Observations of magnetic field evolution in a solar flare

I±V and I±Q profiles of nine spectral lines of Fei, Feii, and Hi in the 2B flare of 16 June 1989 have been analyzed. Two bright flare knots outside and inside of a spot were investigated. To measure the true magnetic field strength in the flare, two different methods were applied. In addition to these data, the magnetic field and thermodynamic conditions were determined using the non-LTE program for line profile synthesis. According to the measurements, the magnetic field in both flare knots changed in synchronism and non-monotonically, and reached its peak (nearly 1.6 kG for non-spot areas and approximately 4.0 kG for sunspot locations) at the time of flare peak. For the flare knot outside the spot, a background field component was also detected; the magnetic field in this component was found to have mixed polarity and remained practically unchanged during the flare. The non-LTE calculations show that the unique local magnetic field peak existed near the temperature minimum zone in the flare peak too. The observed perturbations do not exclude such phenomena as a magnetic field transient in flare.     

Description of mass motions and brightenings in a class 2b flare,August 8, 1968

Filtergrams spanning Hα ± 4.1 Å, supplemented with observations at 2.8 and 3 GHz, are used variously to describe the onset, dormancy, and flash phase of this 2b flare. Among the phenomena observed are 17- and 23-sec periodic pulsations in the microwave data early in the flare and formation of perpendicular, overlapping threads of red-shifted and blue-shifted material late in the flare.     

The structure of the solar flare stream magnetic field

The structure of the interplanetary magnetic field within the flare streams as well as associated variations of the geomagnetic disturbancy are considered. It is shown that in the main body of the flare stream the magnetic field is determined by the configuration of the large scale magnetic field on the Sun at the flare region. Within the head part of the flare stream the magnetic field represents by itself the compressed field of the background solar wind and hence is determined by the distribution of the super large scale solar magnetic field outside the flare region.A certain asymmetry in the parameters of the magnetic field within the streams associated with geoeffective and non-effective flares is shown to exist.     

The class 3b double ribbon flare of 1980 July 23

We observed the Class 3B double ribbon flare of 1980 July 23. From our measurements and analysis we found 1) its motion can be divided clearly into 3 stages, lateral outward expansion of the two ribbons, their bodily separation with expansion and their contraction. 2) The sudden increases in the flare areas coincide in time with the peaks in the 10cm radio bursts. 3) The flare was located in a small sunspot group in an old active region. It was $\text{not}$ preceded by the disappearance of dark filaments.     

Dependence of the flare stream velocity on magnetic field orientation

The stationary current of diffusely-distributed super-thermal electrons along a weakly inhomogeneous coronal magnetic field is considered as a possible model of the noise storm continuum source in decametric wavelengths. It is shown that the realization of such a streaming leads to a considerably increased level of plasma noise in the diffuse component region and then to enhanced radio emission from this region.     

Strong magnetic field in W75N OH maser flare

A flare of OH maser emission was discovered in W75N in 2000. Its location was determined with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) to be within 110 au from one of the ultracompact H  ii regions, Very Large Array 2 (VLA2). The flare consisted of several maser spots. Four of the spots were found to form Zeeman pairs, all of them with a magnetic field strength of about 40 mG. This is the highest ever magnetic field strength found in OH masers, an order of magnitude higher than in typical OH masers. Three possible sources for the enhanced magnetic field are discussed: (i) the magnetic field of the exciting star dragged out by the stellar wind; (ii) the general interstellar field in the gas compressed by the magnetohydrodynamic shock; and (iii) the magnetic field of planets which orbit the exciting star and produce maser emission in gaseous envelopes.     

SID flare production is independent of Mt. Wilson magnetic class

We have analyzed the observed frequency distributions of SID flare days for the different sunspot magnetic classes, taking flare days as well as no flare days into account. We find that there is no significant difference between any observed distribution for a specific magnetic class, and the Poisson random theoretical distribution, computed for that class.St. Augustine, Trinidad, West Indies.Cave Hill, St. Michael, Barbados, West Indies.     

