The impact of new EUV diagnostics on CME-related kinematics

Abstract

We present the application of novel diagnostics to the spectroscopic observation of a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) on disk by the Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) on the Hinode spacecraft. We apply a recently developed line profile asymmetry analysis to the spectroscopic observation of NOAA AR 10930 on 14 - 15 December 2006 to three raster observations before and during the eruption of a 1000 km s-1 halo CME. We see the impact that the observer's line-of-sight and magnetic field geometry have on the diagnostics used. Further, and more importantly, we identify the on-disk signature of a high-speed outflow behind the CME in the dimming region arising as a result of the eruption. Supported by recent coronal observations of the STEREO spacecraft, we speculate about the momentum flux resulting from this outflow as a secondary momentum source to the CME. The results presented highlight the importance of spectroscopic measurements in relation to CME kinematics, and the need for full-disk synoptic spectroscopic observations of the coronal and chromospheric plasmas to capture the signature of such explosive energy release as a way of providing better constraints of CME propagation times to L1, or any other point of interest in the heliosphere. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.