Comparative Study of Accelerating and Decelerating Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) Across Solar Cycles 23 and 24

The behavior of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) across Solar Cycles (SCs) 23 and 24 is investigated, with emphasis on accelerating and decelerating CMEs and their relationships with solar activity indicators such as sunspot area (SSA) and sunspot number (SSN). CMEs, consisting of vast ejections of plasma and magnetic fields, are key contributors to space weather disruptions. Key CME parameters, - Linear Speed (LS), Speed at 20 solar radii (20R), Mass (M), Angular Width (AW), and Kinetic Energy (KE) - were obtained from the LASCO CME Catalogue. At the same time, SSA and SSN were sourced from NASA’s OMNI Web Service Archive. Statistical analysis time series, distribution plots, and simple linear regression were used to comparatively analyze accelerating and decelerating CMEs in SCs 23 and 24. Average values of the LS of decelerated CMEs were greater than those of accelerated CMEs with SC 23 exhibiting higher values than SC 24. Average speeds at 20R were higher for accelerated than decelerated CMEs. The average M and KE of decelerated and accelerated CMEs showed similar values for both SCs. In contrast, the average AW of CMEs showed that decelerated CMEs exhibit larger widths than accelerated CMEs. Results show that CME parameters exhibit varied correlations with SSA (in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres) and SSN in SCs 23 and 24. Similarly, the parameters accelerated and decelerated of CMEs showed varied correlations with one another in both SCs. We believe this study will help improve the understanding of CME propagation dynamics and support more accurate predictions of their space weather impacts, enhancing solar-terrestrial models.