The duration of spotless flares

The mean durations of spotless H flares, SFs were calculated as a function of their importance. Totally 3569 SFs chosen from theQuarterly Bulletin (QB) andSolar Geophysical Data (SGD) were used in the present analysis for the period 1947–1990. The detailed analysis of average life and rise times of SFs is discussed.     

On a possible explanation of chromospheric line asymmetries of solar flares

We discuss the relationship between the chromospheric downward motions and the line asymmetries in solar flares by using a simple model. It is found that both the blue asymmetry and red asymmetry of the H line can be caused by downward motions, as long as the moving material is confined to different heights in the chromosphere. The Ca ii K line, however, mainly shows a red asymmetry. The results can qualitatively explain some observations.     

Theoretical model of flares and prominences

A theoretical model of flare which explains observed quantities in H, EUV, soft X-ray and flare-associated solar wind is presented. It is assumed that large mass observed in the soft X-ray flare and the solar wind comes from the chromosphere by the process like evaporation while flare is in progress. From mass and pressure balance in the chromosphere and the corona, the high temperature in the soft X-ray flare is shown to be attained by the larger mass loss to the solar wind compared with the mass remained in the corona, in accord with observations. The total energy of 10³² erg, the electron density of 10^13.5 cm^–3 in H flare, the temperature of the X-ray flare of 10^7.3K and the time to attain maximum H brightness (600 s) are derived consistent with observations. It is shown that the top height of the H flare is located about 1000 km lower than that of the active chromosphere because of evaporation. So-called limb flares are assigned to either post-flare loops, surges or rising prominences.The observed small thickness of the H flare is interpreted by free streaming and/or heat conduction. Applications are suggested to explain the maximum temperature of a coronal condensation and the formation of quiescent prominences.     

Development of a topological model for solar flares

The main theoretical studies of the process involved in solar flares have been made in the two-dimensional approximation. However, the preliminary studies made with three field components suggest that reconnection could take place in the separatrices, the separator (intersection of separatrices) being a privileged location for this process. As a consequence the sites of flare kernels must be located on the intersections of the separatrices with the photosphere. Therefore, in order to understand the role of interacting large-scale structures in solar flares, we have analysed the topology of three-dimensional potential and linear force-free fields. The magnetic field has been modelled by a distribution of charges or dipoles located below the photosphere. This modelling permits us to define the field connectivity by the charges or the dipoles at both ends of every field line.We found that the appearance of a separator above the photosphere is more likely when a parasitic bipole emerges outside the axis that joins the main polarities and when the field lines are characteristic of a field created by dipoles. The separatrices derived in the potential and force-free hypothesis have different shapes. However, in the strong field regions where flares usually occur, the separatrices of the potential and force-free field models become closer. This property makes possible the use of the potential field, as a first estimate, for computing the location in the photosphere of the separatrices and for comparing this location with the position of observed H kernels. Displacements of the separatrices of a force-free field result from modifications of the free energy of the field. Then force-free fields have the further capability of predicting the kernel displacement. In all cases a configuration suitable for prominence support is found above the separator.     

On the triggering of a spotless double-ribbon flare

We have studied the evolution of the double-ribbon, spotless flare of 21 February, 1992, using Kodaikanal H and Kf1 observations. The analysis of the data shows that the H filament underwent a large change in shear prior to the day of the onset of the flare. We find considerable rotation of the plage region before the emergence of a small magnetic pore. It is concluded that shear plays an important role in the triggering of a spotless flare.     

A model of solar flares and faculae

Theories of solar flares based on the storage of energy (usually as magnetic energy) in the solar atmosphere are shown to be incompatible with observational data.The sunspot energy deficit and the photospheric faculae both involve energy fluxes comparable with the flare requirement ( 3 × 10²⁹ erg s^–1). Both also require a subsurface system of waves or oscillations, perhaps those discussed by Danielson and Savage and by Wilson. The flare model proposed is based on a temporary diversion of this energy carried by Alfvén waves through spots and magnetic elements or micro-pores; the calculated plasma perturbation velocity in the umbra is about 6 km s^–1 for a major flare.In the atmosphere the wave energy divides into two parts to produce the cool, stationary optical flare and the particle flare. The first part is dissipated around flux tubes which are mainly horizontal in the chromosphere and which tend to concentrate along the magnetic neutral line (B = 0). Each tube vibrates individually as a taut wire in a viscous fluid, to excite the fluid just outside the tube. The second part of the energy emerges along tubes mainly vertical in the chromosphere and is converted to shock waves in the corona and then to particle energy for the radio and X-ray flare and the blast wave.The model includes white-light faculae, quasi-permanent X-ray and fast-particle emissions, sympathetic flares and surges. An unambiguous test would be provided by observations of plasma motions of a few kilometres per second in spots and micro-pores.     

