Observational Characteristics of CMEs without Low Coronal Signatures

TL;DR

This study analyzes 40 stealth CMEs lacking low coronal signatures, comparing their properties to regular CMEs to improve understanding and prediction of space weather impacts.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed observational and kinematic analysis of stealth CMEs, highlighting their differences from typical eruptions and implications for space weather forecasting.

Findings

Stealth CMEs have distinct kinematic profiles compared to regular CMEs.

They often lack early warning signatures, complicating prediction.

Understanding their mechanisms can enhance space weather forecasting.

Abstract

Solar eruptions are usually associated with a variety of phenomena occurring in the low corona before, during, and after onset of eruption. Though easily visible in coronagraph observations, so-called stealth coronal mass ejections (CMEs) do not obviously exhibit any of these low-coronal signatures. The presence or absence of distinct low coronal signatures can be linked to different theoretical models to establish the mechanisms by which the eruption is initiated and driven. In this study, 40 CMEs without low coronal signatures, occurring in 2012, are identified. Their observational and kinematic properties are analyzed and compared to those of regular CMEs. Solar eruptions without clear on-disk or low coronal signatures can lead to unexpected space weather impacts, since many early warning signs for significant space weather activity are not present in these events. A better understanding of their initiation mechanism(s) will considerably improve the ability to predict such space weather events.