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Ambient solar wind's effect on ICME transit times
Author(s) -
Case A. W.,
Spence H. E.,
Owens M. J.,
Riley P.,
Odstrcil D.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2008gl034493
Subject(s) - coronal mass ejection , solar wind , physics , interplanetary spaceflight , heliosphere , transit (satellite) , magnetohydrodynamics , solar physics , corona (planetary geology) , transit time , meteorology , atmospheric sciences , astrophysics , plasma , astrobiology , nuclear physics , venus , public transport , political science , law , transport engineering , engineering
Most empirical and numerical models of Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejection (ICME) propagation use the initial CME velocity as their primary, if not only, observational input. These models generally predict a wide spread of 1 AU transit times for ICMEs with the same initial velocity. We use a 3D coupled MHD model of the corona and heliosphere to determine the ambient solar wind's effect on the propagation of ICMEs from 30 solar radii to 1 AU. We quantitatively characterize this deceleration by the velocity of the upstream ambient solar wind. The effects of varying solar wind parameters on the ICME transit time are quantified and can explain the observed spread in transit times for ICMEs of the same initial velocity. We develop an adjustment formula that can be used in conjunction with other models to reduce the spread in predicted transit times of Earth‐directed ICMEs.