 msh Estimated GOES flare size: X6 log V = 2.54 + 0.22log A • Estimated speed of Carrington CME ~ 1850 km/s, Smaller than what ESA model value (2350 km/s) Gopalswamy 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 Mewaldt et al. 2004
SEP energy is a significant fraction of the CME kinetic energy Electron energy is ~1-10% of the proton energy Mewaldt et al. 2004
Oct 28 flare2 October 28 2003 X17 flare and CME MC Helicity of the MC often agreed with the Active 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 MC HXR sources Yurchyshyn, 2004
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 Models Plausible 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 energetic This resulted in large number of shocks near the Sun and at 1 AU
CME & Flare Recurrence 1 5 6 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 ------------------------------------------------------------ Regnier, Liu 300”