Discovery of multi-temperature coronal mass ejection signatures from a young solar analogue

TL;DR

This study detects multi-temperature signatures of a stellar coronal mass ejection from a young solar analogue, revealing complex plasma dynamics that could have influenced early planetary atmospheres.

Contribution

It provides the first evidence of multi-temperature and multi-component stellar CMEs through multi-wavelength Doppler shift observations during a flare.

Findings

Detection of warm FUV line blueshifts indicating a warm eruption.

Observation of long-lasting cool filament eruption signatures.

Implication that frequent young Sun CMEs could impact planetary atmospheres.

Abstract

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) on the early Sun may have profoundly influenced the planetary atmospheres of early Solar System planets. Flaring young solar analogues serve as excellent proxies for probing the plasma environment of the young Sun, yet their CMEs remain poorly understood. Here we report the detection of multi-wavelength Doppler shifts in Far-Ultraviolet (FUV) and optical lines during a flare on the young solar analog EK Draconis. During and before a Carrington-class ($\sim$10$^{32}$ erg) flare, warm FUV lines ($\sim$10$^5$ K) exhibit blueshifted emission at 300-550 km s$^{-1}$, indicative of a warm eruption. 10 minutes later, the H$\alpha$ line shows slow (70 km s$^{-1}$), long-lasting ($\gtrsim$2 hrs) blueshifted absorptions, suggesting a cool ($\sim$10$^4$ K) filament eruption. This provides evidence of multi-temperature and multi-component nature of a stellar CME. If Carrington-class flares/CMEs occurred frequently on the young Sun, they may have cumulatively impacted the early Earth's magnetosphere and atmosphere.