Non-Radial Propagation and Magnetic Field Evolution of Large-scale Magnetized Plasmoid from the Sun to Mars

Non-Radial Propagation and Magnetic Field Evolution of Large-scale Magnetized Plasmoid from the Sun to Mars | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Non-Radial Propagation and Magnetic Field Evolution of Large-scale Magnetized Plasmoid from the Sun to Mars Chenglong Shen, Yutian Chi, Dongwei Mao, Beatriz Sanchez-Cano, and 30 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8422136/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The large-scale magnetized plasmoids erupted from the Sun, such as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), would significantly influence the space weather environment when they hit the Earth. But, whether CMEs propagated along a straight path or curved path (deflection) in the interplanetary space is still debated. This different opinion has a strong impact on the heliospheric physics and space weather forecast. Here, we present a study of a fast coronal CME initially directed toward Mars, synthesizing observations from five space missions and employing three complementary modeling approaches. Magnetic field fitting with the 3Dcore model indicates an eastward deflection of approximately 31+/- 5 in longitude during the CME's propagation from the Sun to Mars. Besides the deflection, in situ magnetic field observations from ESA's BepiColombo, CNSA's Tianwen-1, and NASA's MAVEN missions further reveal pronounced writhing and magnetic erosion of the CME flux rope during its interplanetary transit. These multi-point observational results provide compelling evidence of both deflection and internal evolution of large-scale magnetized plasmoids, offering new view of constraints on heliospheric propagation models and enhancing the reliability of future space weather forecasting. Earth and environmental sciences/Space physics/Solar physics Earth and environmental sciences/Space physics Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) Solar-terrestrial relations Deflection Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8422136","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":564384381,"identity":"1d405c93-50cc-430e-8a40-8fb492eb6333","order_by":0,"name":"Chenglong Shen","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAyklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACdgY2IGkD5bERo4UZrCwNqpoELYdJ0MLfzP7swccd5xPnz29+wPCh7DAD/+wG/FokDvOYG848cztxwzE2A8YZ5w4zSNw5gF+LATMPmzRvG1ALGw8DM2/bYQYDiQRCWtifSf9tO5c4vw2o5S9xWhjMpBnbDiQ2HANqYSRGC9AvZpK9bcnGG46lGRzsOZfOI3GDgBb+9vZnEj/b7GTnNx9++OBHmbUc/wwCWlDAASDmIUH9KBgFo2AUjAJcAADKDDy7fa4/5gAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chenglong","middleName":"","lastName":"Shen","suffix":""},{"id":564384382,"identity":"5fb612e6-f8e9-4a48-b1eb-59b64a84f057","order_by":1,"name":"Yutian Chi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Deep Space Exploration Laboratory","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yutian","middleName":"","lastName":"Chi","suffix":""},{"id":564384383,"identity":"2ef2d6ad-0672-438e-9b26-c92a6eac2664","order_by":2,"name":"Dongwei Mao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Science and Technology of China","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dongwei","middleName":"","lastName":"Mao","suffix":""},{"id":564384384,"identity":"7cff6b83-527c-4724-aad1-34d10a43d04e","order_by":3,"name":"Beatriz Sanchez-Cano","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0277-3253","institution":"University of Leicester","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Beatriz","middleName":"","lastName":"Sanchez-Cano","suffix":""},{"id":564384385,"identity":"688d0989-29b0-4ff2-ad79-b526ba1142d1","order_by":4,"name":"Bingkun Yu","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2758-1960","institution":"University of Science and Technology of China","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Bingkun","middleName":"","lastName":"Yu","suffix":""},{"id":564384386,"identity":"4a9cd407-ca78-4a63-9dc1-4b71b822abe9","order_by":5,"name":"Fang Shen","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4935-6679","institution":"National Space Science Center, CAS","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Fang","middleName":"","lastName":"Shen","suffix":""},{"id":564384387,"identity":"1badc6c5-b652-4dad-a724-d4330bd8b172","order_by":6,"name":"Hanke Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"National Satellite Meteorological Center","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hanke","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""},{"id":564384388,"identity":"72c0d10a-b45d-4cbb-baa2-476a320dde66","order_by":7,"name":"Mathew Owens","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2061-2453","institution":"University of Reading,","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mathew","middleName":"","lastName":"Owens","suffix":""},{"id":564384389,"identity":"77d8561f-042f-451b-8886-167d39c7bc1d","order_by":8,"name":"Christopher Scott","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Reading","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Christopher","middleName":"","lastName":"Scott","suffix":""},{"id":564384390,"identity":"c0f85914-91e6-4ccb-ba1a-edefc2b1f03f","order_by":9,"name":"Luke Barnard","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Reading","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Luke","middleName":"","lastName":"Barnard","suffix":""},{"id":564384391,"identity":"8e808d9a-cdb6-4afe-8dc2-9a2426485d77","order_by":10,"name":"Daniel Heyner","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Technische Universit¨at Braunschweig","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Daniel","middleName":"","lastName":"Heyner","suffix":""},{"id":564384392,"identity":"6f9668aa-ce61-4bf0-a88c-05642fac9426","order_by":11,"name":"H.-U. 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But, whether CMEs propagated along a straight path or curved path (deflection) in the interplanetary space is still debated. This different opinion has a strong impact on the heliospheric physics and space weather forecast. Here, we present a study of a fast coronal CME initially directed toward Mars, synthesizing observations from five space missions and employing three complementary modeling approaches. Magnetic field fitting with the 3Dcore model indicates an eastward deflection of approximately 31+/- 5 in longitude during the CME's propagation from the Sun to Mars. Besides the deflection, in situ magnetic field observations from ESA's BepiColombo, CNSA's Tianwen-1, and NASA's MAVEN missions further reveal pronounced writhing and magnetic erosion of the CME flux rope during its interplanetary transit. These multi-point observational results provide compelling evidence of both deflection and internal evolution of large-scale magnetized plasmoids, offering new view of constraints on heliospheric propagation models and enhancing the reliability of future space weather forecasting.","manuscriptTitle":"Non-Radial Propagation and Magnetic Field Evolution of Large-scale Magnetized Plasmoid from the Sun to Mars","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-01-29 08:57:25","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8422136/v1","editorialEvents":[],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"nature-communications","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"NCOMMS","sideBox":"Learn more about [Nature Communications](http://www.nature.com/ncomms/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://mts-ncomms.nature.com/","title":"Nature Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"Nature Communications","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"cc5db1a1-3877-40ef-a66f-725780cdfaca","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 29th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"This content is not available.","date":"2026-05-11T09:51:10+00:00","index":4,"fulltext":"This content is not available."},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"This content is not available.","date":"2026-05-10T10:17:05+00:00","index":3,"fulltext":"This content is not available."}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[{"id":60092338,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Space physics/Solar physics"},{"id":60092339,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Space physics"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-01-29T08:57:26+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-01-29 08:57:25","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8422136","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8422136","identity":"rs-8422136","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}