Fluxtube magnetic field measurements in a solar flare in comparison with non-flare regions

Measurements of the fluxtube field strength B and filling α in solar flares, active regions and faculae have been analyzed. To estimate the values of B, Stokes V peak separations of the Fe I 5247 Å and Fe I 5250 Å lines have been used. It was found that the value of B in an In-flare (˜ 1.1 kG) was slightly smaller than that in faculae (˜ 1.3 kG) and a non-flare active region (˜ 1.4kG). On the other hand, in a more power 2b-flare the value of B was in the range from. 1.1 kG (the start of the flare) to 1.55kG. (during the peak). Thus the values of the field strength of flares somewhat differ from those both of faculae and active regions. The magnetic filling factor is approximately equal in flares (0.2-0.40) and active regions (0.3) but several times larger as compared with faculae.     

Derivation of flare magnetic field and density from two simultaneous frequency observations

We developed a simple model for a flare loop, which was used to fit the emission in the microwave (17 GHz) and millimetre-wave (80 GHz) ranges for the giant flare of 1991 June 4. The simplicity of the model enabled the exploration of a wide range of parameters in a reasonable time. It was possible, using the simple model, to derive from the 17- and 80-GHz data the magnetic field and the number density for every measurement point in the time range we chose to fit.     

SID flare production and Mt. Wilson magnetic class: An alternative interpretation

The statistical results presented by Achong and Stahl (1984) may alternatively be interpreted as demonstrating a strong dependence of SID flare production on Mt. Wilson magnetic class of the parent sunspot group.     

Measurement of the prominences magnetic field

A new type of magnetograph has been built capable to measure weak magnetic fields in the chromosphere and corona. Measurements of magnetic field in two prominences are demonstrated as examples.     

A comparison between magnetic shear and flare shear in a well-observed M-class flare

We give an extensive multi-wavelength analysis of an eruptive M1.0/1N class solar flare, which occurred in the active region NOAA 10044 on 2002 July 26. Our empha-sis is on the relationship between magnetic shear and flare shear. Flare shear is defined as the angle formed between the line connecting the centroids of the two ribbons of the flare and the line perpendicular to the magnetic neutral line. The magnetic shear is computed from vector magnetograms observed at Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO), while the flare shear is computed from Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) 1700A images. By a detailed comparison, we find that: 1) The magnetic shear and the flare shear of this event are basically consistent, as judged from the directions of the transverse mag-netic field and the line connecting the two ribbons' centroids. 2) During the period of the enhancement of magnetic shear, flare shear had a fast increase followed by a fluctuated decrease. 3) When the magnetic shear stopped its enhancement, the fluctuated decreasing behavior of the flare shear became very smooth. 4) Hard X-ray (HXR) spikes are well correlated with the unshearing peaks on the time profile of the rate of change of the flare shear. We give a discussion of the above phenomena.     

Magnetic field gradient and flare: study of a small flare in NOAA 8038

Active region NOAA 8038 was observed from 10 to 13 May, 1997 using the USO solar video magnetograph. During this period, the active region was mostly inactive, and gave rise to only a single notable flare of 1N/C1.3 class on May 12, 1997/04:45 UT. The flare occurred in a weak field location, but new emerging fluxes were observed prior to the flare onset. Horizontal motions of the network photospheric magnetic fluxes were inferred using USO and SOHO magnetograms, and velocities in the range 300–800 m s^–1 were estimated. The initial flare brightening was observed at the flux cancellation site where magnetic field gradients were found to increase. Detailed analyses of flux motions, cancellation and their relation with the flare are presented.     

Influence of magnetic field structure on the conduction cooling of flare loops

A simple model facilitates calculation of the influence of magnetic field configuration on the conduction cooling rate of a hot post-flare coronal plasma. The magnetic field is taken to be that produced by a line dipole or point dipole at an arbitrary depth below the chromosphere. For the high temperatures (T 10⁷ K) produced by flares, the plasma may remain static and isobaric. The influence of the field is such as to increase the heat flux (per unit area) into the chromosphere, but to decrease the total conduction cooling of the flare plasma. This leads to a significant enhancement of the total energy radiated by the flare plasma.     

