From all the transient events identified in interplanetary space by in-situ measurements, Magnetic Clouds (MCs) are among the most intriguing ones. They are a special kind of Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections (ICMEs), characterized by a well-defined magnetic field configuration. We use a list of 40 MCs detected by Ulysses to study bidirectional flows of protons in the $\sim$0.5 MeV energy range. Solar wind ions are also analysed in order to compare cloud to non-cloud ICMEs.

The enhancement in freezing-in temperatures inside the clouds, obtained with data from the SWICS instrument, provides insights into processes occurring early during the ejection of the material and represents a complementary tool to differentiate cloud from non-cloud ICMEs. At higher energies, directional information for protons obtained with the EPAC instrument allows a comparison with previous results concerning bidirectional suprathermal electrons. The findings are qualitatively comparable. Apparently, the portion of bidirectional flows inside magnetic clouds is neither heavily dependent on distance from the Sun nor on parameters obtained from a flux rope model.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

The methods of radioastronomy are in important observational tool to explore magnetic energy releases in the solar corona. When combined with the useful diagnostics provided by observations in other wavelengths, namely with data from space missions such as Yohkoh, SOHO, and more recently RHESSI, these datasets allow us to track the progression of solar eruptive events from the low corona into the interplanetary medium. One of the most dramatic forms of solar activity, coronal mass ejections (CMEs) encompass a large range of spatial scales in a question of a few minutes. These go from the very small like current sheets, to small like active regions, to the very big like trans-equatorial loops and the transient seen in white light images (with angular extents in excess of 100 degrees for some events). Hence, in order to understand the CME phenomenon, its origin, and early development, we need a set of observations able to image the whole Sun with time cadences of the order of the second. Radio observations can do that presently. Multifrequency radio observations of the solar corona in the metric domain provide diagnostics of a wide variety of phenomena that occur in association CMEs. Radio imaging instruments can follow the processes leading to CME initiation, follow the expansion of the CME in the low corona, both on disk, and above the solar limb, and as such make the link with coronagraphic data. The characteristic signatures of the many CME related phenomena go from thermal emission of the eruptive cavity in the low corona, to direct imaging of the CME loops from synchrotron emission, to radio continua and shock associated emissions, recent progress on the understanding of the early development of CMEs, and on the coronal restructuring in the aftermath of the mass ejection, based on solar radio imaging from the Nancay Radioheliograph, is reviewed here.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

On 28 Oct 2003, one of the biggest flares (4B/X17.2) seen in recent years occurred in Active Region (AR) NOAA 10486 associated with a violent halo coronal mass ejection. It was a complex $\beta\gamma\delta$ region. After studying the evolution of the AR and the phenomena of this powerful flare, we obtained the following result. (1) Highly sheared transverse field was formed gradually on both sides of the neutral line by squeeze during the AR development; (2) Rotations of penumbra of main polarities were discerned, and the average horizontal velocities was as large as 0.55 km/s; (3) The spiral transverse field of main positive polarity was diffused after the large flare; (4) Some magnetic features submerged or emerged in the vicinity of the flare onset point. The emergence of this rotational and complex magnetic topology implies a transport of magnetic energy and complexity from the low atmosphere to the corona. Moreover, the rapidly submergence (emergence) and movements of the small magnetic features which represent the enhancement (cancellation) and squeeze of the magnetic field play a key role in the onset of the flare.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

We present a statistical study on the acceleration of CMEs. This study is based on 23 CME events best observed by SOHO LASCO/C1 coronagraph, which observes the inner corona from 1.1 to 3.0 $R_S$. The kinematic evolution of a CME has a distinct acceleration phase that mainly takes place in the inner corona. We find that the acceleration duration distribution ranges from 10 to 1100 min with a median (average) value at 54 min (169 min). The acceleration magnitude distribution ranges from 6 m s$^{-2}$ to 947 m s$^{-2}$ with a median (average) value at 209 m s$^{-2}$ (280 m s$^{-2}$). We also find a good correlation between CME acceleration magnitude A (in unit of m s$^{-2}$) and acceleration duration T (in unit of min), which can be simply described as A=10000/T.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

