Multiple loop activations and continuous energy release in the solar flare of June 15, 1973

The spatial and temporal evolution of the high temperature plasma in the flare of 1973 June 15 has been studied using the flare images photographed by the NRL XUV spectroheliograph on Skylab.The overall event involves the successive activations of a number of different loops and arches bridging the magnetic neutral line. The spatial shifts and brightenings observed in the Fe xxiii–xxiv lines are interpreted as the activation of new structures. These continued for four or five minutes after the end of the microwave burst phase, implying additional energy-release unrelated to the nonthermal phase of the flare. A shear component observed in the coronal magnetic field may be a factor in the storage and release of the flare energy.The observed Fe xxiii–xxiv intensities define a post-burst heating phase during which the temperature remained approximately constant at 13 × 10⁶ K while the Fe xxiv intensity and 0–3 Å flux rose to peak values. This phase coincided with the activation of the densest structure (N _e = 2 × 10¹¹ cm^–3). Heating of higher loops continued into the decay phase, even as the overall temperature and flux declined with the fading of the lower Fe xxiv arches.The observed morphology of individual flaring arches is consistent with the idea of energy release at altitude in the arch (coincident with a bright, energetic core in the Fe xxiv image) and energy flow downward into the ribbons. The Doppler velocity of the Fe xxi 1354 Å line is less than 5 km s^–1, indicating that the hot plasma region is stationary.The relation of this flare to the larger class of flares associated with filament eruptions and emerging magnetic flux is discussed.     

Plasma motions in the flare of 1982 June 6 (X12)

This paper analyzes soft X-ray spectra obtained from the Hinotori spacecraft for the investigation of plasma motions during the initial phase of the great flare, 1982 June 6. The wavelength calibration of the scanning spectrometers is determined from information on the spacecraft attitude and from the position of the Fexxv resonance line during the decay phase. Hard X-ray bursts, nonthermal line broadenings and blueshifted components in X-ray lines are temporally correlated with time differences of 0–30 s. The possible contribution of the blueshifted component to the line width decreases more rapidly than the nonthermal broadening, which suggests dominant plasma motions are taking place at higher and higher altitude in the corona, because of the increase of electron density in flaring loops. The evolution of the input kinetic energy content to the thermal plasma inferred from line broadenings in the impulsive phase resembles that of the thermal energy content in the source of the Fexxvi emission, which is different from that deduced for Fexxv source. This suggests that the origins of the nonthermal line broadening and Fexxvi source are closely coupled.     

The EVE Doppler Sensitivity and Flare Observations

The Extreme-ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE; see Woods et al., 2009) obtains continuous EUV spectra of the Sun viewed as a star. Its primary objective is the characterization of solar spectral irradiance, but its sensitivity and stability make it extremely interesting for observations of variability on time scales down to the limit imposed by its basic 10 s sample interval. In this paper we characterize the Doppler sensitivity of the EVE data. We find that the 30.4 nm line of He ii has a random Doppler error below 0.001 nm (1 pm, better than 10 km s⁻¹ as a redshift), with ample stability to detect the orbital motion of its satellite, the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). Solar flares also displace the spectrum, both because of Doppler shifts and because of EVE’s optical layout, which (as with a slitless spectrograph) confuses position and wavelength. As a flare develops, the centroid of the line displays variations that reflect Doppler shifts and therefore flare dynamics. For the impulsive phase of the flare SOL2010-06-12, we find the line centroid to have a redshift of 16.8 ± 5.9 km s⁻¹ relative to that of the flare gradual phase (statistical errors only). We find also that high-temperature lines, such as Fe xxiv 19.2 nm, have well-determined Doppler components for major flares, with decreasing apparent blueshifts as expected from chromospheric evaporation flows.     

Impulsive and hot thermal solar flares

Some X-class flares (hot thermal flares, HTF) observed with the Hinotori satellite show unique behavior: slow time variability, a compact hard X-ray source containing dense (n > 10¹¹ cm^–3) and hot (T > 3 × 10⁷ K) plasma, and unusually weak microwave emission in spite of the intense magnetic field (B > 330 G) required theoretically to sustain the hot plasma. These observations show that HTF's have essentially thermal characteristics throughout the flare evolution, while in impulsive flares, there is a transition in the energy release mode from particle acceleration (impulsive phase) to plasma heating (gradual phase). This behavior can be explained in a unified manner by employing parallel DC electric field acting over large distances.     