Unusual sodium nightglow behaviour and possible association with solar flares

During many nights in October and November 1970 unusual enhancements in sodium nightglow intensity were observed near Belfast. These are discussed in relation to other atmospheric parameters. It is suggested (after Kokin et al., 1971) that instabilities in the atmosphere triggered by a series of solar flares may be the cause, particularly as during this period temperatures in the stratosphere were found to be unstable.     

Explosive hydrogen-burning model of solar flares

A model of solar flare is proposed, taking into account the high temperature (10⁹K) produced by the shock wave generated by the hydromagnetic wave at the junction of sunspot and the area just outside it and subsequent explosive hydrogen burning, producing the desired 10^28–29 ergs of a solar flare.     

A model of impulsive loop flares revisited

A critical examination of the components of the recent impulsive loop flare model of Takakura is made. It is found that his analysis of the stability of the electron distribution resulting from anomalous heat conduction is in error and electron plasma waves would not be excited. Rather, in the regions where the electron/proton temperature ratioT _e/T _i 10, electrostatic ion-cyclotron waves would be excited and in the regions whereT _e 10, ion-acoustic waves would be excited. Ratios ofT _e/T _i 10 occur only in the late time development behind the conduction fronts. Since the anomalous resistivity due to electrostatic ion-cyclotron waves is fortuitously about 70% of the one used by Takakura, the general development will follow closely the one calculated by him. Because the anomalous resistivity due to ion-acoustic waves is about 95 times the one used by Takakura, the development in the parts of the loop whereT _e/T _i 10 for late times would be altered considerably.Also Guest Worker at NOAA Space Environment Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A.     

Morphological and evolutional features of Ellerman bombs

Morphological and evolutional features of Ellerman bombs were studied with H filtergrams of two active regions very close to the solar limb. We quantitatively determined the elongated or spike-like shape of the bomb. The mean apparent length of 174 bombs is 1.1 arc sec, while 80% of 204 bombs have a diameter of less than 0.6 arc sec. The mean lifetime of 77 bombs is about 12 min at H - 1.2 Å. The first maximum brightness of a typical bomb is attained, on average in about 2 min. Bombs grow longer in the first brightening phase and their mean upward velocity explains the blue asymmetry of H emission profiles of moustaches.     

Conservation of both current and helicity in a quadrupolar model for solar flares

A model for a solar flare, involving magnetic reconnection transferring flux and current between current-carrying magnetic loops connecting two pairs of footpoints, is generalized to include conservation of magnetic helicity during reconnection, as well as conservation of current at all four footpoints. For a set of force-free loops, with the ith loop having flux F _i and current I _i, the self and mutual helicities are proportional to the self and mutual inductances with the constant of proportionality determined by α_i=F _i/μ₀ I _i. In a constant-α model, the change in magnetic energy is proportional to the change in helicity, and conservation of helicity implies conservation of magnetic energy, so that a flare cannot occur. In a quadrupolar model, with α₁>α₂ initially, α₁ increases and α₂ decreases when flux and current are transferred from loops 1 and 2 to loops 3 and 4. A model that conserves both current and helicity is constructed; it depends on the initial αs, and otherwise is somewhat simpler than when helicity is neglected.     

The kinematic processes in solar prominences and flares and their spectral features

In this paper various models of mass motions in solar prominences and flares, such as expansion, contraction and rotation without or with depth gradients, are considered. The variation of the source function with depth is also taken into account. Under these conditions the profiles of the first Balmer lines are calculated. The various effects of mass motions on spectral lines are studied. We have established four methods for the derivation of the velocities of motions as well as their gradients from the corresponding spectral features. These methods have been preliminarily applied to observational data, mainly those of the spectra-spectroheliograph (SSHG) of the Yunnan Observatory.     

A possible explanation of non-steady-state appearances in X-ray spectra of solar flares

A model of essentially transient ionization of plasma is suggested to explain some features in observed spectra of solar flares, which cannot be understood if stationary conditions are assumed.     