Equilibria and evolutions in the coronal magnetic configurations due to the interactions among active regions are investigated. The magnetic structure includes a current-carrying flux rope that is used to model the prominence or filament. We use either two dipoles or four monopoles on the boundary surface to model active regions, and the change in the boundary conditions corresponds to either the horizontal motion of magnetic sources or decaying of the active regions. Both cases show the catastrophic behavior in the system's evolutions. The results have important observational consequences: most eruptive prominences that give rise to CMEs are driven by the interactions between two or more active regions. Such eruptions may not necessarily take place in the growing phase of the active regions, instead they usually occur at the decay phase.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

We studied the solar proton differential energy spectra with energy range of 1$\sim$500 MeV at several time intervals during the 2000 July 14 solar flare. The results showed that before flare the spectra could be described by a power law function and after flare the power law spectra still existed above 30 MeV although spectra became softer with time. There was a spectral “knee” occurring at $\sim$30 MeV. We constructed a solar proton differential spectrum from 30 MeV to 3 GeV at peak flux time 10:30 UT and fitted it in the same manner. On the basis of a supposition of having the same power law spectrum in higher energy, we calculated the solar proton integrated fluxes in energy range of from 500 MeV to 20 GeV and compared them with other results obtained from experimental, modeling and theoretical calculations in other big historic SEP events.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

In this work we focus on UVCS data acquired during the November 2002 SOHO–Ulysses quadrature, at an altitude of 1.7 R$_{\odot}$ over a range of latitudes centered around 27$^{\circ}$N in the western quadrant. A couple of hours before our observations started, a CME event (November 26, 15:30 UT) originating at about 27$^\circ$N, disrupted the coronal configuration of the region. In the $\sim$ 2.3 days following the event UVCS detected emission in the neutral H $Ly \beta$ and $Ly \gamma$ lines as well as in lines from both high and low ionization ions such as C iii, O vi, Si viii, ix and xii, Fe x and xviii. Enhanced emission from the hot Fe xviii ion ($\log T_{max} = 6.7$), lasting nearly to the end of our observations and originating in a region between 10$^\circ$N and 30$^\circ$N, has been identified with a post–CME current sheet. Our interpretation is supported by EIT Fe xii images which show a system of loops at increasingly higher altitudes after the event. Northward of the CME, UVCS observed repeated, sudden and short lived emission peaks in the “cool” $Ly \beta$, $Ly \gamma$, C iii and O vi lines. These events seem to be the extension at higher altitudes of the chromospheric plasma jets observed in the EIT He ii images. Electron temperatures of both the hot and cool region will be presented here and their time evolution will also be illustrated.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are sources of the strongest geomagnetic disturbances. From sunspot minimum to sunspot maximum, the intensity of storms associated with CMEs increases but the degree of association decreases. We divide the CMEs in the last solar cycle (1996–2002) into magnetic clouds (MCs)and CMEs which are not magnetic clouds. MCs are much more geoeffective than non-MC CMEs, and the portion of CMEs which are MCs is maximum in sunspot minimum and minimum at sunspot maximum, corresponding to the net helicity transferred from the solar interior into the corona. The smaller portion of the more geoeffective MCs is the explanation of the smaller degree of association of CMEs with geomagnetic disturbances in sunspot maximum.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

The RHESSI hard X-ray spectra are investigated for a total of 23 CME-related flares. It is found that about 17%, 70%, and 13% of the samples can be attributed to type A, B, and C, respectively. These ratios are not significantly different from those obtained using the data of HXRBS/SMM, although the ratio of type C in our CME-related flares is a little higher. More samples are obviously necessary to study the difference of hard X-ray spectra between the CME-related flares and non-CME-related flares.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

Several Halo CMEs hit the Earth in the second half of July 2004. They were produced by the very large complex active region NOAA 652 (Yousef et al. 2005). For CME details consult the web (ftp://lasco6.nascom.nasa.gov/pub/lasco/status/LASCO_CME_List_004).

We focus on the 26$^{th}$ -27$^{th}$ of July CME hit. This CME was associated with the long-duration M1 flare at 25/15:14. It made a very fast Sun to Earth transit-just over 31 hours (SGAS 27 July 2004). A greater than 10 MeV proton event began at 25/18:55. Solar wind speed remained elevated from 500 to over 700 km/s. A Severe Geomagnetic storm was observed and the aurora was seen as far as California.

