Re-Evaluation of the Flare–Type II–CME Association

We have re-evaluated the association of type II solar radio bursts with flares and/or coronal mass ejections (CMEs) using the year 2000 solar maximum data. For this, we consider 52 type II events whose associations with flares or CMEs were absent or not clearly identified and reported. These events are classified as follows; group I: 11 type IIs for which there are no reports of GOES X-ray flares and CMEs; group II: 12 type IIs for which there are no reports of GOES X-ray flares; and group III: 29 type IIs for which the flare locations are not reported. By carefully re-examining their association from GOES X-ray and H, Yohkoh SXT and EIT-EUV data, we attempt to answer the following questions: (i) if there really were no X-ray flares associated with the above 23 type IIs of groups I and II; (ii) whether they can be regarded as backside events whose X-ray emission might have been occulted. From this analysis, we have found that two factors, flare background intensity and flare location, play important roles in the complete reports about flare–type II–CME associations. In the above 23 cases, for more than 50% of the cases in total, the X-ray flares were not noticed and reported, because the background intensity of X-ray flux was high. In the remaining cases, the X-ray intensity might be greatly reduced due to occultation. From the H flare data, Yohkoh SXT data and EIT-EUV data, we found that ten cases out of 23 might be frontside events, and the remaining are backside events. While the flare–type II association is found to be nearly 90%, the type II–CME association is roughly around 75%. This analysis might be useful to reduce some ambiguities regarding the association among type IIs, flares and CMEs.     

The Observational Evidence on the Loop–Loop Interaction in a Flare–CME Event on April 15, 1998

The evolution of the soft X-ray and EUV coronal loops related to the April 15, 1998 solar flare–CME event is studied with multiwavelength observations including hard X-rays (BATSE), microwaves (NoRP, CNAO) and magnetograms (SOHO/MDI), as well as images from Yohkoh/SXT and SOHO/EIT at 195 Å. It is shown that: (1) two soft X-ray and EUV loops rose, crossed and turned bright, (2) near one footpoint of these loops, the background magnetic field decreased, (3) there were similar quasi periodic oscillations in the time profiles of hard X-ray and microwave emissions, which characterized the loop–loop coalescence instability, (4) after the loop–loop reconnection, two new loops formed, the small one stayed at the original place, and the large one ejected out as part of the constructed prominence cloud. Based upon these observations, we argue that the decrease of the background magnetic field near these loops caused them to rise and approach each other, and in turn, the fast loop–loop coalescence instability took place and triggered the flare and the CME.     

Acceleration of Relativistic Protons During the 20 January 2005 Flare and CME

The origin of relativistic solar protons during large flare/CME events has not been uniquely identified so far. We perform a detailed comparative analysis of the time profiles of relativistic protons detected by the worldwide network of neutron monitors at Earth with electromagnetic signatures of particle acceleration in the solar corona during the large particle event of 20 January 2005. The intensity – time profile of the relativistic protons derived from the neutron monitor data indicates two successive peaks. We show that microwave, hard X-ray, and γ-ray emissions display several episodes of particle acceleration within the impulsive flare phase. The first relativistic protons detected at Earth are accelerated together with relativistic electrons and with protons that produce pion-decay γ rays during the second episode. The second peak in the relativistic proton profile at Earth is accompanied by new signatures of particle acceleration in the corona within ≈1R _⊙ above the photosphere, revealed by hard X-ray and microwave emissions of low intensity and by the renewed radio emission of electron beams and of a coronal shock wave. We discuss the observations in terms of different scenarios of particle acceleration in the corona.     

Automated Prediction of CMEs Using Machine Learning of CME – Flare Associations

Machine-learning algorithms are applied to explore the relation between significant flares and their associated CMEs. The NGDC flares catalogue and the SOHO/LASCO CME catalogue are processed to associate X and M-class flares with CMEs based on timing information. Automated systems are created to process and associate years of flare and CME data, which are later arranged in numerical-training vectors and fed to machine-learning algorithms to extract the embedded knowledge and provide learning rules that can be used for the automated prediction of CMEs. Properties representing the intensity, flare duration, and duration of decline and duration of growth are extracted from all the associated (A) and not-associated (NA) flares and converted to a numerical format that is suitable for machine-learning use. The machine-learning algorithms Cascade Correlation Neural Networks (CCNN) and Support Vector Machines (SVM) are used and compared in our work. The machine-learning systems predict, from the input of a flare’s properties, if the flare is likely to initiate a CME. Intensive experiments using Jack-knife techniques are carried out and the relationships between flare properties and CMEs are investigated using the results. The predictive performance of SVM and CCNN is analysed and recommendations for enhancing the performance are provided.     

