HINODE/XRT AND STEREO OBSERVATIONS OF A DIFFUSE CORONAL WAVE-CORONAL MASS EJECTION-DIMMING EVENT

We report on observations of the first diffuse coronal wave detected by Hinode/XRT. The event occurred near the west solar limb on 2007 May 23, originating from active region (AR) 10956 and was associated with a coronal mass ejection (CME) and coronal dimmings. The bright emission forming the coronal wave expanded predominantly to the east and south of the AR. We use X-Ray Telescope (XRT) and STEREO Behind (B) data combined with a potential magnetic field extrapolation to derive an understanding of the global magnetic field connectivity. We attribute the brightening to the east of the AR to compression and channeling of the plasma along large-scale loops. The brightening to the south of the AR expands across the quiet Sun, making the southern component a likely candidate for identification as a diffuse coronal wave. We analyze the bright front in STEREO/EUVI (B) 171, 195, and 284 A images, as well as in XRT data, finding the strongest components to be largely cospatial in all bandpasses. We also exploit the near-limb location of this event by combining STEREO/COR1 and Extreme Ultra-Violet Imaging Telescope (EUVI) data. Using all the data, we derive a full picture of the low-coronal development of the eruption. The COR1 data show that the southernmost outer edge of the CME is progressively displaced southward during the expansion. EUVI data below the COR1 occulting disk show that the CME is significantly distorted in the low corona as a result of the associated filament eruption. The core coronal dimmings map to the core of the CME; the secondary coronal dimmings map to the CME cavity; and the diffuse coronal wave maps to the outermost edge of the expanding CME shell. The analysis of this near-limb event has important implications for understanding earlier eruptions originating from the same AR on 2007 May 16, 19, and 20.