Statistical analysis for EUV dynamic spectra and their impact on the ionosphere during solar flares

Abstract

The X-rays and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) emitted during solar flares can rapidly change the physical composition of Earth’s ionosphere, causing space weather phenomena. It is important to develop an accurate understanding of solar flare emission spectra to understand how it affects the ionosphere. We reproduced the entire solar flare emission spectrum using an empirical model and physics-based model, and input it into the Earth’s atmospheric model, GAIA to calculate the total electron content (TEC) enhancement due to solar flare emission. We compared the statistics of nine solar flare events and calculated the TEC enhancements with the corresponding observed data. The model used in this study was able to estimate the TEC enhancement due to solar flare emission with a correlation coefficient greater than 0.9. The results of this study indicate that the TEC enhancement due to solar flare emission is determined by soft X-ray and EUV emission with wavelengths shorter than 35 nm. The TEC enhancement is found to be largely due to the change in the soft X-ray emission and EUV line emissions with wavelengths, such as Fe XVII 10.08 nm, Fe XIX 10.85 nm and He II 30.38 nm.Graphical