Statistical Properties of Soft X-Ray Emission of Solar Flares

Abstract

Abstract We present a statistical analysis of properties of Soft X-Ray (SXR) emission, plasma temperature (T), and emission measure (EM), derived from Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite observations of flares in 2002–2017. The temperature and EMs are obtained using the Temperature and EM-based Background Subtraction algorithm, which delivers reliable results together with uncertainties even for weak B-class flare events. More than 96% of flares demonstrate a sequential appearance of T, SXR, and EM maxima, in agreement with the expected behavior of the chromospheric evaporation process. The relative number of such flares increases with increasing the SXR flux maximum. The SXR maximum is closer in time to the T maximum for B-class flares than for ≥C-class flares, while it is very close to the EM maximum for M- and X-class flares. We define flares as “T-controlled” if the time interval between the SXR and T maxima is at least two times shorter than the interval between the EM and SXR maxima, and as “EM-controlled” if the time interval between the EM and SXR maxima is at least two times shorter than the interval between the SXR and T maxima. For any considered flare class range, the T-controlled events compared to EM-controlled events have: (a) higher EM but lower T; (b) longer durations and shorter relative growth times; and (c) longer FWHM and characteristic decay times. Interpretation of these statistical results based on analysis of a single loop dynamics suggests that for flares of the same class range, the T-controlled events can be developed in longer loops than the EM-controlled events.