The challenge in making models of fast CMEs

It has been a challenge to explain theoretically how fast CMEs (exceeding {approx} 1,000km/s) occur. Our numerical models suggest that it is not easy to release enough magnetic energy impulsively from an active region. We have been studying CME models that are constrained by observed magnetic fields, with realistic coronal plasma density and temperature profiles, as derived from thermodynamic models of the corona. We find that to get fast CMEs, the important parameters are the magnetic energy density, the magnetic field drop-off index, and the Alfven speed profile in active regions. We describe how we energize active regions, and how we subsequently initiate CMEs via flux cancellation. We contrast CMEs from idealized zero-beta models with more sophisticated models based on thermodynamic solutions.