Waves in the proton cyclotron frequency range in the CME observed by wind on August 7–8, 1996: theory and data Original Research Article

As first discussed by Farrugia et al. (J. Geophys. Res., 103, 6543, 1998), coronal mass ejections (CMEs) may support the excitation of electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves (EICWs). The proton plasma beta, and the electron temperature and anisotropy in the front region (∼5 hours, translating to ∼6×106 km) of the CME observed by WIND on August 7–8, 1996 favor this possible excitation. Supplementing these measured parameters by other data taken from a survey of CME properties observed by the ISEE 3 spacecraft (Gosling et al., J. Geophys. Res., 92, 8519, 1987), we solve the EICW dispersion relation numerically. We find short e-folding times of EICWs, of the order of 5 min, i.e., much less than the typical evolution time of these ejecta. We suggest that high resolution data will show enhanced power in the 0.5 Hz range.