Coronal mass ejections from young Suns: an observational view through the solar–stellar connection

Abstract

Kepler and TESS have revealed that magnetically active stars frequently produce flares and superflares, raising the possibility that frequent, fast, and massive coronal mass ejections (CMEs) may affect planetary space weather environments. However, observational constraints on stellar CMEs remain extremely limited. Several diagnostics, including Doppler-shifted spectral lines, coronal dimming, and radio bursts, have been explored mainly for cool dwarfs, while recent observations have begun to extend these searches to young solar-type stars, which serve as important benchmarks for the solar–stellar connection. The goal of this review is to summarize the current understanding and recent observational progress on CME signatures from young solar-type stars, with a primary focus on Doppler-shift methods. It examines how these signatures resemble solar observations and models, what the inferred physical properties can tell us about the occurrence of stellar CMEs and their contribution to stellar mass loss, and how Doppler-shift signatures can be connected with multi-wavelength diagnostics. Comparisons with CME candidates from cool dwarfs and close binaries further place these signatures in the broader context of stellar CMEs in different stellar environments. These results have important implications for the space weather environments of young planets, while also pointing to key directions for future observations and modeling.