Inferences About the Magnetic Field Structure of a CME with Both In Situ and Faraday Rotation Constraints

TL;DR

This study combines white-light, radio Faraday rotation, and in situ data to model the 3-D magnetic field structure of CMEs, providing new observational constraints and insights into their magnetic configurations.

Contribution

It presents the first combined analysis of stereoscopic imaging, radio Faraday rotation, and in situ measurements to model CME magnetic fields.

Findings

Initial positive rotation measures observed as predicted.

Sign reversal in RM not observed, possibly due to limited data.

Detected sheath region ahead of CME through RM increase.

Abstract

On 2012 August 2, two CMEs (CME-1 and CME-2) erupted from the west limb of the Sun as viewed from Earth, and were observed in images from the white light coronagraphs on the SOHO and STEREO spacecraft. These events were also observed by the Very Large Array (VLA), which was monitoring the Sun at radio wavelengths, allowing time-dependent Faraday rotation observations to be made of both events. We use the white-light imaging and radio data to model the 3-D field geometry of both CMEs, assuming a magnetic flux rope geometry. For CME-2, we also consider 1 au in situ field measurements in the analysis, as this CME hits STEREO-A on August~6, making this the first CME with observational constraints from stereoscopic coronal imaging, radio Faraday rotation, and in situ plasma measurements combined. The imaging and in situ observations of CME-2 provide two clear predictions for the radio data; namely that VLA should observe positive rotation measures (RMs) when the radio line of sight first encounters the CME, and that the sign should reverse to negative within a couple hours. The initial positive RMs are in fact observed. The expected sign reversal is not, but the VLA data unfortunately end too soon to be sure of the significance of this discrepancy. We interpret an RM increase prior to the expected occultation time of the CME as a signature of a sheath region of deflected field ahead of the CME itself.