Diagnostics of solar flare and evaporated plasma using mm-wave emission

Pulsations of mm-wave emission with a period of about 5 s, which occurred during the impulsive phase of the flare of June 22, 1989, are investigated. It has been shown that these pulsations can be driven by Alfvénic oscillations of a flare loop excited due to upward motion of the chromospheric evaporated plasma. A method is proposed to determine the density and temperature of the evaporated plasma as well as the flare loop magnetic field and loop length in terms of Alfvénic oscillations of the loop and bremsstrahlung mechanism of mm-wave emission. The estimation of evaporated plasma energy has shown that for the flare of June 22, 1989 the energy content in electron beams is insufficient for chromospheric plasma evaporation. It is not excluded that the main energy release process occurs in the chromosphere.     

MULTISPECTRAL OBSERVATIONS OF AN ERUPTIVE FLARE

We analyze the pre-flare and impulsive phase of an eruptive (two-ribbon) flare at several wavelengths. The total energy (mechanical plus radiative) released by the flare is 8 x 10³⁰ erg, about a factor 6 higher than the free magnetic energy (1.3 10³⁰ erg) estimated from the non-potentiality of the magnetic field configuration in the flare area. During the impulsive phase, we find a very good time coincidence between the hard X-ray light curve and the light curves for 2 small areas ( 4 in size) in the red wing of the H line and in the He-D₃ line center. This temporal coincidence is compatible with the interpretation that hard X-ray emission is produced by bremsstrahlung of accelerated electron beams striking these dense areas. For the other regions of the H ribbons we find more gradual light curves, suggesting a different energy transport mechanism such as conduction.     

High resolution EUV structure of the chromosphere-corona transition region above a sunspot

Ion emission line intensities between 1170 and 1700 Å allow one to determine the differential emission measure (DEM) and electron pressure of the plasma in the solar transition region (TR). These line intensities together with their Doppler shifts and line widths are measured simultaneously for the first time above a sunsport from data obtained with the NRL High Resolution Telescope and Spectrograph with 0.06 Å spectral and 1 spatial resolution.The Doppler shifts show both subsonic and supersonic flow in the same line of sight over the umbra. The temperature structure for 40 resolution elements in the sunspot umbra and penumbra is derived from the DEM and the observed electron pressures.Extrapolation of the emission measure curves supports the previous EUV and X-ray observations that coronal plasma above sunspots with T _e>10⁶ K is reduced while emission from TR plasma between 2×10⁵ and 10⁶ K is greatly enhanced relative to quiet or active regions. This enhancement shifts the minimum of the DEM to lower temperatures and increases the slope at 2×10⁵ K by a factor of two.New pressure diagnostics using the emission line intensity ratios of C iv to N iv are presented, and applied to the data.The energy balance in the TR for the sunspot umbra is dominated by radiative losses from the large amount of TR plasma.An estimate of the energy budget shows that an energy input is required to balance the radiative energy losses above the umbra. The observed divergence of the enthalpy flux for the umbral downflows can balance these radiative losses for T _e between 30000 and 200 000 K.A typical umbral model of T _e versus reduced mass column density is compared with one for chromospheric temperatures determined from the Ca H and K lines.Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, Norway.     

Interaction of an Erupting Filament with the Ambient Magnetoplasma and Escape of Electron Beams

A huge filament eruption of 12 September 2000 associated with a two-ribbon spotless flare is described. During the acceleration phase the shape of the filament changed, and signatures of topological restructuring of large-scale coronal magnetic fields were inferred by tracking changes of nearby coronal holes. At the same time electron beams associated with the flare impulsive phase escaped into interplanetary space. Based on the time–spatial relationships a hypothesis is put forward, according to which the reconnection between the arcade magnetic field and the ambient field provides a temporary link between the open field lines and the flare energy release site, enabling the escape of electron beams into interplanetary space.     

2 1/2-Dimensional Reconnection Model and Energy Release in Solar Flares

We employ a 2 1/2-dimensional reconnection model to analyse different aspects of the energy release in two-ribbon flares. In particular, we investigate in which way the systematic change of inflow region variables, associated with the vertical elongation of current sheet, affects the flare evolution. It is assumed that as the transversal magnetic field decreases, the ambient plasma-to-magnetic pressure ratio increases, and the reconnection rate diminishes. As the transversal field decreases due to the arcade stretching, the energy release enhances and the temperature rises. Furthermore, the magnetosonic Mach number of the reconnection outflow increases, providing the formation of fast mode standing shocks above the flare loops and below the erupting flux rope. Eventually, in the limit of a very small transversal field the reconnection becomes turbulent due to a highly non-linear response of the system to small fluctuations of the transversal field. The turbulence results in the energy release fragmentation which increases the release efficiency, and is likely to be responsible for the impulsive phase of the flare. On the other hand, as the current sheet stretches to larger heights, the ambient plasma-to-magnetic pressure ratio increases which causes a gradual decrease of the reconnection rate, energy release rate, and temperature in the late phase of flare. The described magnetohydrodynamical changes affect also the electron distribution function in space and time. At large reconnection rates (impulsive phase of the flare) the ratio of the inflow-to-outflow magnetic field strength is much smaller than at lower reconnection rates (late phase of the flare), i.e., the corresponding loss-cone angle becomes narrower. Consequently, in the impulsive phase a larger fraction of energized electrons can escape from the current sheet downwards to the chromosphere and upwards into the corona – the dominant flare features are the foot-point hard X-ray sources and type III radio bursts. On the other hand, at low reconnection rates, more particles stay trapped in the outflow region, and the thermal conduction flux becomes strongly reduced. As a result, a superhot loop-top, and above-the-loop plasma appears, as sometimes observed, to be a dominant feature of the gradual phase.     

