Authors: A.A. Reinard
Affiliation: Artep Inc./Naval Research Laboratory
Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are a well-known phenomenon resulting in the transport of magnetic flux into the heliosphere. The cumulative effect of this addition of magnetic flux must be balanced by a corresponding reduction of heliospheric magnetic flux. This paper describes a model of the reconnection of CME field lines with open field lines, based on observational and theoretical explanations of open magnetic field motions and reconnections in the corona. The model is solved both analytically and numerically. We compare these solutions with observations of CME ejecta (represented in this study by enhanced oxygen charge states) and a subset of those CME ejecta with a closed magnetic connection to the Sun (represented by bidirectional electrons). Good agreement is found between the model solutions and the observations.