A strong shock impacted the ACE spacecraft at 26/22:28. A sudden impulse (SI) of 96 nT was observed on the Boulder magnetometer at 22:51. The IMF Bz component was turned negative (−18 nT). Generally speaking, according to de Pater and Lissauer (2001), since a strong CME disturbance in the solar wind is usually preceded by an interplanetary shock followed by an enhanced density and velocity, the field strength first increases when the disturbance hits the magnetosphere, inducing an increase in the ring current. Several hours(up to over 25 hrs) the field strength Dst decreases dramatically during the storm main phase which typically lasts for a day The main phase is caused by an increase in the ring current, resulting from an enhanced particle flow towards the Earth. It is well known that geomagnetic storms tend to occur when IMF is directed southward. Magnetic reconnection occurs between the negative IMF and the magnetosphere thus opens the field lines with one end connected to the Earth (Dungey 1963). This magnetic reconnection allowed the protons and electrons to leak in. The proton and electron flux maximums occurred around the time of geomagnetic storm commencement which lasted for about 27 h (fig. 1). This is in agreement with the statement of Robinson (2003) that large numbers of energetic protons are constrained to occupy the region around the IP shock. The IMF Bz component dropped to −20 nT on 27 of July at 12:00 UT as measured by ACE satellite while Kp reached a maximum of 9 around 15:00 UT at the storm maximum as seen in fig. 2.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

We studied the relationship between successive coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and a long-lived geomagnetic storm (LLGMS) by examining the 1998 May 4 event. Five successive CMEs from the same active region and four interplanetary shocks were found to be associated with this LLGMS. We investigated the effect of successive and interacting CMEs on the LLGMS.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

We report on a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) observed on June 27 1999 by the UltraViolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS) telescope operating on board the SOHO spacecraft. The CME was also observed by LASCO (SOHO). Emission of hot material has been recorded by UVCS propagating in front of an opening system of loops generated by the CME. The evolution of the UVCS structure is highly correlated to the evolution of the opening loop. The data reveal excess broadening of the O VI doublet lines and an enhancement in the intensity of the Si XII $\lambda 520.66$ and $\lambda499.37$ lines due to the motion of the expanding hot gas. The hot gas emission seems to be due to a shock wave propagating in front of a very fast gas bubble traveling along the opening loop system.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

The Bastille Day Event on July 14 2000, a major solar flare and a global coronal mass ejection (CME), is not a phenomenon of a single active region. Activation and eruption of a huge trans-equatorial filament is seen to precede the simultaneous filament eruption and flare in the source active region, AR9077, and the full halo-CME in the high corona. Evidence of reconfiguration of large-scale structures, manifested by SOHO EIT and Yohkoh SXT observations, is clearly seen. The large-scale magnetic composition related to the trans-equatorial filament and its sheared magnetic arcades appears to be the essential part of the CME parent magnetic structure. Estimations show that the filament-arcade system has enough magnetic helicityto account for the helicity carried by the related CMEs.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

We investigate temporal fluctuations in the H$\alpha$ emission profiles of the RS CVn system HR 1099 from a monitoring using the MuSiCoS spectropolarimeter (Observatoire du Pic du Midi, France) in 2001, between December 01 and December 18. Part of the observed emission fluctuations is consistent with rotational modulation, which we interpret as the spectral signature of a dense and complex prominence system trapped in the magnetosphere of HR 1099 and forced to co-rotate with the binary system. The distribution of emitting material is mapped by means of Doppler tomography. We discuss the evolution of prominences over the observing window.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

This work reports direct observations of the magnetic reconnection site during an eruptive process occurring on November 18, 2003. The event started with a rapid expansion of a few magnetic arcades located over the east limb of the Sun and developed an energetic partial halo coronal mass ejection (CME), a long current sheet and a group of bright flare loops in the wake of the CME. It was observed by several instruments both in space and on ground, including the EUV Imaging Telescope, the Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer, and the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph experiment on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager, as well as the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory Mark IV K-coronameter. We combine the data from these instruments to investigate various properties of the eruptive process, including those around the current sheet. The composite of images from different instruments and the corresponding results specify explicitly how the different objects developed by a single eruptive process are related to one another.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