Solar flares: The gradual phase

One has to distinguish between two kinds of the gradual phase of flares: (1) a gradual phase during which no energy is released so that we see only cooling after the impulsive phase (a confined flare), and (2) a gradual phase during which energy release continues (a dynamic flare).The simplest case of (1) is a single-loop flare which might provide an excellent opportunity for the study of cooling processes in coronal loops. But most confined flares are far more complicated: they may consist of sets of unresolved elementary loops, of conglomerates of loops, or they form arcades the components of which may be excited sequentially. Accelerated particles as well as hot and cold plasma can be ejected from the flare site (coronal tongues, flaring arches, sprays, bright and dark surges) and these ejecta may cool more slowly than the source flare itself.However, the most important flares on the Sun are flares of type (2) in which a magnetic field opening is followed by subsequent reconnection of fieldlines that may continue for many hours after the impulsive phase. Therefore, the main attention in this review is paid to the gradual phase of this category of long-decay flares. The following items are discussed in particular: The wide energy range of dynamic flares: from eruptions of quiescent filaments to most powerful cosmic-ray flares. Energy release at the reconnection site and modelling of the reconnection process. The post-flare loops: evidence for reconnection; observations at different wavelengths; energy deposit in the chromosphere, chromospheric ablation, and velocity fields; loops in emission; shrinking loops; magnetic modelling. The gradual phase in X-rays and on radio waves. Post-flare X-ray arches: observations, interpretation, and modelling; relation to metric radio events and mass ejections, multiple-ribbon flares and anomalous events, hybrid events, possible relations between confined and dynamic flares.     

Comparison of mm-wave and X-ray diagnostics of flare plasma

To compare mm-wave and X-ray diagnostics of solar flare plasma, five flares observed in 1980–1991 in Metsähovi at 22 and 37 GHz and with GOES, SMM, and GRO are studied. The first impulsive peak of the mm-wave bursts under investigation coincides in time with hard X-ray emission. The second gradual component in mm-wave emission coincides with the maximum of the soft X-ray emission measure. The bremsstrahlung mm-wave radiation from hot chromospheric plasma and gyrosynchrotron radiation driven by common population of superthermal electrons are calculated. It is shown that for mm-wave events with the first peak intensity 100 s.f.u., the thermal bremsstrahlung is more important than the gyrosynchrotron emission. The total energy of fast electrons deduced from the first peak of mm-wave bursts is one to two orders of magnitude less than that determined from the hard X-ray emission in the approximation of a thick-target nonthermal model. That can testify in favour of the hybrid thermal/nonthermal model proposed by Holman and Benka (1992). The emission measure and the energy of evaporated plasma using both mm-wave and soft X-ray data are also determined. For events investigated here the energy of evaporated chromospheric plasma is larger than the total energy of fast electron beams. We have concluded that, for evaporation, additional energy release in the chromosphere is needed. The possibility of such energy release in the framework of an advanced circuit model for solar flares is discussed.     

The relation between hard X-ray and transition-region line emission in solar flares

Observational evidence suggests that both the hard X-ray and ultraviolet emission from the impulsive phase of flares result from an electron beam. We present the results of model calculations that are consistent with this theory. The impulsive phase is envisioned as occurring in many small magnetically confined loops, each of which maintains an electron beam for only a few seconds. This model successfully matches several observed aspects of the impulsive phase. The corona is heated to less than 2 × 10⁶ K, maximum enhanced emission occurs in lines formed near 10⁵ K, and there is only slight enhancement between 10⁵ and 2 × 10⁶ K. The slope of the observed relationship between hard X-ray and Ov 1371 Å emission is also matched, but the relative emission is not. The calculations indicate that UV emission lines formed below a temperature of about 10⁵ K will arise predominantly from the chromospheric region heated by the electron beam to transition region temperatures. Emission lines formed at higher temperatures will be produced in the transition region. This should be detectable in density-sensitive line ratios. To account successfully for the impulsive UV emission, the peak temperature in the impulsively heated loops must remain below about 2 × 10⁶ K. Thus our model implies that the impulsive heating takes place in different loops from the hotter gradual phase emission.     

