Characteristics that Produce White-light Enhancements in Solar Flares Observed by Hinode/SOT

Abstract

Abstract To understand the conditions that produce white-light (WL) enhancements in solar flares, a statistical analysis of visible continuum data as observed by Hinode/Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) was performed. In this study, approximately 100 flare events from M- and X-class flares were selected. The time period during which the data were recorded spans from 2011 January to 2016 February. Of these events, approximately half are classified as white-light flares (WLFs), whereas the remaining events do not show any enhancements of the visible continuum (non-WLF; NWL). To determine the existence of WL emission, running difference images of not only the Hinode/SOT WL (G-band, blue, green, and red filter) data, but also the Solar Dynamics Observatory/Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager continuum data are used. A comparison between these two groups of WL data in terms of duration, temperature, emission measure of GOES soft X-rays, distance between EUV flare ribbons, strength of hard X-rays, and photospheric magnetic field strength was undertaken. In this statistical study, WLF events are characterized by a shorter timescale and shorter ribbon distance compared with NWL events. From the scatter plots of the duration of soft X-rays and the energy of non-thermal electrons, a clear distinction between WLF and NWL events can be made. It is found that the precipitation of large amounts of accelerated electrons within a short time period plays a key role in generating WL enhancements. Finally, it was demonstrated that the coronal magnetic field strength in the flare region is one of the most important factors that allow the individual identification of WLF events from NWL events.