Formation of the CME Leading Edge Observed in the 2003 February 18 Event

This work investigates a typical coronal mass ejection (CME) observed on 2003 February 18, by various space and ground instruments, in white light, Ha, EUV and X-ray. The Ha and EUV images indicate that the CME started with the eruption of a long filament located near the solar northwest limb. The white light coronal images show that the CME initiated with the rarefaction of a region above the solar limb and followed by the formation of a bright arcade at the boundary of the rarefying region at height 0.46 R(?) above the solar surface. The rarefying process synchronized with the slow rising phase of the eruptive filament, and the CME leading edge was observed to form as the latter started to accelerate. The lower part of the filament brightened in Ha as the filament rose to a certain height and parts of the filament was visible in the GOES X-ray images during the rise. These brightenings imply that the filament may be heated by the magnetic reconnection below the filament in the early stage of the eruption. We suggest that a possible mechanism which leads to the formation of the CME leading edge and cavity is the magnetic reconnection which takes place below the filament after the filament has reached a certain height.     

Solar Flares and Coronal Mass Ejections: A Statistically Determined Flare Flux – CME Mass Correlation

In an effort to examine the relationship between flare flux and corresponding CME mass, we temporally and spatially correlate all X-ray flares and CMEs in the LASCO and GOES archives from 1996 to 2006. We cross-reference 6733 CMEs having well-measured masses against 12 050 X-ray flares having position information as determined from their optical counterparts. For a given flare, we search in time for CMEs which occur 10 – 80 minutes afterward, and we further require the flare and CME to occur within ± 45° in position angle on the solar disk. There are 826 CME/flare pairs which fit these criteria. Comparing the flare fluxes with CME masses of these paired events, we find CME mass increases with flare flux, following an approximately log-linear, broken relationship: in the limit of lower flare fluxes, log (CME mass)∝0.68×log (flare flux), and in the limit of higher flare fluxes, log (CME mass)∝0.33×log (flare flux). We show that this broken power-law, and in particular the flatter slope at higher flare fluxes, may be due to an observational bias against CMEs associated with the most energetic flares: halo CMEs. Correcting for this bias yields a single power-law relationship of the form log (CME mass)∝0.70×log (flare flux). This function describes the relationship between CME mass and flare flux over at least 3 dex in flare flux, from ≈ 10⁻⁷ – 10⁻⁴ W m⁻².     

Solar Energetic Particle Event of 2005 January 20： Release Times and Possible Sources

Based on cosmic ray data obtained by neutron monitors at the Earth's surface, and data on near-relativistic electrons measured by the WIND satellite, as well as on solar X-ray and radio burst data, the solar energetic particle (SEP) event of 2005 January 20 is studied. The results show that this event is a mixed event where the flare is dominant in the acceleration of the SEPs, the interplanetary shock accelerates mainly solar protons with energies below 130 MeV, while the relativistic protons are only accelerated by the solar flare. The interplanetary shock had an obvious acceleration effect on relativistic electrons with energies greater than 2 MeV. It was found that the solar release time for the relativistic protons was about 06:41 UT, while that for the near-relativistic electrons was about 06:39 UT. The latter turned out to be about 2 min later than the onset time of the interplanetary type III burst.     

An Extreme Solar Event of 20 January 2005: Properties of the Flare and the Origin of Energetic Particles

The famous extreme solar and particle event of 20 January 2005 is analyzed from two perspectives. Firstly, using multi-spectral data, we study temporal, spectral, and spatial features of the main phase of the flare, when the strongest emissions from microwaves up to 200 MeV gamma-rays were observed. Secondly, we relate our results to a long-standing controversy on the origin of solar energetic particles (SEP) arriving at Earth, i.e., acceleration in flares, or shocks ahead of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Our analysis shows that all electromagnetic emissions from microwaves up to 2.22 MeV line gamma-rays during the main flare phase originated within a compact structure located just above sunspot umbrae. In particular, a huge (≈ 10⁵ sfu) radio burst with a high frequency maximum at 30 GHz was observed, indicating the presence of a large number of energetic electrons in very strong magnetic fields. Thus, protons and electrons responsible for various flare emissions during its main phase were accelerated within the magnetic field of the active region. The leading, impulsive parts of the ground-level enhancement (GLE), and highest-energy gamma-rays identified with π ⁰-decay emission, are similar and closely correspond in time. The origin of the π ⁰-decay gamma-rays is argued to be the same as that of lower-energy emissions, although this is not proven. On the other hand, we estimate the sky-plane speed of the CME to be 2 000 – 2 600 km s⁻¹, i.e., high, but of the same order as preceding non-GLE-related CMEs from the same active region. Hence, the flare itself rather than the CME appears to determine the extreme nature of this event. We therefore conclude that the acceleration, at least, to sub-relativistic energies, of electrons and protons, responsible for both the major flare emissions and the leading spike of SEP/GLE by 07 UT, are likely to have occurred nearly simultaneously within the flare region. However, our analysis does not rule out a probable contribution from particles accelerated in the CME-driven shock for the leading GLE spike, which seemed to dominate at later stages of the SEP event. S.N. Kuznetsov deceased 17 May 2007.     