A circuit model for filament eruptions and two-ribbon flares

We derive a circuit model for solar filament eruptions and two-ribbon flares which reproduces the slow energy build up and eruption of the filament, and the energy dissipation in a current sheet at the top of post-flare loops during the two-ribbon flare. In our model the free magnetic energy is concentrated in a current through the filament, another current through an underlying current sheet, and surface return currents. The magnetic field configuration, generated by these currents and a general photospheric background field, has a topology similar to the field topology derived from observations.We consider two circuits, that of the filament and its return current, and that of the current sheet and its return current. These circuits are inductively coupled and free energy stored in the filament in the pre-flare phase is found to be transferred to the sheet during the impulsive phase, and rapidly dissipated there. A comparable amount of magnetic energy is converted into kinetic energy of the ejected filament. The basic equations of the model are the momentum equations for the filament and the current sheet, and the induction equations for the filament and sheet circuits. The derivation of the equations is an extension of previous models by Kuperus and Raadu, Van Tend and Kuperus, Syrovatskii, and Kaastra. The set of equations is closed in the sense that only the initial conditions and a number of parameters, all related to pre-flare observables, are needed to calculate the evolution of the system. The pre-flare observations we need to determine these parameters, are: (1) a magnetogram, (2) an picture, (3) a measurement of the coronal density in the region, and (4) estimates of the photospheric velocity fields in the region.In the solutions for the evolution of the filament current sheet system we distinghuish 4 phases: (1) a slow energy build up, lasting for almost two days, during which the filament evolves quasi-statically, (2) a metastable state, lasting for about three hours, during which the filament is susceptible to flare triggers, and during which a current sheet emerges, (3) the eruptive phase, with strong acceleration of the filament, during which a large current is induced and dissipated in the current sheet, and energy is injected in the post-flare loops, and finally (4) a post-flare phase, in which the filament acceleration declines and the current sheet vanishes.From further numerical work we derive the following conclusions: (1) The magnetic flux input into the filament circuit has to surpass a certain threshold for an eruption to occur. Below that threshold we find solutions representing quiescent filaments. (2)Flare triggers are neither necessary nor sufficient for an eruption, but may set off the eruption during the metastable state. (3) The model reproduces the increase in shear in the filament prior to the eruption, through adecline of the filament current, in contrast to most models for filament eruptions. (4) The ratio of energy lost as kinetic energy of ejecta to the energy radiated away in the post-flare loops is sensitively dependent on the resistance of the current sheet. (5) Flare prediction is possible with this model, but the potential for triggering during the metastable state complicates the prediction of the exact moment of eruption.Former NAS/NRC Resident Research Associate.ST Systems Corporation.     

The association of flares to cancelling magnetic features on the sun

Previous work relating flares to evolutionary changes of photospheric solar magnetic fields are reviewed and reinterpreted in the light of recent observations of cancelling magnetic fields. In line-of-sight magnetograms and H-alpha filtergrams from Big Bear Solar Observatory, we confirm the following 3 associations: (a) the occurrence of many flares in the vicinity of emerging magnetic flux regions (Rust, 1974), but only at locations where cancellation has been observed or inferred; (b) the occurrence of flares at sites where the magnetic flux is increasing on one side of a polarity inversion line and concurrently decreasing on the other (Martres et al., 1968; Ribes, 1969); and (c) the occurrence of flares at sites where cancellation is the only observed change in the magnetograms for at least several hours before a flare (Martin, Livi, and Wang, 1985). Because cancellation (or the localized decrease in the line-of-sight component of magnetic flux) is the only common factor in all of these circumstances, suggest that cancellation is the more general association that includes the other associations as special cases. We propose the hypothesis that cancellation is a necessary, evolutionary precondition for flares. We also confirm the observation of Martin, Livi, and Wang (1985) that the initial parts of flares occur in close proximity to cancellation sites but that during later phases, the flare emission can spread to other parts of the magnetic field that are weak, strong, or not cancelling.     

Spacecraft Doppler tracking with possible violations of LLI and LPI: a theoretical modeling

Currently two-way and three-way spacecraft Doppler tracking techniques are widely used and play important roles in control and navigation of deep space missions.Starting from a one-way Doppler model,we extend the theory to two-way and three-way Doppler models by making them include possible violations of the local Lorentz invariance(LLI) and the local position invariance(LPI) in order to test the Einstein equivalence principle,which is the cornerstone of general relativity and all other metric theories of gravity.After taking the finite speed of light into account,which is the so-called light time solution(LTS),we make these models depend on the time of reception of the signal only for practical convenience.We find that possible violations of LLI and LPI cannot affect two-way Doppler tracking under a linear approximation of LTS,although this approximation is sufficiently good for most cases in the solar system.We also show that,in three-way Doppler tracking,possible violations of LLI and LPI are only associated with two stations,which suggests that it is better to set the stations at places with significant differences in velocities and gravitational potentials to obtain a high level of sensitivity for the tests.     

