On polarimetry in solar active regions

High resolved magnetograms ( 3) were obtained 3 hrs before and 1 hr after a 1b flare, respectively, the only bright flare reported for that active region. Careful comparison between both magnetograms shows that the line-of-sight component of the active region magnetic field remains constant. In particular there is no simplification of the rather complicated field structure in connection with the flare. Magnetic flux and field gradients also do not show any variation above the 3 scale. Essential changes, however, were observed after 19 hrs without flare activity. This indicates that evolutionary field changes predominate over flare related variations.     

О природе квазаров и активных ядер галактик

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A new microwave/X-ray diagnostic for the thermal phase of solar flares

We have observed 10 solar bursts during the thermal phase using the Haystack radio telescope at 22 GHz. We show that these high frequency flux observations, when compared with soft X-ray band fluxes, give useful information about the temperature profile in the flare loops. The microwave and X-ray band fluxes provide determinations of the maximum loop temperature, the total emission measure, and the index of the differential emission measure (q(T)/T = cT^–1). The special case of an isothermal loop ( = ) has been considered previously by Thomas et al. (1985), and we confirm their diagnostic calculations for the GOES X-ray bands, but find that the flare loops we observed departed significantly from the isothermal regime. Our results ( = 1–3.5) imply that, during the late phases of flares, condensation cooling ( 3.5) competes with radiative cooling ( 1.5). Further, our results appear to be in good agreement with previous deductions from XUV rocket spectra ( 2–3).     

Multi-Wavelength Observation Results of the C5.6 Limb Flare of 1 August 2003

We obtained a complete set of H, Ca 8542 and He I 10830 spectra and slit-jaw H images of the C5.6 limb flare of 1 August 2003 using the Multi-channel Infrared Solar Spectrograph (MISS) at Purple Mountain Observatory. This flare was also observed by the Reuven Ramaty High-Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) and partially by the Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) on SOHO. This flare underwent a rapid rising and expanding episode in the impulsive phase. All the H, Ca 8542 and He I 10830 profiles of the flare are rather wide and the widest profiles were observed in the middle bright part of the flare instead of at the flare loop top near the flare maximum. The flare manifested obvious rotation in the flare loop and the decrease of the rotation angular speed with time at the loop-top may imply a de-twisting process of the magnetic field. The significant increases of the Doppler widths of these lines in the impulsive phase reflect quick heating of the chromosphere, and rapid rising and expanding of the flare loop. The RHESSI observations give a thermal energy spectrum for this flare, and two thermal sources and no non-thermal source are found in the reconstructed RHESSI images. This presumably indicates that the energy transfer in this flare is mainly by heat conduction. The stronger thermal source is located near the solar limb with its position unchanged in the flare process and spatially coincident with the intense EUV and H emissions. The weaker one moved during the flare process and is located in the H dark cavities. This flare may support the theory of the magnetic reconnections in the lower solar atmosphere.     

Observational study of the ‘post’-flare loops on June 4, 1991

A limb, two-ribbon H flare on June 4, 1991, associated with a white-light flare and followed by an emission spray and post-flare loops, is studied. A region of rapidly enhanced brightness at the bottom of the H ribbon above the white-light flare is revealed. The energy released by the white-light flare at _eff = 4100 is estimated to be about 1.5 × 10²⁸ erg s^–1.     

