Effects of interplanetary coronal mass ejections on the transport of nano-dust generated in the inner solar system

This article reports on an investigation of the effect of interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) on the transport and delivery of nano-dust to 1 AU. Charged nanometer-sized dust particles are expected to be generated close to the Sun and interact strongly with the solar wind as well as solar transient events. Nano-dust generated outside of ∼0.2 AU are picked up and transported away from the Sun due to the electromagnetic forces exerted by the solar wind. A numerical model has been developed to calculate the trajectories of nano-dust through their interaction with the solar wind and explore the potential for their detection near Earth's orbit (Juhasz and Horanyi, 2013). Here, we extend the model to include the interaction with interplanetary coronal mass ejections. We report that ICMEs can greatly alter nano-dust trajectories, their transport to 1 AU, and their distribution near Earth's orbit. The smallest nano-dust (<10 nm) can be delivered to 1 AU in high concentration. Thus, the nature of the interaction between nano-dust and ICMEs could potentially be revealed by simultaneous measurements of nano-dust fluxes and solar wind particles/magnetic fields.