Impulsive acceleration of coronal mass ejections: II. Relation to SXR flares and filament eruptions

TL;DR

This study analyzes the detailed kinematics of 95 CMEs, revealing that CMEs associated with flares have higher impulsive accelerations originating from lower in the corona, and most CMEs accelerate before flare onset, indicating a feedback process.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive comparison of CME acceleration characteristics with associated flares and filament eruptions using high-cadence imaging, highlighting differences in acceleration profiles and timing.

Findings

CMEs with flares have higher peak accelerations and shorter acceleration phases.

Most CME accelerations start before flare onset and end after the flare peak.

Timing analysis suggests a feedback relationship between CME acceleration and flare energy release.

Abstract

Using high time cadence images from the STEREO EUVI, COR1 and COR2 instruments, we derived detailed kinematics of the main acceleration stage for a sample of 95 CMEs in comparison with associated flares and filament eruptions. We found that CMEs associated with flares reveal on average significantly higher peak accelerations and lower acceleration phase durations, initiation heights and heights, at which they reach their peak velocities and peak accelerations. This means that CMEs that are associated with flares are characterized by higher and more impulsive accelerations and originate from lower in the corona where the magnetic field is stronger. For CMEs that are associated with filament eruptions we found only for the CME peak acceleration significantly lower values than for events which were not associated with filament eruptions. The flare rise time was found to be positively correlated with the CME acceleration duration, and negatively correlated with the CME peak acceleration. For the majority of the events the CME acceleration starts before the flare onset (for 75% of the events) and the CME accleration ends after the SXR peak time (for 77% of the events). In ~60% of the events, the time difference between the peak time of the flare SXR flux derivative and the peak time of the CME acceleration is smaller than \pm5 min, which hints at a feedback relationship between the CME acceleration and the energy release in the associated flare due to magnetic reconnection.