EUV emission,filament activation and magnetic fields in a slow-rise flare

The evolution of coronal and chromospheric structures is examined together with magnetograms for the 1B flare of January 19, 1972. Soft X-ray and EUV studies are based on the OSO-7 data. The H filtergrams and magnetograms came from the Sacramento Peak Observatory. Theoretical force-free magnetic field configurations are compared with structures seen in the soft X-ray, EUV and H images. Until the flare, two prominent spots were connected by a continuous dark filament and their overlying coronal structure underwent an expansion at the sunspot separation rate of 0.1 km s^–1. On January 19, the flare occurred as new magnetic fields emerged at 10¹⁹ Mx h^–1 beneath the filament, which untwisted and erupted as the flare began. The pre-flare coronal emissions remained unchanged during the flare except for the temporary addition of a localized enhancement that started 5 min after flare onset. EUV lines normally emitted in the upper transition region displayed a sudden enhancement coinciding in time and location with a bright H point, which is believed to be near the flare trigger or onset point. The EUV flash and the initial H brightening, both of which occurred near the center of the activated filament, were followed by a second EUV enhancement at the end of the filament. The complete disruption of the filament was accompanied by a third EUV enhancement and a rapid rise in the soft X-ray emission spatially coincident with the disappearing filament. From the change of magnetic field inferred from H filtergrams and from force-free field calculations, the energy available for the flare is estimated at approximately 10³¹ erg. Apparently, changes in the overlying coronal magnetic field were not required to provide the flare energy. Rather, it is suggested that the flare actually started in the twisted filament where it was compressed by emerging fields. Clearly, the flare started below the corona, and it appears that it derived its energy from the magnetic fields in or near the filament.NCAR is sponsored by NSF.     

Combined study between the chromospheric flare models and hard X-ray observation

By comparison between SMM HXRBS observation and ground observation of H and Caii K lines for the 2B flare on February 3, 1983, we found that there was a temporal correlation between H intensity and hard X-ray flux at the early stage of the impulsive phase while different peaks in the hard X-ray flux curve represented bursts at different locations. When we combined SMM HXRBS observation with chromospheric flare models, we further found that the temporal coincidence between H intensity and hard X-ray flux could be explained quantitatively by the fact that the H flare was indeed due to the heating by non-thermal electron beams responsible for the emission of hard X-rays. Together with the discussion on coronal density based on chromospheric flare models, it was also shown that the source of electrons seemed to be situated around the top of the flare loop and the column density at the top of the chromosphere in semi-empirical flare models could not be taken as the total material above the top of the chromosphere.     

Studies of solar flares using optical,X-ray and radio data

I have studied a number of flares for which good X-ray and optical data were available. An average lag of 5.5 s between hard X-ray (HXR) start and H start, and HXR peak and Ha peak was found for 41 flares for which determination was possible. Allowing for time constants the time lag is zero. The peak H lasts until 5–6 keV soft X-ray (SXR) peak. The level of H intensity is determined by the SXR flux.Multiple spikes in HXR appear to correspond to different occurrences in the flare development. Flares with HXR always have a fast H rise. Several flares were observed in the 3835 band; such emission appears when the 5.1–6.6 keV flux exceeds 5 × 10⁴ ph cm^-2 s^-1 at the Earth. Smaller flares produce no 3835 emission; we conclude that coronal back conduction cannot produce the bright chromospheric network of that wavelength.The nearly simultaneous growth of H emission at distant points means an agent travelling faster than 5 × 10³ km s^-1 is responsible, presumably electrons.In all cases near the limb an elevated Ha source is seen with the same time duration as HXR flux; it is concluded that this H source is almost always an elevated cloud which is excited by the fast electrons. A rough calculation is given. Another calculation of H emission from compressed coronal material shows it to be inadequate.In several cases homologous flares occur within hours with the same X-ray properties.Radio models fit, more or less, with field strengths on the order of 100G. A number of flares are discussed in detail.     

Iron Kα-fluorescence in solar flares: A probe of the photospheric iron abundance

The X-ray line at 6.4 keV has been observed from solar flares. It is found that K-fluorescence of neutral iron in the photosphere due to thermal (T 10⁷ K) X-rays of the gradual phase is its dominant production mechanism. For a given flux and energy spectrum of incident X-rays, the flux at 1 AU of iron K-photons depends on the photospheric iron abundance, the height of the X-ray source, and the helio-centric angle between the flare and the observer. Therefore, the flux of iron K-photons, when measured simultaneously with the flux and energy spectrum of the X-ray continuum and the flare location, can give us information on the height of the X-ray source and the photospheric iron abundance. Here we present our Monte Carlo calculations of iron K-fluorescence efficiencies, so that they might be useful for interpretations of future measurements of the 6.4 keV line (e.g., by a detector to be flown on the Solar Maximum Mission).     

