Considerations on CME morphology for the interpretation of multi-point and multi- spacecraft measurements

CREMADES, H.

Chicago

Congreso; AGU Fall Meeting 2022; 2022

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are undoubtedly the most spectacular transient events that can be observed in the solar corona. Their flux rope nature became evident by means of in situ detections of their interplanetary counterparts, decades ago. Enabled by the vast number of solar- and heliospheric-dedicated spacecraft with the capability of detecting them either remotely or in situ, several aspects of CMEs and their interplanetary counterparts have been characterized throughout the years. Nevertheless, details on the internal magnetic eld configuration of CMEs remain elusive, mainly due to limitations in remote-sensing and in situ measurements, which provide different pieces of information on these events. Observations from and at multiple spacecraft have a high potential to shed light in this respect, though the pieces of the puzzle have yet to t together. The study of CME morphology on the basis of remote-sensing observations is an approach towards that end, given that it holds a close relationship with the CME magnetic eld configuration. Findings on CME morphology will be presented, valuable for the interpretation and modeling of in situ measurements at multiple spacecraft of these events. More specifically, dimensions of CMEs along their symmetry axis and perpendicular to it, expansion rates along the same orthogonal directions, departures from the archetypical flux rope structure, and factors affecting the characterization of CME morphology will be addressed.