Hard X-ray bursts from flares behind the solar limb

The determination of the location of the region of origin of hard X-rays is important in evaluating the importance of 10–100 keV electrons in solar flares and in understanding flare particle acceleration. At present only limb-occulted events are available to give some information on the height of X-ray emission. In fifteen months of OSO-7 operation, nine major soft X-ray events had no reported correlated Hα flare. We examine the hard X-ray spectra of eight of these events with good candidate X-ray flare producing active regions making limb transit at the time of the soft X-ray bursts. All eight bursts had significant X-ray emission in the 30–44 keV range, but only one had flux at the 3σ level above 44 keV. The data are consistent with most X-ray emission occurring in the lower chromosphere, but some electron trapping at high altitudes is necessary to explain the small nonthermal fluxes observed.     

Frequency response of magnetic flux sheaths

We suggest to identify the elementary flare bursts with the excitation of the small kernels that occur in flare loops that are observed in soft X-ray pictures of flares. We stress the need of simultaneous observations of spatial structure and time variations of hard X-ray bursts sources in various wavelength regions.     

Solar flare spectral diagnosis: Present and future

New perspectives in solar diagnosis have been opened in recent years with the advent of high-resolution soft X-ray spectroscopy for plasmas forming at temperatures above 10⁷ K. The spectra obtained with the soft X-ray spectrometers flown during the last solar maximum on the major space missions dedicated to flares have allowed detailed studies of the hydrodynamic response of coronal loops to impulsive energy deposition and of the formation of the high-temperature plasma as a consequence of such dynamic effects. These studies are possible since high-resolution spectrometers give an accurate measure of both line intensities and profiles in important spectral regions, covering the emission of highly ionized heavy ions, which allow a direct determination of most of the crucial plasma parameters in the flare region. In response to the impulsive energy release in the flare region, while the intensity of soft X-ray lines increases, line profiles show large non-thermal broadenings and strong blue-asymmetries.There have been important contributions in the understanding of the formation of the flare high-temperature plasma, as an effect of the hydrodynamic response of the solar atmosphere to impulsive chromospheric heating. On the other hand, the attempts to investigate the primary energy release and transport, on the basis of the soft X-ray spectral data, have not yet been entirely successful. Significant differences in the emitted spectra are expected at the very onset of flares for different energy deposition and transport processes, but the sensitivity of the present experiments is still insufficient to detect with good statistics the early stage of flares and, therefore, to allow a reliable discrimination. It is expected that future experiments with higher sensitivity will be of great importance for relating with less ambiguity the observed flare evolution in soft X-rays to the primary energy deposition in the flaring coronal loops.     

The X-ray and extreme ultraviolet radiation of the August 28, 1966 proton flare as deduced from sudden ionospheric disturbance data

Ionospheric data show that a very large burst of extreme ultraviolet radiation of about 7 ergs cm^?2 sec^?1 above the earth's atmosphere occurred during the proton flare of August 28, 1966. The time dependence of this burst agrees closely with the 8800 and 10700 MHz solar radio bursts and does not agree with solar radio bursts at frequencies less than 2800 MHz. The soft X-ray enhancement deduced from ionospheric data peaked about 4 min after the EUV burst.     

Thick target X-ray bremsstrahlung from partially ionised targets in solar flares

The effect of partial ionisation of a thick target bremsstrahlung source on the emitted X-ray intensity is analysed. It is shown that a totally ionised target produces an X-ray burst only about one third as intense as that from an unionised target.In the case of a solar flare plasma target, the ionisation decreases with increasing depth in the flare. Thus, in an X-ray flare model in which electrons are continuously accelerated down into the chromosphere, high energy photons are produced with increased efficiency in the deeper layers of the flare plasma with consequent hardening of the X-ray spectrum. As a result, the spectra of nonthermal electrons in flares, inferred from X-ray spectra, are steepened and their total energy correspondingly increased.     

