Alpha-Proton Differential Flow of A Coronal Mass Ejection at 15 Solar Radii

TL;DR

This study measures alpha-proton differential flow in a CME at 15 solar radii, revealing complex behaviors near the Sun and suggesting that elemental abundances in CMEs can vary during propagation due to Coulomb collisions.

Contribution

First measurement of alpha-proton differential flow in a CME at 15 solar radii, showing its complexity and the influence of Coulomb collisions on CME plasma properties.

Findings

Alpha-proton differential flow is significant and complex inside 0.1 au.

Coulomb collisions reduce non-equilibrium features in CME plasma.

Elemental abundances in CMEs may vary during propagation.

Abstract

Alpha-proton differential flow ($V_{\alpha p}$) of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and solar wind from the Sun to 1 au and beyond could influence the instantaneous correspondence of absolute abundances of alpha particles (He$^{2+}$/H$^{+}$) between solar corona and interplanetary space as the abundance of a coronal source can vary with time. Previous studies based on Ulysses and Helios showed that $V_{\alpha p}$ is negligible within CMEs from 5 to 0.3 au, similar to slow solar wind ($<$ 400 km s$^{-1}$). However, recent new observations using Parker Solar Probe (PSP) revealed that the $V_{\alpha p}$ of slow wind increases to $\sim$60 km s$^{-1}$ inside 0.1 au. It is significant to answer whether the $V_{\alpha p}$ of CMEs exhibits the similar behavior near the Sun. In this Letter, we report the $V_{\alpha p}$ of a CME measured by PSP at $\sim$15 $R_\odot$ for the first time, which demonstrates that the $V_{\alpha p}$ of CMEs is obvious and complex inside 0.1 au while keeps lower than the local Alfv\'{e}n speed. A very interesting point is that the same one CME duration can be divided into A and B intervals clearly with Coulomb number below and beyond 0.5, respectively. The means of $V_{\alpha p}$ and alpha-to-proton temperature ratios of interval A (B) is 96.52 (21.96) km s$^{-1}$ and 7.65 (2.23), respectively. This directly illustrates that Coulomb collisions play an important role in reducing the non-equilibrium features of CMEs. Our study indicates that the absolute elemental abundances of CMEs also might vary during their propagation.