Probing coronal mass ejections inclination effects with EUHFORIA

TL;DR

This study uses EUHFORIA simulations to analyze how the inclination of coronal mass ejections affects their propagation, sheath evolution, and interactions with the interplanetary medium, revealing inclination-dependent dynamics.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the impact of CME flux rope orientation on their evolution and interaction with the solar wind using detailed 3D MHD simulations.

Findings

Sheath duration increases with radial distance, especially on CME flanks.

Non-radial flows are larger outside the ecliptic plane.

Drag parameter varies with radial distance and inclination, but is not fully resolved.

Abstract

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are complex magnetized plasma structures in which the magnetic field spirals around a central axis, forming what is known as a flux rope (FR). The central FR axis can be oriented at any angle to the ecliptic. Throughout its journey, a CME will encounter interplanetary magnetic field and solar wind which are neither homogeneous nor isotropic. Consequently, CMEs with different orientations will encounter different ambient medium conditions and, thus, the interaction of a CME with its surrounding environment will vary depending on the orientation of its FR axis, among other factors. This study aims to understand the effect of inclination on CME propagation. We performed simulations with the EUHFORIA 3D magnetohydrodynamic model. This study focuses on two CMEs modelled as spheromaks with nearly identical properties, differing only by their inclination. We show the effects of CME orientation on sheath evolution, MHD drag, and non-radial flows by analyzing the model data from a swarm of 81 virtual spacecraft scattered across the inner heliospheric. We have found that the sheath duration increases with radial distance from the Sun and that the rate of increase is greater on the flanks of the CME. Non-radial flows within the studied sheath region appear larger outside the ecliptic plane, indicating a "sliding" of the IMF in the out-of ecliptic plane. We found that the calculated drag parameter does not remain constant with radial distance and that the inclination dependence of the drag parameter can not be resolved with our numerical setup.