A topological approach to understand a multiple-loop solar flare

We analyze the UV and X-ray data obtained by the SMM satellite for the flare starting at 02:36 UT on November 12, 1980 in AR 2779. From a detailed revision of the Ov emission, we find that the observations are compatible with energy being released in a zone above the magnetic inversion line of the AR intermediate bipole. This energy is then transported mainly by conduction towards the two distant kernels located in the AR main bipole. One of these kernels is first identified in this paper. Accelerated particles contribute to the energy transport only during the impulsive phase.We model the observed longitudinal magnetic field by means of a discrete number of subphotospheric magnetic poles, and derive the magnetic field overall topology. As in previous studies of chromospheric flares, the Ov kernels are located along the intersection of the computed separatrices with the photosphere. Especially where the field-line linkage changes discontinuously, these kernels can be linked in pairs by lines that extend along separatrices. Our results agree with the hypothesis of magnetic energy released by magnetic reconnection occurring on separatrices.     

Temporal correlation of solar hard X-ray bursts with chromospheric evaporation

During the impulsive phase of many solar flares, blueshifted emission wings are observed on the soft X-ray spectral lines of highly excited ions that are produced in the flare plasma. This emission has been commonly interpreted as chromospheric evaporation of material from the footpoints of coronal loops by non-thermal particle beams, although the question of whether the bulk of the energy is carried by electrons or ions (protons) has been the subject of much debate. The precise temporal relationship between the onsets of the blueshifted emission and the hard X-ray bursts is particularly important in resolving the mechanism of energy transfer to the hot plasma in the impulsive phase. A sample of flares observed with the Bragg Crystal Spectrometer (BCS) onYohkoh has been analysed for blueshifted emission and the results compared with hard X-ray light turves obtained with the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO). In some flares, the blueshifted emission precedes the onset of the hard X-rays by up to 100 s. There is no evidence for a temporal correlation between the maximum energy input to the hard X-ray bursts and the maximum blueshifted intensity. These results lend support to those models favouring protons as the dominant energy carrier in the impulsive phase of flares and are inconsistent with the hypothesis that the bulk of the energy resides in electron beatos, although some other energy input, while unlikely, cannot be completely eliminated.     

Transition-zone observations of rapid flare events as observed by OSO-8

The rapid dissipation of flare energy has been observed in the transition-zone line of C iv at 1548.2 Å using the University of Colorado spectrometer aboard OSO-8. Impulsive brightenings have been resolved with characteristic risetimes as low as 3.5 s. One event is analyzed in detail, in which it is inferred that the electron density is greater than 2 × 10¹¹ cm^–3 at T = 60 000 K, and that the flare energy is deposited at a rate of 2 ergs cm^–3 s^–1 or greater. The temporal behavior of the intensity at the center of the C iv line is consistent with a non-equilibrium ionization of C iii through C v. If this event is a result of the multiple tearing mode instability as the primary energy release mechanism, then the observations indicate a pre-flare magnetic field of about 175 G.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

Multiwavelength analysis of a well observed flare from SMM

We describe and analyse observations of an M1.4 flare which began at 17: 00 UT on 12 November, 1980. Ground based H and magnetogram data have been combined with EUV, soft and hard X-ray observations made with instruments on-board the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) satellite. The preflare phase was marked by a gradual brightening of the flare site in Ov and the disappearance of an H filament. Filament ejecta were seen in Ov moving southward at a speed of about 60 km s^–1, before the impulsive phase. The flare loop footpoints brightened in H and the Caxix resonance line broadened dramatically 2 min before the impulsive phase. Non-thermal hard X-ray emission was detected from the loop footpoints during the impulsive phase while during the same period blue-shifts corresponding to upflows of 200–250 km s^–1 were seen in Ca xix. Evidence was found for energy deposition in both the chromosphere and corona at a number of stages during the flare. We consider two widely studied mechanisms for the production of the high temperature soft X-ray flare plasma in the corona, i.e. chromospheric evaporation, and a model in which the heating and transfer of material occurs between flux tubes during reconnection.     

