Simulation of homologous and cannibilistic coronal mass ejections produced by the emergence of a twisted flux rope into the solar corona

We report the first results of a magnetohydrodynamic simulation of the development of a homologous sequence of three coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and demonstrate their so-called cannibalistic behavior. These CMEs originate from the repeated formations and partial eruptions of kink unstable flux ropes as a result of continued emergence of a twisted flux rope across the lower boundary into a pre-existing coronal potential arcade field. The simulation shows that a CME erupting into the open magnetic field created by a preceding CME has a higher speed. The second of the three successive CMEs is cannibalistic, catching up and merging with the first into a single fast CME before exiting the domain. All the CMEs including the leading merged CME, attained speeds of about 1000 km s–1 as they exit the domain. The reformation of a twisted flux rope after each CME eruption during the sustained flux emergence can naturally explain the X-ray observations of repeated reformations of sigmoids and "sigmoid-under-cusp" configurations at a low-coronal source of homologous CMEs.

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An edited version of this article was published by the Institute of Physics on behalf of the American Astronomical Society. Copyright 2013 the American Astronomical Society.


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Author Chatterjee, Piyali
Fan, Yuhong
Publisher UCAR/NCAR - Library
Publication Date 2013-11-20T00:00:00
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Topic Category geoscientificInformation
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Metadata Date 2025-07-12T01:14:50.228326
Metadata Record Identifier edu.ucar.opensky::articles:18213
Metadata Language eng; USA
Suggested Citation Chatterjee, Piyali, Fan, Yuhong. (2013). Simulation of homologous and cannibilistic coronal mass ejections produced by the emergence of a twisted flux rope into the solar corona. UCAR/NCAR - Library. https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7zs2z3f. Accessed 05 August 2025.

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