Radio and soft X-ray investigation of the solar flares of February 4, 1986

In this paper, the 3B flare of February 4, 1986 is studied comprehensively. The escape electrons accelerated to 10–100 keV at the top of coronal loop are confirmed by III type bursts. The energetic electron beams moved downward trigger the eruptions in the low layer of solar atmosphere. The radio and soft X-ray bursts are interpreted, respectively, by the maser mechanism and evaporation effect. Finally, the important role of energetic electron beams in solar flares is pointed out.     

Interference origin of the fine structure in the dynamic spectra of solar radio bursts

The multibeam propagation of radio waves in the solar plasma is analyzed, because the emission from a solar flare passes through an inhomogeneous solar atmosphere on its way to the observer. A formula (a mathematical model) for calculating the structure of the dynamic spectrum for flare radio bursts has been obtained. Comparison of the calculated spectra with the observed ones shows that the results of interference explain the formation of a zebra structure and the separation of its stripes into individual spikes, describe the time profile of the spikes, and explain the properties of fibers, ropes of fibers, and chains of “point” bursts. The similarity of the dynamic spectra testifies that the fine structure of the spectra is formed not in the emission source but as a result of the propagation of waves through the solar corona and interplanetary space.     

Localization of the source of flare X-ray emission during the eclipse of 7 March, 1970

An occultation of X-ray emission from a solar flare occurred during the eclipse of 7 March, 1970 and was observed by an NRL instrument aboard the OSO-5 satellite. Ionization chamber photometers covering the wavelength ranges 0.5–3 Å, 1–8 Å, and 8–16 Å provided flux measurements once every 15 s providing a spatial resolution of 20 arc sec at the solar surface. Within this limitation the X-ray flare was observed to be confined within a region 136 000 km in one dimension.However, the measurements indicate the existence of a denser core 54 000 km wide in the direction of advance of the Moon's limb. Comparison of these results with X-ray photographs of flare regions are made and a model for the development of the soft X-ray flare is proposed.     

Wide-band average spectra of solar radio bursts

Peak flux spectra of solar radio bursts in a wide frequency band have been statistically determined for different morphological types of bursts, for various ranges of magnetic field of the burst-associated sunspots and also for the bursts occurring in the central and limb region of the solar disk. Important results obtained are: (i) The generalised spectra have two peaks, one near to meter-wave and the other in the centimeter-wave region, the former peak being more pronounced than the latter; (ii) identical spectral shape is observed for the great and impulsive types and also for GRF and PBI types of bursts; (iii) the radio emission intensity is relatively higher in the central part than that in the limb part of the solar disk for frequencies 1–10 GHz, while the reverse is true for frequencies 0.245–1 GHz and 10–35 GHz; (iv) the optical depth of the absorbing layer above the source of a burst is found to be the same for meter to centimeter-wavelength bursts, implying that the radio sources in this wide band have uniform characteristics with respect to optical thickness; (v) in case of simultaneous emission in the dekameter to X-ray band, most of the decimetric bursts are seen to be very prompt and coincident with the associated flare's starting time. The interpretations of the obtained spectra give an insight into the possible generation mechanisms, pointing to the location of the source region in the solar atmosphere.     

X-ray and microwave emissions from the July 19, 2012 solar flare: Highly accurate observations and kinetic models

The M7.7 solar flare of July 19, 2012, at 05:58 UT was observed with high spatial, temporal, and spectral resolutions in the hard X-ray and optical ranges. The flare occurred at the solar limb, which allowed us to see the relative positions of the coronal and chromospheric X-ray sources and to determine their spectra. To explain the observations of the coronal source and the chromospheric one unocculted by the solar limb, we apply an accurate analytical model for the kinetic behavior of accelerated electrons in a flare. We interpret the chromospheric hard X-ray source in the thick-target approximation with a reverse current and the coronal one in the thin-target approximation. Our estimates of the slopes of the hard X-ray spectra for both sources are consistent with the observations. However, the calculated intensity of the coronal source is lower than the observed one by several times. Allowance for the acceleration of fast electrons in a collapsing magnetic trap has enabled us to remove this contradiction. As a result of our modeling, we have estimated the flux density of the energy transferred by electrons with energies above 15 keV to be ～5 × 10¹⁰ erg cm^?2 s^?1, which exceeds the values typical of the thick-target model without a reverse current by a factor of ～5. To independently test the model, we have calculated the microwave spectrum in the range 1–50 GHz that corresponds to the available radio observations.     

