Rotation-Averaged Rates of Coronal Mass Ejections and Dynamics of Polar Crown Filaments

Abstract

AbstractWe obtained Carrington-rotation-averaged daily rates of coronal mass ejections (CMEs), corrected for duty cycle, for the period 1979-1989. The 27-day averages of CME rate and sunspot number are correlated over this 11-yr period, although significant discrepancies can occur for any given rotation. The baseline CME rate exhibited quasi-discontinuities in 1982 (decrease) and 1988 (increase) when the “tilt angle” of the heliospheric current sheet passed through values of ∼ 50°. We suggest that these quasi-discontinuities are related to the dynamics of the belts of polar crown filaments that reside at ∼ 50° north and south of the equator during solar minimum and move poleward during the rise phase of the solar cycle.