Ni I 6768 Å line profile variations during a solar flare and their effect on the SOHO/MDI magnetic field measurements

Observational data on the Ni I 6768 Å line profile variations during the impulsive and post-impulsive phases of the July 18, 2002 while light flare (WLF) in the kernel of WLF emission and in other flare kernels are presented. The line profiles at the sites of intense photospheric motions in active regions are also studied. The effect of the observed Ni I 6768 Å line profile variations on the SOHO/MDI magnetic field measurements is estimated. The following conclusions have been reached. (1) The thermodynamic structure of the photo-spheric layers changes significantly during the flare. As a result, the Ni I line profile changes, particularly at the site of WLF emission. At this time, the line depth decreases significantly, but the line does not show any emission reversal. Subsequently, a relatively slow return to the conditions of an undisturbed photosphere is observed. (2) The technique of SOHO/MDI magnetic field measurements is insensitive to such line variations. Therefore, the detected variations during the flare did not result in any noticeable errors in the MDI longitudinal magnetic field measurements. (3) The line profile is broadened, shifted as a whole, and asymmetric at the sites of active regions where intense photospheric motions appear. In the MDI measurements, such changes in the profile lead to an underestimation of the magnetic field by approximately 10% if the line-of-sight velocity of the photo-spheric ejection is about 1.6 km s^?1.     

The action of a compressing and shearing non-force-free magnetic field on the build-up and triggering of a two-ribbon flare

The corresponding field configurations of the solar isothermal atmosphere obtained from a series of non-constant shearing magnetic fields after considering both the gravity and gas pressure are examined and compared. When the shearing magnetic field increases, magnetic islands will appear, followed by shearing, quasi-three-dimensional field structures approaching the open state and with almost anti-parallel field lines. It is possible that this is related to the initial phase of a two ribbon flare.     

Periodic variation and phase analysis of grouped solar flare with sunspot activity

Studies on the periodic variation and the phase relationship between different solar activity indicators are useful for understanding the long-term evolution of solar activity cycles.Here we report the statistical analysis of grouped solar flare(GSF) and sunspot number(SN) during the time interval from January 1965 to March 2009.We find that,(1) the significant periodicities of both GSF and SN are related to the differential rotation periodicity,the quasi-biennial oscillation(QBO),and the eleven-year Schwabe cycle(ESC),but the specific values are not absolutely identical;(2) the ESC signal of GSF lags behind that of SN with an average of 7.8 months during the considered time interval,which implies that the systematic phase delays between GSF and SN originate from the inter-solar-cycle signal.Our results may provide evidence about the storage of magnetic energy in the corona.     

Analysis of the magnetic field configuration of a filament-associated flare from x-ray,UV, and optical observations

X-ray and ultraviolet observations from SMM of a filament-associated event on 22 November, 1980 are examined in conjunction with ground-based optical observations, in order to determine the magnetic field configuration involved in the flaring process. We find evidence that the flare was produced by gradual energy release in a large sheared magnetic loop which interacted with another smaller loop. Non-thermal processes, as indicated by hard X-ray emission and impulsive UV kernels, were produced in the interaction of the two loops. Although this flare shared some of the characteristics of Long Duration (class II) Events, we found no indication of a helmet-type configuration, as generally envisaged for class II events. On the contrary, the magnetic configuration of the 22 November, 1980 event was more similar to that of a compact (class I) flare, although on a much larger spatial scale and longer time scale.     

Cyclic variation of the global magnetic field indices

The energetical aspect of solar phenomena of different spatial and time scales has been studied with special attention to global magnetic fields. Cyclic regularities in the heliosphere are determined by energetics of global magnetic fields. The energy variation of global fields consists of a number of maxima and minima coinciding with reference points of the sunspot cycle. The correlations of a number of well-known indices in the heliosphere with Wolf numbers and with indices of energetics of the global magnetic field have been investigated. The results can be used to identify more exactly the reference points of the cycle.     

Short period variation of the photospheric magnetic field

The photospheric magnetic data recorded from August 12, 1959 to September 29, 1967 and averaged over Bartels rotation periods are treated as zonal terms of the solar magnetic field which is expanded in a series of spherical harmonics. Numerical analysis of the reduced data gives seven periods. Three of these seem to be essential in the superposed variation of the solar magnetic field. The first of them (17.74 yr) is thought to be a contribution from the magnetic cycle for the determination of which the data covering only 8 yr interval are of insufficient accurity. For this reason, a 22.2 yr period is favoured by the computations. The numerical values of the two shorter periods are deduced as 2.557 yr and 4.194 yr. The amplitudes and phase angles of the periodic terms in question are determined.