The degree of polarization of Compton-scattered photospheric light observed in a coronagraph is dependent on the distance of the scattering electrons from the plane of the sky. Measurements of the polarization of light scattered by CME structures have been observed by LASCO C2. We have reduced and analyzed a month long sequence of such measurements which were taken at a cadence of 1 hour. The CME brightness has been distributed throughout a 3 dimensional cube and visualized at a variety of angles. Several CMEs are found to have considerable fine-structure consistent with expanding loop arcades. The analysis is subject to a variety of assumptions such as a lack of knowledge of whether a source is before or behind the plane of the sky. Nevertheless, the results obtained to date are intriguing.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

A total of 266 type III bursts observed with the 2.6 - 3.8 GHz high temporal resolution dynamic spectrometer of NAOC during the 23rd solar cycle (from April in 1998 to January in 2003) are statistically analyzed in this present paper. The frequency drift rates (normal and reverse slop), durations, polarizations, bandwidth, starting and ending frequencies are analyzed in detail. From the statistical results of starting and ending frequencies we show that the regions of starting frequencies are very large, which are from less than 2.6 GHz to greater than 3.8 GHz; but the ending frequencies regions are relative concentration, which are from 2.82 GHz to 3.76 GHz. These phenomena mean that the sites of electrons acceleration are quite scatter, while the cutoff regions of the radio type III bursts are in the limiting domain. The bursts number with positive and negative drift rates are nearly equal. This correlation may interpret the suggest that a proportional number of electron beams in the directions of upward and downward are accelerated in the range of 2.6 - 3.8 GHz. The other statistical results are similar to those of decimetric type III bursts as statistics in previous literature. The emission mechanisms of microwave type III bursts are mainly caused by the plasma radiation and electron gyro-maser radiation.

From the statistics of microwave type III bursts and associated coronal mass ejections (CMEs), it is found that the 36% of type III bursts (97) are corresponding to the CMEs for occurring time and site. The correlation between the type III bursts and CMEs is not close, and most type III bursts are occurred in the time regions of 26 – 30 minutes before CMEs. This means that the partial microwave type III bursts may be a precursor of the CMEs.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

By using the plasma composition data from SOHO/CELIAS/MTOF, charge states data from ACE/SWICS, combining with the remote sensing observations from SOHO/LASCO white-light image and WIND/WAVES radio emission, we describe a coronal mass ejection (CME) observed on 2001 October 19 16:50 UT to show how the effect of CME interaction appears in the in situ measurements. A new narrow shock is formed while the rear CME passing through the core region of the preceding one, which moves faster than the surrounding part and has a new type II radio burst associated with it. Because of its distinguished elemental abundance and unusual low charge states, we connect a density hump observed by MTOF/PM with the preceding CME core. By comparing the relative abundances of minor ions in shock compressive region, ICME region and CME core region with respect to that in upstream slow solar wind, we indicate mass-per-charge dependence of minor thermal ions may be an important imprint of the characteristic velocity of distant acceleration region.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

A helical structure in the coronal mass ejection (CME) of 12 September 2000 was observed by the Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS) aboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) at heliocentric distances of 3.5 and 6 R$_{\odot}$. A difference of 300 km sec$^{-1}$ in line-of-sight velocities for two segments of the helix obtained from Doppler measurements implies expansion and allows one to distinguish which segment was closest to the observer. The tilt of the segment then determines the handedness. Observed Ly$\alpha$ and C III line emissions indicate that the helix was threaded with filament plasma of varying density. While the helix constituted the bright core of filament plasma, the helix itself was most likely not the pre-existing filament structure.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

Due to the optically thin nature of the white light emission, all measurements of the energetics and dynamics of a CME are based on sky-plane projected quantities. The extent and distribution of the CME material along the line of sight is unknown. Thus, CME measurements have an inherent degree of uncertainty. In this paper, I identify the various (possible) sources of errors associated with measurements of CME mass and energy (e.g., instrumental, random, projections effects, etc) and give an error budget for the final measurements. I apply these errors to the statistics of mass and energy for several thousand CMEs observed with LASCO in 1996-2003.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html