Letter to the Editor

On the combination of ACE data with numerical simulations to determine the initial characteristics of a CME

¹ Centrum voor Plasma-Astrofysica, K.U. Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200B, 3001 Leuven, Belgium e-mail: Emmanuel.Chane@wis.kuleuven.be
² Institut für Geophysik und Meteorologie, Universität zu Köln, Cologne, Germany
³ Center for Space Environment Modeling, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2143, USA

Received: 23 September 2008
Accepted: 4 November 2008

Abstract

Aims. Our goal is to combine the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) data with numerical simulations to determine the initial characteristics of the halo coronal mass ejection (CME), which was observed on April 4, 2000.

Methods. The evolution of a CME from the Sun to 1 AU is simulated in the framework of 2.5 D (axi-symmetric) ideal Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). The initial parameters of the CME model are adjusted to reproduce the ACE data as accurately as possible. The initial parameters leading to the best fit are then assumed to be the most plausible initial parameters of the CME event.

Results. Once the ACE data and the transit time were successfully reproduced, we concluded that, at 1.5 , the CME had a maximal magnetic field strength of 2.5 10^-4 T and a total mass of 6.7 10¹² kg, and the CME linear speed up to 30  was 1524 km s^-1.