Understanding the effects of spacecraft trajectories through solar coronal mass ejection flux ropes using 3DCOREweb

A special observational signature in ICMEs that has puzzled researchers for a long time are so-called ”back regions” or ”magnetic-cloud-like (MCL)” parts of ICMEs which follow after the main flux rope rotation has passed the observer. These regions, occurring after the main flux rope rotation, display a peculiar behaviour where the magnetic field remains elevated with minimal rotation. Two proposed explanations involve magnetic reconnection during CME propagation or a purely geometric effect as the observer traverses the flux rope . 

We investigate in detail whether MCLs can be explained by an effect of the trajectory of an observer through a 3D expanding magnetic flux rope, without invoking magnetic reconnection as an explanation for those signatures. To this end, we employ the 3D coronal rope ejection (3DCORE) model, which has proven its ability to fit in situ magnetic fields of CME flux ropes. 

The model assumes an empirically motivated torus-like flux rope structure that expands self-similarly within the heliosphere, is influenced by a simplified interaction with the solar wind environment, and carries along an embedded analytical magnetic field. Developed for fitting, generating synthetic signatures, comparing models to observations, and analysing results, 3DCOREweb accelerates the determination of physical parameters, fostering research on the global magnetic structure of CMEs. Additionally, the interface aids in advancing our understanding of magnetic flux rope signatures arising from diverse 3D trajectories through CMEs.