Solar flare hard X-ray observations

Recent hard X-ray observations of solar flares are reviewed with emphasis on results obtained with instruments on the Solar Maximum Mission satellite. Flares with three different sets of characteristics, designated as Type A, Type B, and Type C, are discussed and hard X-ray temporal, spatial, spectral, and polarization measurements are reviewed in this framework. Coincident observations are reviewed at other wavelengths including the UV, microwaves, and soft X-rays, with discussions of their interpretations. In conclusion, a brief outline is presented of the potential of future hard X-ray observations with sub-second time resolution, arcsecond spatial resolution, and keV energy resolution, and polarization measurements at the few percent level up to 100 keV.     

Observation of the solar soft X-ray component; study of its relation to transient and slowly-varying phenomena observed at other wavelengths

Solar X-rays from 8–12 Å have been observed with an ion chamber photometer and fluxes derived from the observations after an assumption concerning the spectral distribution. The time variation of the X-ray flux correlates well with the radio flux, plage index, and sunspot number. Comparisons of X-ray and optical events are given; flares seem to produce soft X-rays, but some soft X-ray bursts are apparently not associated with flares. The total energy involved in the soft X-ray bursts may be a significant amount of the total flare radiation.     

Nonthermal Electron Energy Deposition in the Chromosphere and the Accompanying Soft x-ray Flare Emission

We analyse four solar flares which have energetic hard X-ray emissions, but unusually low soft X-ray flux and GOES class (C1.0–C5.5). These are compared with two other flares that have soft and hard X-ray emission consistent with a generally observed correlation that shows increasing hard X-ray accompanied by increasing soft X-ray flux. We find that in the four small flares only a small percentage of the nonthermal electron beam energy is deposited in a location where the heating rate of the electron beam exceeds the radiative cooling rate of the ambient plasma. Most of the beam energy is subsequently radiated away into the cool chromosphere and so cannot power chromospheric evaporation thus reducing the soft X-ray emission. We also demonstrate that in the four small flares the nonthermal electron beam energy is insufficient to power the soft X-ray emitting plasma. We deduce that an additional energy source is required, and this could be provided by a DC-electric field (where quasi-static electric field channels in the coronal loops accelerate electrons, and those electrons with velocity below a critical velocity will heat the ambient plasma via Joule heating) in preference to a loop-top thermal source (where heat flux deposited in the corona is conducted along magnetic field lines to the chromosphere, heating the coronal plasma and giving rise to further chromospheric evaporation).     

New measurements of the polarization of X-ray solar flares

Measurements of three X-ray flares in October/November 1970 abord the Intercosmos 4 satellite confirm the existence of polarization in the initial phase of the X-ray bursts. The polarization can be observed for a few up to ten minutes, and an increase in polarization is observed during secondary maxima of the bursts as well.     

Anisotropy and polarization of solar X-ray bursts

The effects of the Compton back-scattered X-ray flux from the photosphere on the directivity and polarization of flare X-rays between 15 keV and 150 keV are computed. The calculations are made with a thin target model for flares of De Jager-Kundu type with electrons spiralling downward around a vertical magnetic field and for an Isotropie source. The resulting polarization for an isotropic source is not higher than 4%. The resulting directivity of anisotropic sources is greatly reduced, particularly below 70 keV. The results of the statistical studies of the center-limb distribution of solar X-ray bursts are then compatible with the existing measures of polarization. The hypothesis for existence of De JagerKundu type flares is enforced.     

