Scaling Relations in Coronal Mass Ejections and Energetic Proton Events Associated with Solar Superflares

Abstract

In order to discuss the potential impact of solar “superflares” on space weather, we investigated statistical relations among energetic proton peak flux with energy higher than 10 MeV (F _p ), CME speed near the Sun (V _CME) obtained by Solar and Heliospheric Observatory/LASCO coronagraph, and flare soft X-ray peak flux in the 1-8 Å band (F _SXR) during 110 major solar proton events recorded from 1996 to 2014. The linear regression fit results in the scaling relations {V}_{CME}\propto {F}_{SXR}^α , {F}_p\propto {F}_{SXR}^β , and {F}_p\propto {V}_{CME}^γ with α = 0.30 ± 0.04, β = 1.19 ± 0.08, and γ = 4.35 ± 0.50, respectively. On the basis of simple physical assumptions, on the other hand, we derive scaling relations expressing CME mass (M _CME), CME speed, and energetic proton flux in terms of total flare energy (E _flare) as {M}_{CME}\propto {E}_{flare}^2/3, {V}_{CME}\propto {E}_{flare}^1/6, and {F}_p\propto {E}_{flare}^5/6\propto {V}_{CME}⁵, respectively. We then combine the derived scaling relations with observation and estimated the upper limit of V _CME and F _p to be associated with possible solar superflares.