Coronal mass ejection interaction and particle acceleration during the 2001 April 14–15 events Original Research Article

Two successive solar energetic particle (SEP) events associated with fast and wide coronal mass ejections (CMEs) on 2001 April 14 and 15 are compared. The weak SEP event of April 14 associated with an 830 km/s CME and an M1.0 flare was the largest impulsive event of cycle 23. The April 15 event, the largest ground level event of cycle 23, was three orders of magnitude more intense than the April 14th event and was associated with a faster CME (1200 km/s) and an X14.4 flare. We compiled and compared all the activities (flares, CMEs, interplanetary conditions and radio bursts) associated with the two SEP events to understand the intensity difference between them. Different coronal and interplanetary environments of the two events (presence of preceding CME and seed particles ahead of the April 15 event) may explain the intensity difference.