Statistics of Coronal Mass Ejections in Solar Flares with Helioseismic Response

This paper presents the results of a statistical analysis of the properties of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) associated with solar flares that exhibit a helioseismic response (‘‘sunquakes’’) in comparison with flares that do not show photospheric disturbances. The analysis is based on observations of the solar corona in the ultraviolet range (from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory, SDO/AIA) and the visible range (from the Large Angle Spectroscopic Coronagraph on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, SOHO/LASCO). We considered samples of flares with different lower thresholds based on the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) classification: above M1.0, M5.0, and M7.0. A correlation analysis was also carried out between CME parameters and the total energy of the sunquakes. Additionally, for flares above M7.0-class, information on the presence of radio bursts across a wide range of wavelengths, as well as hard X-ray emission, was analyzed. It was found that CMEs accompanying flares with a helioseismic response tend to have higher velocities in the lower corona (according to AIA data) compared to flares without photospheric disturbances. The distribution of CME masses is approximately the same regardless of the presence or absence of sunquakes during the flares. An analysis of dimming properties showed that they are more impulsive in terms of temporal dynamics in flares with sunquakes. CMEs in flares above M7.0-class that exhibit helioseismic responses are less massive and slower in the outer corona according to LASCO data. The correlation analysis did not reveal strong relationships between acoustic energy and CME parameters based on AIA observations, but for several parameters (kinetic energy, CME mass, and dimming depth), statistically significant correlations were identified according to the \(t\)-criterion. In contrast to flares with sunquakes, there was an almost complete absence of type III radio bursts and a rare occurrence of type II bursts in the M7.0-class flares without photospheric disturbances. The spectral peak of microwave bursts tends to occur at higher frequencies in flares with sunquakes than in those without. According to our analysis, flares with sunquakes likely possess the ability to efficiently generate fast coronal dimmings and shock waves, even in the presence of poorly developed CMEs in the upper corona (in comparison to flares without photospheric disturbances). These events are also characterized by pronounced signatures of electron acceleration, with particles escaping the acceleration region both toward the solar surface and outward from it. In our view, this indicates that the possibility of an eruptive origin for sunquakes cannot be ruled out. Accelerated electrons may act as both the primary and secondary agents responsible for initiating the photospheric perturbation.