Benoit Lavraud — Properties and processes that determine coronal mass ejection impact at planets and in the heliosphere

The properties of coronal mass ejections (CME) in the heliosphere is determined by a complex chain of processes. This presentation highlights this fact by reviewing CME’s (1) intrinsic properties set at the Sun (e.g., orientation, velocity), (2) processes that may occur during eruption and propagation (e.g., shocks, confinement or magnetic erosion), and (3) in the specific interaction with the planet (e.g., magnetic properties, preconditioning mechanisms), and which together determine the CME’s actual impact. The relative importance of these processes is discussed, as well as implications at planets other than the Earth, including exoplanetary systems.

Benoit Lavraud
IRAP, CNRS, CNES, Université de Toulouse, France