Current state of the problem of solar flares: New observations and new models

A review of current questions related to the problem of large solar flares is given. The basic physical principles applied in numerical simulation of flares are presented and illustrated. The main attention is given to the phenomenon of magnetic reconnection in large-scale current layers at separators of magnetic field in the corona. This phenomenon is demonstrated within the framework of the Rainbow topological model. The model provides the possibility of explaining specific features of large-scale reconnection as a physical process that makes it possible to accumulate large energy in the form of the magnetic energy of current layers before a flare and to quickly transform this energy to the kinetic energy of particles during a flare. The secondary effects in the solar atmosphere caused by energy fluxes from reconnecting current layers are also discussed. These consequences of the primary energy release are responsible for the flare pattern observed in X-ray, optical, UV, and other spectral ranges.