Electron acceleration and heating in solar flares: Interpretation of Hα signatures

Vector magnetogram, H, and hard X-ray observations of flares are reviewed which show that nonthermal electron signatures in H are never cospatial with regions of maximum current density for the small number of flares analyzed, but lie to the sides of these regions. By considering electron acceleration and transport requirements, four conditions are found that must be fulfilled to observe nonthermal electron signatures in H: (1) The plasma beta 0.3 in the acceleration region. (2) The energy flux of electrons above 20 keV is greater than 10¹⁰ erg cm^–2 s^–1. (3) The column densityN 10²⁰ cm^–2 between the electron source and the chromosphere. (4) The coronal pressure in the flux tube connecting to the H layerp 100 dyne cm^–2. Condition 2 can be most easily met in the initial stages of flares. In contrast, the only condition for a high-pressure H signature isp 1000 dyne cm^–2, which is most easily met in a region of maximum current density or heating and far enough into the flare for significant heating to have occurred. Thus, high-pressure signatures should be expected to occur more frequently than nonthermal electron signatures and to occur generally later in time.Also Guest Worker at NOAA Space Environment Laboratory Boulder Colorado U.S.A.     

Limb Prominence Eruption on 11 August 2000 as Seen From Ground- and Space-Based Observations

We report on a prominence eruption as seen in H with the Crimean Lyot coronagraph, the global H network, and coronal images from the LASCO C2 instrument on board SOHO. We observed an H eruption at the northwest solar limb between 07:38:50 UT and 07:58:29 UT on 11 August 2000. The eruption originated in a quiet-Sun region and was not associated with an H filament. No flare was associated with the eruption, which may indicate that, in this case, a flux rope was formed prior to the eruption of the magnetic field. The H images and an H Dopplergram show a helical structure present in the erupted magnetic field. We suggest that the driving mechanism of the eruption may be magnetic flux emergence or magnetic flux injection. The limb H observations provide missing data on CME speed and acceleration in the lower corona. Our data show that the prominence accelerated impulsively at 5.5 km s^–2 and reached a speed slightly greater than 800 km s^–1 in a narrow region (h<0.14 R ) above the solar surface. The observations presented here also imply that, based only on a CME's speed and acceleration, it cannot be determined whether a CME is the result of a flare or an eruptive prominence.     

Lyman continuum observations of solar flares

A study is made of Lyman continuum observations of solar flares, using data obtained by the Harvard College Observatory EUV spectroheliometer on the Apollo Telescope Mount. We find that there are two main types of flare regions: an overall mean flare coincident with the H flare region, and transient Lyman continuum kernels which can be identified with the H and X-ray kernels observed by other authors. It is found that the ground level hydrogen population in flares is closer to LTE than in the quiet Sun and active regions, and that the level of Lyman continuum formation is lowered in the atmosphere from a mass column density m 5/sx 10^–6 g cm^–2 in the quiet Sun to m 3/sx 10^–4 g cm^–2 in the mean flare, and to m 10^–3g cm^–2 in kernels. From these results we derive the amount of chromospheric material evaporated into the high temperature region, which is found to be - 10¹⁵g, in agreement with observations of X-ray emission measures. A comparison is made between kernel observations and the theoretical predictions made by model heating calculations, available in the literature; significant discrepancies are found between observation and current particle-heating models.     

