The First Quantitative Study of Cometary Tail Regrowth following a Coronal Mass Ejection-driven Disconnection Event

Abstract Comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) was observed by the Solar Orbiter Heliospheric Imager (SoloHI), on board the Solar Orbiter spacecraft, from 2023 September 1 to 14. During this period, the ion tail of the comet exhibited continual fluctuations and four tail disconnection events (TDEs), each coinciding with the passage of a coronal mass ejection (CME). In this work, we report on the ion tail dynamics of the best observed TDE, which occurred on September 11. The SoloHI white-light images reveal an abrupt bending, subsequent kinks, and severing of a downstream portion of the preexisting ion tail. The onset of disconnection occurred ∼6.5 hr after the projected passage of the CME leading edge in the images, consistent with a CME flank encounter. After the disconnection, the ion tail reformed in over ∼24 hr, with a regrowth rate of ∼86 ± 7 km s −1 , indicating the rate at which newly ionized material forms along the magnetic field draped around the comet’s coma. After the TDE, the detached tail drifted anti-sunward at an estimated speed of ∼295 ± 20 km s −1 , comparable to the local CME flank’s speed, suggesting that the severed plasma was most likely carried away from the comet by the CME. This study provides the first direct, quantitative characterization of comet–CME interactions and the subsequent regrowth phase of a cometary TDE. These measurements were achievable by SoloHI’s unique inner-heliospheric coverage, thanks to a combination of high photometric sensitivity, short exposure times, and a wide field of view that preserves the fine-scale tail dynamics.