An Investigation of the CME of 3 November 2011 and Its Associated Widespread Solar Energetic Particle Event

Multi-spacecraft observations are used to study the in-situ effects of a large coronal mass ejection (CME) erupting from the farside of the Sun on 3 November 2011, with particular emphasis on the associated solar energetic particle (SEP) event. At that time both Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft were located more than 90 degrees from Earth and could observe the CME eruption directly, with the CME visible on-disk from STEREO-B and off the limb from STEREO-A. Signatures of pressure variations in the corona such as deflected streamers were seen, indicating the presence of a coronal shock associated with this CME eruption. The evolution of the CME and an associated extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) wave were studied using EUV and coronagraph images. It was found that the lateral expansion of the CME low in the corona closely tracked the propagation of the EUV wave, with measured velocities of 240±19 km s−1 and 221±15 km s−1 for the CME and wave, respectively. Solar energetic particles were observed to arrive first at STEREO-A, followed by electrons at the Wind spacecraft at L1, then STEREO-B, and finally protons arrived simultaneously at Wind and STEREO-B. By carrying out a velocity-dispersion analysis on the particles arriving at each location, it was found that energetic particles arriving at STEREO-A were released first and that the release of particles arriving at STEREO-B was delayed by about 50 minutes. Analysis of the expansion of the CME to a wider longitude range indicates that this delay is a result of the time taken for the CME edge to reach the footpoints of the magnetic-field lines connected to STEREO-B. The CME expansion is not seen to reach the magnetic footpoint of Wind at the time of solar-particle release for the particles detected here, suggesting that these particles may not be associated with this CME.