INTERPRETING THE LARGE LIMB ERUPTION OF JULY 9, 1982

A time series of K3 spectroheliograms taken at the Coimbra Observatory exhibits an erupting loop on the east limb on July 9, 1982 in active region NOAA 3804. The Goddard SMM Hard X-Ray Burst Spectrometer (HXRBS) observations taken during this period reveal a hard X-ray flare occurring just before the loop eruption is observed, and SMS-GOES soft X-ray observations reveal a strong long-duration event (LDE) following the impulsive phase of the flare. A Solwind coronagram exhibits a powerful coronal mass ejection (CME) associated with the erupting loop. H flare and prominence observations as well as centimeter and decimeter radio observations of the event are also reviewed. A large, north–south-oriented quiescent prominence reported within the upper part of the CME expansion region may play a role in the eruption as well. The spatial and temporal correlations among these observations are examined in the light of two different current models for prominence eruption and CME activation: (1) The CME is triggered by the observed hard X-ray impulsive flare. (2) The CME is not triggered by a flare, and the observed soft X-ray flare is an LDE due to reconnection within the CME bubble. It is concluded that this event is probably of a mixed type that combines characteristics of models (1) and (2). The July 9 event is then compared to three other energetic CME and flare eruptions associated with the same active-region complex, all occurring in the period July 9 through September 4, 1982. It is noted that these four energetic events coincide with the final evolutionary phase of a long-lasting active-region complex, which is discussed in a companion paper (Bumba, Garcia, and Jordan, 1997). The paper concludes by addressing the solar flare myth controversy in the light of this work.     

Impulsive phenomena in a small active region

The temporal and spatial variations of EUV emission from a small growing active region were investigated. Frequent localized short term ( few minutes) fluctuations in EUV emission were observed throughout the 7.2 hr interval when the most continuous observations were acquired. Approximately 20% of the 5 x 5 pixels had intensity variations exceeding a factor of 1.3 for the chromospheric L line, a factor of 1.5 for lines formed in the chromospheric-coronal transition region and a factor of 1.4 for the coronal Mg x line. A subflare in the region produced the largest intensity enhancements, ranging from a factor of 2.3 for the chromospheric L line to 8 for the transition region and coronal lines. The EUV fluctuations in this small active region are similar to those observed in coronal bright points, suggesting that impulsive heating is an important, perhaps dominant form of heating the upper chromospheric and lower coronal plasmas in small magnetic bipolar regions. The responsible mechanism most likely involves the rapid release of magnetic energy, possibly associated with the emergence of magnetic flux from lower levels into the chromosphere and corona.     

A coronal loop model for the production of X-ray and radio flares in the RS CVn binary HR 1099

The RS CVn binary stellar system HR 1099 is a source of both X-ray and radio flares. We present here a model of the system in which the two types of flare are produced by the same population of mildly-relativistic ( 10) electrons, injected into a coronal loop. After reviewing possible radiation mechanisms we conclude that, given the probable conditions in the flaring region, the radio emission is gyrosynchrotron radiation and the X-ray emission is thermal bremsstrahlung. The thermal X-ray source must lie in the stellar chromosphere, but the apparent absence of plasma absorption at radio frequencies indicates that the radio source is located high in the coronal loop. Using the relationships given by Dulk and Marsh (1982) for the radio emission from a power-law electron energy spectrum,N() ( - 1)^–, we conclude that 3 7, with 30% of the electron population trapped in the radio source. Some implications of these results for one particular version of the model are discussed.     

Solar flares,microflares, nanoflares,and coronal heating

Solar flare occurrence follows a power-law distribution against total flare energy W: dN/dW W ^– with an index 1.8 as determined by several studies. This implies (a) that microflares must have a different, steeper distribution if they are energetically significant, and (b) there must be a high-energy cutoff of the observed distribution. We identify the distinct soft distribution needed for coronal heating, if such a distribution exists, with Parker's nanoflares.This paper considers a microflare to be a member of the normal X-ray burst population, with comparable physical parameters except for a smaller total energy.     