The phase relation between sunspot numbers and soft X-ray flares

To better understand long-term flare activity, we present a statistical study on soft X-ray flares from May 1976 to May 2008. It is found that the smoothed monthly peak fluxes of C-class, M-class, and X-class flares have a very noticeable time lag of 13, 8, and 8 months in cycle 21 respectively with respect to the smoothed monthly sunspot numbers. There is no time lag between the sunspot numbers and M-class flares in cycle 22. However, there is a one-month time lag for C-class flares and a one-month time lead for X-class flares with regard to sunspot numbers in cycle 22. For cycle 23, the smoothed monthly peak fluxes of C-class, M-class, and X-class flares have a very noticeable time lag of one month, 5 months, and 21 months respectively with respect to sunspot numbers. If we take the three types of flares together, the smoothed monthly peak fluxes of soft X-ray flares have a time lag of 9 months in cycle 21, no time lag in cycle 22 and a characteristic time lag of 5 months in cycle 23 with respect to the smoothed monthly sunspot numbers. Furthermore, the correlation coefficients of the smoothed monthly peak fluxes of M-class and X-class flares and the smoothed monthly sunspot numbers are higher in cycle 22 than those in cycles 21 and 23. The correlation coefficients between the three kinds of soft X-ray flares in cycle 22 are higher than those in cycles 21 and 23. These findings may be instructive in predicting C-class, M-class, and X-class flares regarding sunspot numbers in the next cycle and the physical processes of energy storage and dissipation in the corona.     

The interpretation of hard X-ray polarization measurements in solar flares

We review recent observations of polarization of moderately hard X-rays in solar flares and compare them with the predictions of recent detailed modeling of hard X-ray bremsstrahlung production by non-thermal electrons. We find that the recent advances in the complexity of the modeling lead to substantially lower predicted polarizations than in earlier models and more fully highlight how various parameters play a role in determining the polarization of the radiation field. The new predicted polarizations are comparable to those predicted by thermal modeling of solar flare hard X-ray production, and both are in agreement with the observations. In the light of these results, we propose new polarization observations with current generation instruments which could be used to discriminate between non-thermal and thermal models of hard X-ray production in solar flares.     

High-temperature flares observed in broadband soft X-rays

Broadband soft solar X-rays monitored by the GOES satellites have been used to detect high-temperature flares (> 25 MK). The data suggest that there are two general categories of high-temperature flares: those that are intrinsically hot and recur repeatedly in particular active regions and those that show enhanced temperatures because of their proximity to the solar limb. Intrinsically hot flares associate with gamma-ray flares and impulsive hard X-ray flares. Hot flares show a small incidence with gradual hard X-ray flares, but those cases are either extremely intense flares or limb flares. The apparently hot flares occur near the visible limb, which suggests the strong thermal stratification of flare plasmas as demonstrated by over-the-limb events; even on the visible disk near the limb, the lower, cooler plasmas are somehow partially occulted.     

Properties of flares observed in the Mg i b2 line at 5172 Å

Observations of emission in the Mgi b₂ line at 5172 Å are presented for 13 flares. Also discussed are 3 flares which occurred in regions under observation but which showed no Mg emission. The Mg flare kernels resemble white-light flare kernels in their general morphology and location. Comparison of Mg filtergrams with magnetograms indicates that the Mg kernels occur at the feet of magnetic arches across neutral lines. Time-lapse Mg filtergram films indicate photospheric shearing motions near flare sites for several hours before flare onset. We have compared flare Mg emission with microwave and both hard and soft X-ray flare emissions. Examination at the time development of the 1981, July 27 flare shows that the microwave and X-ray bursts may be clearly related to the appearance of successive Mg flare kernels. We have also compared subjective, relative Mg flare importances with other flare emission measurements. For the full sample of flares, Mg importance is significantly correlated with hard and soft X-ray emission peaks, with X-ray ‘hardness’ (ratio of hard to soft peaks) and with the rise slope of soft X-ray bursts. The Mg importance does not correlate with the microwave peaks when the full sample of flares is used, but for the subset showing Mg emission there is significant correlation. No correlation with Hα importance was found. Our results suggest that Mg emission is associated with an impulsive component which may be absent from some flares. The San Fernando Observatory magnesium etalon filter system is described.     

On the nonthermal excitation and polarization of X-ray lines during solar flares

The energy distributions of nonthermal electrons are derived from hard X-ray spectra taken during the impulsive phase of two 2B flares in February 1969. They are used to calculate the fluxes of nonthermally excited X-ray lines of hydrogen-like and helium-like ions. These fluxes are compared to the total line fluxes observed at the same time with crystal spectrometers. The nonthermal excitation is found to give only small contributions to the total line intensities. This implies that the impact polarization which is to be expected for anisotropic velocity distributions of the energetic electrons, will be low. Nevertheless it should be feasible to detect line polarization during the impulsive phase of strong X-ray flares.NAS/NRC Research Associate.     