A model of hot loops associated with solar flares

A dynamical model is proposed for the formation of soft X-ray emitting hot loops in solar flares. It is examined by numerical simulations how a solar model atmosphere in a magnetic loop changes its state and forms a hot loop when the flare energy is released in the form of heat liberation either at the top part or around the transition region in the loop.When the heat liberation takes place at the top part of the loop which arches in the corona, the plasma temperature around the loop apex rises rapidly and, as the result, the downward thermal conductive flux is increased along the magnetic tube of force. Soon after the thermal conduction front rushes into the upper chromosphere, a local peak of pressure is produced near the conduction front and the chromospheric material begins to expand into the corona to form a high-temperature (10⁷ K-3 × 10⁷ K at the loop apex) and high-density (10¹⁰ cm^–3-10¹¹ cm^–3 at the loop apex) loop. The velocity of the expanding material can reach a few hundred kilometres per second in the coronal part. The thermal conduction front also plays a role of piston pushing the chromospheric material downward and gives birth to a shock wave which propagates through the minimum temperature region into the photosphere. If, on the other hand, the heat source is placed around the transition region in the loop, the expansion of the material into the corona occurs from the beginning of the flare and the formation process of the hot loop differs somewhat from the case with the heat source at the top part of the loop.Thermal components of radiations emitted from flare regions, ranging from soft X-rays to radio wavelengths, are interpreted in a unified way by using physical quantities obtained as functions of time and position in our flare loop model as will be discussed in detail in a following paper.     

Photospheric vortex flows as a cause for two-ribbon flares: A topological model

By using a topological model for the potential magnetic field above the photosphere, the appearance and development of the separator as a result of vortex plasma flows in the locality of the photospheric neutral line is considered. The possible relation of such vortex flows with a flare activity is revealed. The arrangement and shape of the flare ribbons in the chromosphere, the formation of X-ray intersecting loops, the early appearance of bright knots on flare ribbon edges are naturally explained by the model provided a reconnecting current sheet arises along the separator in the coronal magnetic field of active regions as a result of the evolution of the magnetic field sources in the photosphere.     

The shock-reprocessing model of electron acceleration in impulsive solar flares

We propose a new two-stage model for acceleration of electrons in solar flares. In the first stage, electrons are accelerated stochastically in a post-reconnection turbulent downflow. The second stage is the reprocessing of a subset of these electrons as they pass through a weakly compressive fast shock above the apex of the closed flare loop on their way to the chromosphere. We call this the 'shock-reprocessing' model. The model reproduces the sign and magnitude of the energy-dependent arrival time delays for both the pulsed and smooth component of impulsive solar flare X-rays, but requires either enhanced cooling or the presence of a loop-top trap to explain the concavity of the observed time delay energy relation for the smooth component. The model also predicts an emission site above the loop-top, as seen in the Masuda flare. The loop-top source distinguishes the shock-reprocessing model from previous models. The model makes testable predictions for the energy dependence of footpoint pulse strengths and the location and spectrum of the loop-top emission, and can account for the observed soft-hard-soft trend in the spectral evolution of footpoint emission. The model also highlights the concept that magnetic reconnection provides an environment which permits multiple acceleration processes. Which combination of processes operates within a particular flare may depend on the initial conditions that determine, for example, whether the reconnection downflow is turbulent or laminar. The shock-reprocessing model comprises one such combination.     

A possible theoretical explanation of metallicity gradients in elliptical galaxies

Models of chemical evolution of elliptical galaxies taking into account different escape velocities at different galactocentric radii are presented. As a consequence of this, the chemical evolution develops differently in different galactic regions; in particular, we find that the galactic wind, powered by supernovae (of Type II and I) starts, under suitable conditions, in the outer regions and successively develops in the central ones. The star formation is assumed to stop after the onset of the galactic wind in each region. The main result found in the present work is that this mechanism is able to reproduce metallicity gradients, namely the gradients in the Mg₂ index, in good agreement with observational data. We also find that in order to honour the constant [〈Mg/Fe〉] ratio with galactocentric distance, as inferred from metallicity indices, a variable initial mass function as a function of galactocentric distance is required. This is only a suggestion, as trends on abundances inferred purely from metallicity indices are still uncertain.