Chaos and Periodicities in Solar Flare Index from Kandilli Observatory during 1976–2014

The Solar Flare Index is regarded as one of the most important solar indices in the field of solarterrestrial research. It has the maximum effect on Earth of all other solar activity indices and is being considered for describing the short-lived dynamo action inside the Sun. This paper attempts to study the short as well as long-term temporal fluctuations in the chromosphere region of the Sun using the Solar Flare Index. The daily Solar Flare Index for Northern, Southern Hemisphere and Total Disk are considered for a period from January 1976 to December 2014(total 14 245 days) for chaotic as well as periodic analysis.The 0–1 test has been employed to investigate the chaotic behavior associated with the Solar Flare Index.This test revealed that the time series data is non-linear and multi-periodic in nature with deterministic chaotic features. For periodic analysis, the Raleigh Power Spectrum algorithm has been used for identifying the predominant periods within the data along with their confidence score. The well-known fundamental period of 27 days and 11 years along with their harmonics are well affirmed in our investigation with a period of 28 days and 10.77 years. The presence of 14 days and 7 days periods in this investigation states the short-lived action inside the Sun. Our investigation also demonstrates the presence of other mid-range periods including the famous Rieger type period which are very much confirming the results obtained by other authors using various solar activity indicators.     

Post-Eruptive Arcade Formation in the 25 January 2007 CME/Flare Limb Event: Microwave Observations with the RATAN-600 Radio Telescope

A CME/flare event occurred at the eastern limb on 25 January, 2007. Seven successive multi-wavelength scans in the range 1.8 cm?–?5.0 cm were obtained with the RATAN-600 radio telescope starting just at the beginning of the post-eruptive arcade formation (30 min after a C6.3 flare peak) and lasting for 3.5 hours. The conditions were favorable to study the off-limb microwave radio source associated with the post-eruptive arcade in different phases of its formation. Microwave radio emission of the arcade was rather intense initially and then considerably decreased; its maximum was co-spatial with the 195 Å Fe xii loop tops. The RATAN-600 total flux spectra of the off-limb radio source were practically flat during the first two hours indicating a predominant contribution of thermal emission. The X-ray spectrum was thermal (according to RHESSI data) at that time. Data available in the meter wavelength range during this phase were indicative of weak non-thermal processes likely due to accelerated particles. However, free?–?free emission of an isothermal source dominated in microwaves. This is indicative of the presence of a large amount of plasma in the region of arcade formation at the initial stage of the event. The weak microwave emission during the decay phase might be interpreted as the thermal cyclotron emission of the loops in the arcade.     

Physical Parameters of a Flare Derived from Multi-line 2D Spectroscopy

1 INTRODUCTIONGround-based observations of flares reveal relevant signatures at chromospheric leve1s,whose interpretation plays a crucial role in the identification of the fundamental physical pro-cesses responsible for the fiare phenomenon. A better understanding of the flare phenomenonrequires multi-line observations and 2D spectroscoPy which can reveal the dynamic behaviorof flares at different lOcations and at differeni depths.The most obvious feature of line profiles fOr solar flare…     

The Origin and Acceleration of ~3He and Heavy Ions in the 2000 July 14 Event

1INTRODUCTIONEnrichment of3He and heavy ions(i.e.,Ne,Mg,Si and Fe),characteristic of impulsive?ares,have beenstudied for more than three decades.It is found that they are generally associated with nonthermal energeticelectron-rich events(Reames et al.1988;Reames1999and references therein;Ho et al.2001;Wang et al.2006)and are related to the peculiar ratio of charge to mass(Mazur et al.1996;Reames1999).Althoughthe abundance of3He ions is not correlated with the abundance of heavy ions,s…     

Multi-spacecraft Study of the 8 November 2000 SEP Event: Electron Injection Histories 100° Apart

We present the analysis of a large solar near-relativistic electron event observed by the Ulysses and the ACE spacecraft on 8 November 2000, when Ulysses was located at a heliocentric distance of 2.4 AU and at a heliographic latitude of ??80° S. We use a particle propagation model to infer the local interplanetary transport conditions and the injection histories of the near-relativistic electrons observed by both spacecraft. We find different local transport conditions for each set of observations. The inferred injection profiles for both spacecraft extend for several hours; but the injection at Ulysses was smaller and started later. The association with type II radio emission suggests that the heliospheric electrons were provided by coronal shock acceleration. An analysis of the in situ magnetic field and plasma measurements indicates that the global configuration of the heliosphere (disturbed by transient structures) could play a role in shaping the characteristics of solar energetic particle events observed from different locations.     

