On the Proton Heating in Near-Earth Solar Coronal Mass Ejections

Abstract: Earth-directed solar Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are the primary drivers of Earth’s space weather disturbances which can affect a wide range of systems-from disrupting satellite communications to astronaut health hazards. A thorough understanding of CME dynamics and realistic estimates of Sun-Earth CME propagation times are therefore very crucial for the space weather prediction. In situ measurements of various plasma parameters by near-Earth spacecrafts provide us with a detailed view of the CME interiors along the line of the spacecraft. Understanding CME thermodynamics remains one of the most fascinating yet unresolved areas of CME astrophysics. In this talk, I will be discussing how the energy stored inside a CME expends in heating protons during the propagation and expansion of the CME. We will be quantifying the heating budget of CME plasma and investigate how the turbulent fluctuations inside the CME can play a key role in understanding the thermodynamics.