Investigation of Quasi-periodic Variations in Hard X-Rays of Solar Flares. II. Further Investigation of Oscillating Magnetic Traps

In our recent paper (Jakimiec and Tomczak, Solar Physics 261, 233, 2010) we investigated quasi-periodic oscillations of hard X-rays during the impulsive phase of solar flares. We have come to the conclusion that they are caused by magnetosonic oscillations of magnetic traps within the volume of hard-X-ray (HXR) loop-top sources. In the present paper we investigate four flares that show clear quasi-periodic sequences of the HXR pulses. We also describe our phenomenological model of oscillating magnetic traps to show that it can explain the observed properties of the HXR oscillations. The main results are the following: i) Low-amplitude quasi-periodic oscillations occur before the impulsive phase of some flares. ii) The quasi-periodicity of the oscillations can change in some flares. We interpret this as being due to changes of the length of oscillating magnetic traps. iii) During the impulsive phase a significant part of the energy of accelerated (non-thermal) electrons is deposited within a HXR loop-top source. iv) The quick development of the impulsive phase is due to feedback between the pressure pulses by accelerated electrons and the amplitude of the magnetic-trap oscillation. v) The electron number density and magnetic field strength values obtained for the HXR loop-top sources in several flares fall within the limits of N≈(2 – 15)×10¹⁰ cm⁻³, B≈(45 – 130) gauss. These results show that the HXR quasi-periodic oscillations contain important information about the energy release in solar flares.     

The gradual and impulsive reconnection and the preheating of solar flares

We discuss the preheating phase of solar flares triggered by emerging magnetic flux. We consider the development of microinstabilities in the diffusion region during the emergence process and we propose four different types of reconnection, by which we explain the preheating, as well as the impulsive phase of flares. We find that during the emergence of new magnetic flux the current sheet will not jump from the initial classical state to a fully turbulent one, but will remain in a marginally turbulent state which may develop either gradually or impulsively depending on the conditions of emergence. As a consequence of this, we find that four cases of reconnection are indeed possible: a week gradual heating, a weak impulsive process, a gradual preheating followed by an impulsive phase, and violent bursty reconnection.The expansion rate of the diffusion region, the duration of the gradual phase, the magnetic energy release, and the energy deposition rate in coronal loops during the gradual phase are derived under simplifying assumptions and applied to X-ray and UV observations of flares from the Solar Maximum Mission.On leave from the Department of Astronomy, Nanjing University, Nanjing, The People's Republic of China.     

Ultraviolet, hard X-ray, and gamma-ray emission of solar flares recorded by VUSS-L and SONG instruments in 2001–2003

The results of simultaneous measurements of variations of UV radiation (in a band near the hydrogen L_α line, 121.6 nm) and hard X-ray and gamma-ray radiation (50 keV-200 MeV) performed by the VUSS-L and SONG instruments, respectively, onboard the CORONAS-F spacecraft are presented for periods of solar flares. Variations in the L_α ultraviolet radiation during the impulsive phase of a flare are shown to be synchronous with those of hard X-ray radiation. Temporal variations of UV and X-ray fluxes correspond to the progressive heating of higher and higher regions of the solar atmosphere and the energy transfer from the lower layers of the solar atmosphere to the coronal areas of flare regions. The energy of electrons in beams arising during the impulsive phase of flares can be as high as 500 keV. The velocity of the energy propagation from the regions of its release to the upper layers of the solar atmosphere can reach several tens of kilometers per second.     

Very-Large-Array Observations of Evolving Type I Noise Storms and Nonthermal Bursts In Association With Flares And Coronal Mass Ejections

Very-Large-Array (VLA) observations of the Sun at 20, 91 and 400 cm have been combined with data from the SOHO, TRACE and Wind solar missions to study the properties of long-lasting Type I noise storms and impulsive metric and decimetric bursts during solar flares and associated coronal mass ejections. These radio observations provide information about the acceleration and propagation of energetic electrons in the low and middle corona as well as their interactions with large-scale magnetic structures where energy release and transport takes place. For one flare and its associated CME, the VLA detected impulsive 20 and 91 cm bursts that were followed about ten minutes later by 400 cm burst emission that appeared to move outward into the corona. This event was also detected by the Waves experiment on Wind which showed intense, fast-drifting interplanetary Type III bursts following the metric and decimetric bursts detected by the VLA. For another event, impulsive 91 cm emission was detected about a few minutes prior to impulsive bursts at 20.7 cm, suggesting an inwardly propagating beam of electrons that excited burst emission at lower levels and shorter wavelengths. We also find evidence for significant changes in the intensity of Type I noise storms in the same or nearby active region during impulsive decimetric bursts and CMEs. These changes might be attributed to flare-initiated heating of the Type I radio source plasma by outwardly-propagating flare ejecta or to the disruption of ambient magnetic fields by the passage of a CME.