Observations of CMEs and Models of the Eruptive Corona

TL;DR

This paper reviews observational evidence supporting flux ropes as the core structure of CMEs and discusses models, emphasizing the importance of flux ropes and shocks in understanding CME dynamics.

Contribution

It consolidates observational support for flux ropes in CMEs and critiques alternative models, enhancing the understanding of CME structure and evolution.

Findings

Flux ropes are central to CME structure supported by remote and in-situ observations.

Models without flux ropes conflict with CME kinematics and flare observations.

Including shocks completes the CME model in the CSHKP framework.

Abstract

Current theoretical ideas on the internal structure of CMEs suggest that a flux rope is central to the CME structure, which has considerable observational support both from remote-sensing and in-situ observations. The flux-rope nature is also consistent with the post-eruption arcades with high-temperature plasmas and the charge states observed within CMEs arriving at Earth. The model involving magnetic loop expansion to explain CMEs without flux ropes is not viable because it contradicts CME kinematics and flare properties near the Sun. The flux rope is fast, it drives a shock, so the global picture of CMEs becomes complete if one includes the shock sheath to the CSHKP model.