Microwave diagnostics of energetic electrons in flares

Electrons accelerated during solar flares are revealed by their electromagnetic radiation in different spectral ranges, emitted at different heights in the solar atmosphere. The observational analysis points to a common and continuous injection of particles. Based on this result, a quantitative investigation of the hard X-ray and microwave emissions observed during the 29 June, 1980 flare at 11: 40 UT has been performed. This is the first modelisation that takes into account both the inhomogeneity of the microwave source region and the dynamical evolution of the electron population. First results of our model computations demonstrate that during the most energetic phase of the event both hard X-rays and microwaves are described by electron populations resulting from the same injection function, and that the total numbers of electrons required for both emissions are compatible. Account for the inhomogeneity of the microwave source is shown to be a necessary condition for the interpretation of observed spectra.Proceedings of the Workshop on Radio Continua during Solar Flares, held at Duino (Trieste), Italy, 27–31 May, 1985.     

太阳短厘米波爆发中双重准周期脉动现象产生的可能机制

1990年5月23日0400—0451UT期间在遥隔两地的南大天文台与北师大天文台和北京天文台用时间分辨率1s和10ms分别在波长3.2cm、2cm和10.6cm上进行了太阳射电爆发的同时观测.发现了短厘米波爆发中的双重准周期脉动现象.本文根据这些观测资料连同S.G.D.发表的有关射电、光学和软X射线(SXR)耀斑等数据,提出了一个在耀(斑)环内非热与热辐射过程中由于相互作用而触发Alfven波和快磁声波的振荡模型,用来解释太阳短厘米波爆发中相关性很强的双重准周期脉动的起因和观测特征,并由此计算出爆发源区的平均物理参量T,N,B值。     

Association between gradual hard X-Ray emission and metric continua during large flares

X-ray radiation is used to study coronal phenomena in conjunction with meter wave observations during some large solar flares. It is found that metric flare continua and moving type IV bursts are associated with gradual and long lasting (a few tens of minutes) microwave and hard X-ray emissions. The detailed temporal analysis reveals that although metric and hard X-ray sources are located at very different heights, both kinds of emission result from a common and continuous/repetitive injection of electrons in the corona. The late part of the metric event (stationary type IV burst) is only associated with soft X-ray radiation. This indicates that the mean energy of the radiating electrons is lower during stationary type IV bursts than during the earlier parts of the event.     

X-Ray bursts from solar flares behind the limb

From the UCSD OSO-7 X-ray experiment data, we have identified 54 X-ray bursts with 5.1–6.6 keV flux greater than 10³ photon cm^?2 keV^?1 which were not accompanied by visible Hα flare on the solar disk. By studying OSO-5 X-ray spectroheliograms, Hα activity at the limb and the emergence and disappearance of sunspot groups at the limb, we found 17 active centers as likely seats of the X-ray bursts beyond the limb. We present the analysis of 37 X-ray bursts and their physical parameters. We compare our results with those published by Datlowe et al. (1974a, b) for disk events. The distributions of maximum temperature, maximum emission measure, and characteristic cooling time of the over-the-limb events do not significantly differ from those of disk events. We show that of conduction and radiation, the former is the dominant cooling mechanism for the hot flare plasma. Since the disk and over-the-limb bursts are similar, we conclude that the scale height for X-ray emission in the 5–10 keV range is large and is consistent with that of Catalano and Van Allen (1973), 11000 km, for primarily 1–3 keV emission. Twenty-five or about 2/3 of the over-the-limb events had a non-thermal component. The distribution of peak 20 keV flux is not significantly different from that of disk events. However, the spectral index at the time of maximum flux is significantly different for events over the limb and for events near the center of the disk; the spectral index for over-the-limb events is larger by about δγ = 3/4. If hard X-ray emission came only from localized sources low in the chromosphere we would expect that hard X-ray emission, would be occulted over the limb; on the contrary, the observation show that the fraction of soft X-ray bursts which have a nonthermal component is the same on and off of the disk. Thus hard X-ray emission over extended regions is indicated.     