Physical Parameters of a Flare Dervied from Multi—line 2D Spectroscopy

Time series of 2D spectra of Hα and CaⅡ λ8542 for a flare of 1999 December 22 are obtained and analyzed with a new fitting technique. The method we proposed can simultaneously yield the four parameters: the line source function, the optical thickness at line center, the line-of-sight velocity and the Doppler width. We present the spatial distributions of the physical parameters and their temporal evolutions determined from the 2D spectra. Our results are consistent with the general picture predicted by the flare dynamic models.     

The Hypothesis of Additional Acceleration in the Motion of Comet Harrington–Abell from Jupiter

By processing 494 observations of Comet Harrington–Abell, we obtained a unified system of elements that includes its turn around the Sun during which it closely approached Jupiter to a minimum distance of 0.037 AU in 1974. A study of the cometary orbit before and after the approach showed that, probably, at the approach of the comet to Jupiter, apart from the well-known gravitational perturbations, its motion was affected by an additional force. An improvement of the cometary orbit by assuming that an additional acceleration inversely proportional to the square of the distance to Jupiter exists in its motion yielded the following values: (4.57 ± 0.42) × 10^–10 and (–7.20 ± 0.42) × 10^–10 AU day^–2 for the radial and transversal acceleration components, respectively. As a plausible explanation of the changes in the cometary orbit, we additionally considered a model based on the hypothesis of partial disintegration of the cometary nucleus. The parameter that characterizes the instant displacement of the center of inertia along the jovicentric radius vector was estimated to be –1.83 ± 0.75 km. Based on a unified numerical theory of cometary motion, we determined the nongravitational parameters using Marsden's model for two periods: A ₁ = (11.68 ± 1.74) × 10^–10 AU day^–2, A ₂ = (0.53 ± 0.0357) × 10^–10 AU day^–2 for 1975–1999 and A ₁ = (5.92 ± 5.86) × 10^–10 AU day^–2, A ₂ = (0.08 ± 0.028) × 10^–10 AU day^–2 for 1955–1969, under the assumption that the nongravitational acceleration changed at the approach of the comet to Jupiter.     

Physical State of the Photosphere at the Onset Phase of a Two-Ribbon Solar Flare

We study the physical state of the photosphere at about 30 minutes before and at the onset of a 2N/M2 two-ribbon solar flare. Semiempirical photospheric models are obtained for two Hα-kernels with the help of the SIR inversion code described by Ruiz Cobo and del Toro Iniesta (Astrophys. J. 398, 375, 1992). The models derived from the inversion reproduce spectral observations in seven Fraunhofer lines. The inferred models show variations in all photospheric parameters both before and at the onset of the flare relative to the quiet-Sun model. The temperature enhancement in the upper photospheric layers is found in the atmospheres in both kernels. The dynamical structure in the models reveals the variations at the onset of the flare relative to the preflaring ones. The inferred atmospheres show some difference in the thermodynamical parameters of two kernels.     

Solar Radio Spikes in 2.6 – 3.8 GHz during the 13 December 2006 Event

On 13 December 2006, some unusual radio bursts in the range 2.6?–?3.8 GHz were observed during an X3.4 flare/CME event from 02:30 to 04:30 UT in active region NOAA 10930 (S06W27) with the digital spectrometers of the National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC). During this event many spikes were detected with the high temporal resolution of 8 ms and high frequency resolution of 10 MHz. Many of them were found to have complex structures associated with other radio burst types. The new observational features may reflect certain emission signatures of the electron acceleration site. In this paper, we present the results of the analysis of the new observational features of the complex spikes. According to the observed properties of the spikes, we identify five classes. Their observational parameters, such as duration, bandwidth, and relative bandwidth, were determined. Most spikes had negative polarization, but spikes with positive polarization were observed during a short time interval and were identified as a separate class. Based on the analysis of observations with Hinode/SOT (Solar Optical Telescope) we suggest that the sources of the spikes with opposite polarizations were different. Combined observations of spikes and fiber bursts are used to estimate the magnetic field strength in the source.     

Line Broadening in a Limb Flare：Derivation of Macro—turbulent Velocity Fields

The line profiles of Hα in a limb flare on 1998 November 11 appear to be unusually broadened. It is considered that macro-turbulence (or macroscopic mass motions) may be one of the main causes. We use an inversion technique to extract the probability distribution of the line-of-sight velocity in the flare. There exist some differences between the velocity distributions deduced from Hα and from CaⅡ λ8542, which may be because the two lines depend differently on the temperature and velocity. Since the loop density is high, we obtain a rather short cooling time (several tens of seconds) from the hot X-ray loops to the cool loops visible in Hα. Possible origins of the large scale motions are discussed.