Coronal Mass Ejections and the Rise Profiles of 0.3 MeV Electron Events
AbstractThere is some evidence to suggest that relativistic electrons observed in interplanetary space may be produced in coronal shocks. If so, the rise phases of such events may be longer than those not arising in shocks. To test this possibility, we examined the rise profiles ofE< 0.3MeVelectron events observed on the Helios spacecraft. First we compared rise times of electron events associated with short-duration X-ray flares to events with long-duration X-ray flares. The latter events are more likely than the former to be associated with coronal shocks and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). For a smaller group of electron events we determined the rise times as a function of the speed of the CME observed with the NRL Solwind coronagraph to see whether higher shock speeds resulted in longer event rise times. The data show a weak indication that event rise times increase with CME presence and with CME speed, thus suggesting a role for shock acceleration.