Polarization evolution accompanying the very early sharp decline of gamma-ray burst X-ray afterglows

In the synchrotron radiation model, the polarization property depends on both the configuration of the magnetic field and the geometry of the visible emitting region. Some peculiar behaviours in the X-ray afterglows of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) observed with Swift , such as energetic flares and a plateau followed by a sharp drop, might be highly linearly polarized because the outflows powering these behaviours may be dominated by Poynting flux. The breakdown of the symmetry of the visible emitting region may also be well hidden in the peculiar X-ray data and may give rise to interesting polarization signatures. In this paper, we focus on the polarization accompanying the very early sharp decline of GRB X-ray afterglows. We show that strong polarization evolution is possible in both the high latitude emission model and the dying central engine model, which are used to interpret this sharp X-ray decline. It is thus not easy to efficiently probe the physical origin of the very early X-ray sharp decline with future polarimetry. Strong polarization evolution is also possible in the decline phase of X-ray flares and in the shallow decline phase of X-ray light curves characterized by chromatic X-ray versus optical breaks. A detector such as the X-ray Telescope (XRT), but with polarization capability, on board a satellite like Swift would be suitable for testing our predictions.     

An investigation of flare emissions at multiple wavelengths

We report multi-wavelength observations of four solar flares on 2014 July 07.We firstly select these flares according to the soft X-ray(SXR)and extreme ultraviolet(EUV)emissions recorded by the Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment and Geostationary Orbiting Environmental S atellites.Then their locations and geometries are identified from the full-disk images measured by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly(AIA),and the time delays among the light curves in different channels are identified.The electron number densities are estimated using the differential emission measure method.We find that three of four flares show strong emissions in SXR channels and high temperature(>6 MK)EUV wavelengths during the impulsive phase,i.e.,AIA 131 A and 94 A,and then they emit peak radiation subsequently in the middle temperature(~0.6-3 MK)EUV channels.Moreover,they last for a long time and have smaller electron densities,which are probably driven by the interaction of hot diffuse flare loops.Only one flare emits radiation at almost the same time in all the observed wavelengths,lasts for a relatively short time,and has a larger electron density.It is also accompanied by a typeⅢradio burst.The bright emission at the EUV channel could be corresponding to the associated erupting filament.     

Non-thermal and non-equilibrium effects in soft X-ray flare spectra

Processes leading to the excitation of soft X-ray line spectra are discussed in relation to their thermal or non-thermal nature. Through analysis of calcium spectra from the XRP experiment on SMM, it is shown that the ionization balance during the gradual phase of flares is effectively in the steady-state. A search of suitable complex flares with multiple impulsive features has shown indications of soft X-ray line intensity anomalies, consistent with the presence of a non-thermal electron component.     

The high-frequency characteristics of solar radio bursts

We compare the millimeter, microwave, and soft X-ray emission from a number of solar flares in order to determine the properties of the high-frequency radio emission of flares. The millimeter observations use a sensitive interferometer at 86 GHz which offers much better sensitivity and spatial resolution than most previous high-frequency observations. We find a number of important results for these flares: (i) the 86 GHz emission onset appears often to be delayed with respect to the microwave onset; (ii) even in large flares the millimeter-wavelength emission can arise in sources of only a few arc sec dimension; (iii) the millimeter emission in the impulsive phase does not correlate with the soft X-ray emission, and thus is unlikely to contain any significant thermal bremsstrahlung component; and (iv) the electron energy distributions implied by the millimeter observations are much flatter (spectral indices of 2.5 to 3.6) than is usual for microwave or hard X-ray observations.     

