SHINE: The Magnetic Topology of Linked Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs)

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The Principal Investigator (PI) will study so-called "multiple" or "sympathetic" coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in order to determine the structural properties of the background solar magnetic field in which these eruptions occur, specifically for two well-observed multiple CME events. He will investigate how structural features like separatrix surfaces and quasi-separatrix layers (QSLs) characterize the sites of magnetic reconnection and field reconfiguration, as well as how they connect individual CME eruptions in multiple events and, in particular, how these features predetermine the sequential order of eruptions. The PI will analyze the evolution of multiple CMEs, using data from ground-based and space-based observatories, along with global potential field source surface (PFSS) and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) modeling of the coronal magnetic field. Specifically, he will compute global PFSS and MHD solutions that describe the background magnetic configurations of the multiple CME events of 1-2 August 2010 and 27-28 July 2011. He will also reconstruct the large-scale separatrix surfaces and QSLs in these configurations and identify which of their structural components are model-independent. The PI will then analyze these components and identify among them those that are most likely to affect the CME eruption process in these events, and particularly, those which predetermine the order of successive CME eruptions.The PI's new techniques for the structural analysis of magnetic field configurations will be applicable to all studies in solar and heliospheric physics where a detailed knowledge of magnetic field structure and its impact on physical processes in solar plasma is required. The PI will also share his results online with the wider scientific community. This research will result in a fuller description of the basic magnetic topology of the solar corona, and this description is a prerequisite for effectively predicting space weather events like CMEs.