High-energy observations of solar flares

Extensive observations of solar flares made in high energy bands during the maximum of the present solar cycle are discussed with a special reference to the results from HINOTORI, and with attention to the relevant flare models. The hard X-ray (HXR) images from HINOTORI showed mostly coronal emission at 20–25 keV suggesting that the HXR is emitted from multiple coronal loops, consistent with the non-thermal electron beam model in a high density corona. The thermal HXR model seems to be inconsistent with some observations. Three types of flares which have been classified from the Hinotori results are described, along with newly discovered hot thermal component of 30–40 million K which contributes thermal HXR emission. A summary is given for the characteristics of the energy release in an impulsive burst; and an empirical model is described, which explains simultaneous energy releases in multiple loops and successive movements of the release site as suggested from the HXR morphology. The discovery of large blue-shifted hot plasma from the soft X-ray line spectrum leads to some quantitative arguments for the evaporating flare model. An electron-heated flare atmosphere appears to explain various observations consistently.Invited paper presented at the IAU Third Asian-Pacific Regional Meeting, held in Kyoto, Japan, between 30 September–6 October, 1984.     

Dual pulsations in solar radio bursts at short centimeter wavelengths

It is well known that the oscillating MHD waves drive periodic variations in the magnetic field. But how the MHD waves can be triggered in the flaring loops is not yet well known. It seems to us that this problem should be connected with the physical processes occurring in the flare loop during a solar flare. A peculiar solar flare event at 04:00–04:51 UT on May 23, 1990 was observed simultaneously with time resolutions 1 s and 10 ms by Nanjing University Observatory and Beijing Normal University Observatory, which are about 1000 km apart, at 3.2 cm and 2 cm wavelengths, respectively. Two kinds of pulsations with quasi-periods 1.5 s and 40 s were found in radio bursts at the two short centimeter waves; however, the shorter quasi-periodic pulsations were superimposed upon the longer ones. From the data analysis of the above-mentioned quasi-periodic pulsations and associated phenomena in radio and soft X-ray emissions during this flare event published in Solar Geophysical Data (SGD), the authors suggest that the sudden increase in plasma pressure inside (or underlying) the flare kernel due to the upward moving chromospheric evaporated gas, which is caused by the explosive collision heating of strong non-thermal electrons injected downwards from the microwave burst source, plays the important role of triggering agents for MHD oscillations (fast magneto-acoustic mode and Alfvén mode) of the flare loop. These physical processes occurring in the flare loop during the impulsive phase of the solar flare may be used to account for the origin and observational characteristics of quasi-periodic pulsations in solar radio bursts at the two short centimeter wavelengths during the flare event of 1990 May 23. In addition, the average physical parameters N, T, B inside or underlying the flare kernel can be also evaluated.     

Directivity of non-thermal X-ray emission from solar flares

An attempt has been made in the present work to reveal the directivity of solar non-thermal X-ray emission using the data obtained from the Prognoz and Explorer satellites. The frequency of occurrence of X-ray bursts and the mean intensities of the emission are studied as a function of distance from the central meridian. The most complete statistics have been obtained for the 4–24 keV X-ray bursts for the period 1970–1973. The X-ray burst frequency of occurrence normalized to the corresponding H flare frequency increases towards the solar limb. During the studied period this trend is more pronounced to the east than to the west. Distributions of the mean intensities of X-ray bursts are very similar to those of the frequency of occurrence of X-ray bursts; the effect is more noticeable for the low intensity bursts. The effect of the east-west asymmetry for H flares has been found to vary in magnitude and direction during the 20th solar activity cycle.