Simultaneous measurements of EUV and soft X-ray solar flare emission

Broadband sensors aboard the Naval Research Laboratory's SOLRAD 11 satellites measured solar emission in the 0.5 to 3 Å, 1 to 8 Å, 8 to 20 Å, 100 to 500 Å, 500 to 800 Å, and 700 to 1030 Å bands between March 1976 and October 1979. Measurements of EUV and soft X-ray emission from a large number of solar flares were obtained. Although solar flare measurements in the soft X-ray bands are continuously made and used as a standard of a flare's geophysical significance, direct measurements of flare EUV emission are quite rare. We present measurements of the X-ray and EUV emission from several flares with special emphasis on the relative EUV response associated with flares in different categories determined by 1 to 8 Å soft X-ray flux. An example of a flare exhibiting an impulsive (nonthermal) phase is included.Proceedings of the 14th ESLAB Symposium on Physics of Solar Variations, 16–19 Semptember 1980, Scheveningen, The Netherlands.     

A comparison of Hα and soft X-ray characteristics of spotless and spot group flares

A comparative analysis of spotless and spot group flares recorded at Hvar and Kanzelhöhe Observatories during the 21st cycle of solar activity is presented. The rate of occurrence of two-ribbon flares was found to be significantly higher for the spotless flares. In comparison with spot group flares of corresponding H importance, the soft X-ray peak values have been systematically lower for the spotless flares. The highest peak values and the energy released in soft X-rays was found for flares with a H ribbon protruding over a major spot umbra. It was found that the effective plasma temperatures in spotless flares have been considerably lower than the temperatures in spot group flares.     

Electron impact polarization of X-ray lines from hydrogen-like ions during solar flares

The linear polarization of X-ray lines from highly charged hydrogenic ions is calculated under the assumption that the ions are collisionally excited by nonthermal electrons with an anisotropic pitch-angle distribution around magnetic field lines. The results are applied to the conditions in solar flares. The maximum degree of polarization to be expected is quite low, of the order of some percent. In case of favourable conditions it should be feasible to detect line polarization during flares if the short-wavelength fine-structure component of the L doublet is observed.     

Polarization, temporal, and spectral parameters of solar flare hard X-rays as measured by the SPR-N instrument onboard the CORONAS-F satellite

The SPR-N polarimeter onboard the CORONAS-F satellite allows the X-ray polarization degree to be measured in energy ranges of 20–40, 40–60, and 60–100 keV. To measure the polarization, the method based on the Thompson scattering of solar X-ray photons in beryllium plates was used; the scattered photons were detected with a system of six CsI(Na) scintillation sensors. During the observation period from August 2001 to January 2005, the SPR-N instrument detected the hard X-rays of more than 90 solar flares. The October 29, 2003, event showed a significant polarization degree exceeding 70% in channels of E = 40–60 and 60–100 keV and about 50% in the 20-to 40-keV channel. The time profile of the polarization degree and the projection of the polarization plane onto the solar disk were determined. For 25 events, the upper limits of the part of polarized X-rays were estimated at 8 to 40%. For all the flares detected, time profiles (with a resolution of up to 4 s), hard X-ray radiation fluxes, and spectral index estimates were obtained.     

Use of Simultaneous EUV and Soft X-ray Measurements for Diagnostics of the Solar Flare Radiation Danger

The fluxes of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and soft X-ray emission are key parameters for modelling the ionosphere and upper atmosphere. A new aspect is considered in using these fluxes for diagnostics and short-term prediction of proton radiation danger from the flare. The EUV (λ < 105 nm) and soft X-ray (0.1–0.8 nm) fluxes were compared for two types of solar flares. The first type is followed by a strong enhancement in solar energetic (E >10 MeV) proton flux, the second is not followed by any enhancement in proton flux. It was discovered that the flare UV flux was considerably higher for flares with protons than for those without protons. Soft X-ray fluxes were approximately equal in both cases. An excess of EUV emission in proton flares grows with increasing proton flux. An analytic expression was found for the growth in proton flux as a function of the excess of EUV radiation at a given X-ray flux. These results can be used in predicting flare radiation danger.     

Microwave emission from hot X-ray kernels in solar flares

Spectral and polarization characteristics of radio emission from hot X-ray kernels are considered. It is shown that the frequency spectrum of thermal cyclotron radio emission and bremsstrahlung from these regions may contain a set of lines at cyclotron harmonics and the maximum at plasma frequency. This makes possible the diagnostics of the X-ray kernel plasma and magnetic fields according to spectral and polarization observations of microwave radio emission in solar flares.