A Rate-Independent Test for Solar Flare Sympathy

Solar flare sympathy is the triggering of a flare in one active region by a flare in another. Statistical tests for flare sympathy have returned varying results. However, existing tests have relied on flaring rates in active regions being constant in time, or else have attempted to model the rate variation, which is a difficult task. A simple test is described which is independent of flaring rates. The test generalizes the approach of L. Fritzová-Švestkova, R.C. Chase, and Z. Švestka [Solar Phys. 48, 275, 1976], and examines the distribution of flare coincidences in pairs of active regions as a function of coincidence interval τ. The test is applied to available soft X-ray and Hα flare event listings. The soft X-ray events exhibit a deficit of flare coincidences for τ≤;20 min, which is most likely due to an event-selection effect whereby the increased soft X-ray emission due to one flare prevents a second flare being identified. The Hα events show an excess of flare coincidences for τ≤; 10 min, suggesting flare sympathy. The number of Hα event pairs occurring within 10 min of one another is higher than that expected on the basis of random coincidence by a fraction 0.12± 0.02. Nearby active regions (spatial separation <50˚) show a greater excess of coincidences for τ≤; 10 min than do active regions which are far apart (spatial separation ≥50˚). However, the active regions which are far apart still show some evidence for an excess of coincidences at very short coincidence intervals (τ≤; 2 min), which appears to exclude the possibility of a coronal disturbance propagating from one region to another.