Magnetic reconnection in a high-temperature plasma of solar flares

Simple self-consistent models for non-neutral current sheets are considered. Characteristics of high-temperature turbulent current sheets (HTCS) with a small transverse component of magnetic field are determined for conditions in the solar corona. The energy output of such an HTCS is much larger than that of a neutral sheet. This makes it possible to consider the HTCS as an energy source not only in long-lived X-ray loops but also in flaring loops during the not or main phase of a flare. In this case, the magnetic reconnection velocity agrees with the observed velocity of the loop rise. Thus, these phenomena can be interpreted as a result of magnetic reconnection, for example, between new flux emerging from under the photosphere and an old magnetic field.The role of a longitudinal magnetic field in a current sheet is less important for HTCS. As a result of the compression of a longitudinal field, there appears an electric current circulating around the sheet. This current may induce strong Joule heating, if the compression is large. This additional heating is realized because of the annihilation of the main component, not the longitudinal component of magnetic field. The effect is small for HTCS, but may be significant for preflare current sheets.     

On the relation between solar-flare gamma-ray emission and proton escape into interplanetary space

It is shown that escaping of solar flare energetic protons into interplanetary space as well as their relation to the flare gamma-ray emission depend on the parameter = 8p/B ₀ ² , where p is the pressure of hot plasma and energetic particles and B ₀ is the magnetic field in a flaring loop. If 1, the bulk of the energetic protons escape to the loss cone because of diffusion due to small-scale Alfvén-wave turbulence, and precipitate into the footpoints of the flaring loop. The flare then produces intense gamma-ray line emission and a weak flux of high energy protons in interplanetary space. If >_*0.3-1.0, then fast eruption of hot plasma and energetic particles out of the flaring loop occurs, this being due to the flute instability or magnetic-field-plasma nonequilibrium. The flare then produces a comparatively weak gamma-radiation and rather intense proton fluxes in interplanetary space. We predict a modulation of the solar flare gamma-ray line emission with a period 1 s during the impulsive phase that is due to the MHD-oscillations of the energy release volume. The time lag of the gamma-ray peaks with respect to the hard X-ray peaks during a simultaneous acceleration of electrons and protons can be understood in terms of strong diffusion.     

Study of the post-flare loops on 29 July 1973

Bright and dark curvilinear structures observed between the two major chromospheric ribbons during the flare of 29 July 1973 on films from the Big Bear Solar Observatory are interpreted as a typical system of coronal loops joining the inner boundaries of the separating flare ribbons. These observations, made through a 0.25 Å H filter, only show small segments of the loops having Doppler shifts within approximately ± 22 km s^–1 relative to the filter passband centered at H, H -0.5 Å or H +0.5 Å. However, from our knowledge of the typical behavior of such loop systems observed at the limb in H and at 5303 Å, it has been possible to reconstruct an appoximate model of the probable development of the loops of the 29 July flare as they would have been viewed at the limb relative to the position of a prominence which began to erupt a few minutes before the start of the flare. It is seen that the loops ascended through the space previously occupied by the filament. On the assumption that H fine structures parallel the magnetic field, we can conclude that a dramatic reorientation of the direction of the magnetic field in the corona occurred early in the flare, subsequent to the start of the eruption of the filament and prior to the time that the H loops ascended through the space previously occupied by the filament.     

Loop interaction scenario of a trace flare

We analyzed simultaneous EUV images from the Transition Region And Coronal Explorer (TRACE) and H and H filtergrams from Huairou Solar Observing Station (HSOS). In active region NOAA 8307, an H C5.5 flare occurred near 06:10 UT on 23 August 1998. In this paper, we concentrated on loop–loop interaction, as well as their relationship to the C5.5 flare. We find that while opposite polarity magnetic fields cancelled each other, H bright points appeared, and then the flare occurred. Looking at EUV images, we noticed that a TRACE flare, associated with the C5.5 flare in H and H filtergrams, first appeared as patch-shaped structures, then the flare patches expanded to form bright loops. We used a new numerical technique to extrapolate the chromospheric and coronal magnetic field. Magnetic field loops, which linked flare ribbons, were found. It was suggested that loop interaction in the active region was the cause of the TRACE and H flare; the magnetic topological structures were clearly demonstrated and the TRACE flare was probably due to the interaction among energetic low-lying and other longer (higher) magnetic loops. Each primary flare kernel, seen from H, H filtergrams, and EUV images, was located near the footpoints of several interacting loops.