Abstract
Interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs), the interplanetary counterpart of coronal mass ejections (CMEs), are most commonly identified by their enhanced magnetic field strengths and rotating magnetic field orientation. However, there are other frequent signatures in the plasma. We use a pair of these signatures, a linearly decreasing plasma bulk velocity and a cool (< 20 km s−1) ion thermal speed, to identify candidate ICMEs. Many ICMEs, identified through their magnetic signatures, are also found by their ion signatures alone. However, many are not. These missed ICMEs appear not to be expanding, even when they are accompanied by leading shocks. The ICMEs with both the magnetic and ion signatures appear to be expanding as judged from either set of observations. The most clearly defined ICMEs have transit times from the Sun and growth times to the observed size that are equal. These ropes fit the paradigm of compact magnetic structures arising low in the corona and expanding uniformly in time, as they travel at constant center of mass speed toward 1 AU.
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Russell, C., Shinde, A. ICME Identification from Solar Wind Ion Measurements. Sol Phys 216, 285–294 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026108101883
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026108101883