Flare Peak Research Articles

Very-high-frequency oscillations in the main peak of a magnetar giant flare.

Magnetars are strongly magnetized, isolated neutron stars1-3 with magnetic fields up to around 1015 gauss, luminosities of approximately 1031-1036 ergs per second and rotation periods of about 0.3-12.0 s. Very energetic giant flares from galactic magnetars (peak luminosities of 1044-1047 ergs per second, lasting approximately 0.1 s) have been detected in hard X-rays and soft γ-rays4, and only one has been detected from outside our galaxy5. During such giant flares, quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) with low (less than 150 hertz) and high (greater than 500 hertz) frequencies have been observed6-9, but their statistical significance has been questioned10. High-frequency QPOs have been seen only during the tail phase of the flare9. Here we report the observation of two broad QPOs at approximately 2,132 hertz and 4,250 hertz in the main peak of a giant γ-ray flare11 in the direction of the NGC 253 galaxy12-17, disappearing after 3.5 milliseconds. The flare was detected on 15 April 2020 by the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor instrument18,19 aboard the International Space Station, which was the only instrument that recorded the main burst phase (0.8-3.2 milliseconds) in the full energy range (50 × 103 to 40 × 106 electronvolts) without suffering from saturation effects such as deadtime and pile-up. Along with sudden spectral variations, these extremely high-frequency oscillations in the burst peak are a crucial component that will aid our understanding of magnetar giant flares.

The study of the strongest solar event on a minimum of the 24th solar cycle

The strongest solar flares of the 24th solar cycle erupted on September 6, 2017, and it was the 8th strongest solar flare recorded since 1996. This extreme solar flare occurred at the minimum of the 24th solar cycle. The active region is located in the Western Hemisphere and produced the violent explosion of class X9.3 and X2.2 on September 6, X1.3 on September 7, and X8.2 on September 10, 2017. The injection duration of the solar energetic particles of the solar event was 17 minutes. All data for this solar event was collected from the Advanced Composition Explorer and simulated for particles’ motion using the transport equation and solved by the numerical technique. We obtained the injection time of the solar energetic particle propagation by comparing fitting between the simulation results and the spacecraft data. Injection time taken by high-energy particles to travel from the Sun to the Earth was found to be in the range of 39 to 743 minutes. At the peak of this solar flare, the coronal mass ejection was detected, which increased the injection time. The Kp-index of this solar flare was 4; thus, there was no effect on the Earth. The Kp-index value increased to 8 on September 7-8, 2017, due to another solar event from the same sunspot region, indicating the effect of solar flare and CME, which resulted in the appearance of aurora.

The Response of the D and E Regions of the Equatorial Ionosphere to Solar Flare Events

AbstractUsing measurements from a ground‐based magnetometer and an in‐house developed quasi‐two‐dimensional theoretical ionospheric model (QTD), the differential response of D and E regions of the equatorial ionosphere to the solar flare events which occurred on 20 February 2002 (M1.5 class), and 24 September 2011 (X1.9 class) has been investigated. The ground‐based magnetometer at Tirunelveli (8.71°N, 77.75°E, 2.9°S dip latitude) was used to monitor variations in the magnetic field (ΔH) during the two events. An abrupt increase in ΔH [positive Solar Flare Effect (SFE)] was noted during both the flare events, a signature of the prompt response to the flare. The ΔH, however, was seen to get weakened (reversed SFE) on 20 February 2002 at a time delay of about 10 min post flare peak. The weakening in ΔH happened during local noon (∼11:30 LT), a period when there was no sign of the counter electrojet (CEJ). The QTD model was used to simulate the ratio of field line integrated Hall to Pedersen conductivity and variations in the east–west currents during the flare events. Model simulations show differential response in the conductivity ratio at the D and E‐regions of the ionosphere during the period when the ionospheric current system was undergoing alternations manifesting as ΔH variations in the ground‐based magnetometer observations. We show that in addition to the changes in conductivity during a solar flare, the electric field variations also modulate ionospheric currents to produce differential footprints in ΔH as positive/negative SFE, SFE*, or reversed SFE.

Ionospheric Electrodynamic Response to Solar Flares in September 2017

AbstractsIn this work, the Thermosphere‐Ionosphere‐Electrodynamics General Circulation Model is used to investigate the responses of ionospheric electrodynamic processes to the solar flares at the flare peaks and the underlying physical mechanisms on September 6 and 10, 2017. Simulations show that solar flares increased global daytime currents and reduced the eastward electric fields during the daytime from the equator to middle latitudes. Furthermore, westward equatorial electric fields and equatorial counter electrojets occurred in the early morning. At the flare peak, these electrodynamic responses are predominantly related to the enhanced E‐region conductivity by flares, as the responses of neutral winds and F‐region conductivity to flares are negligible. Specifically, the Cowling conductance enhancement is not the major process causing the reduction of zonal electric fields. This electric field reduction is primarily associated with the decrease of the ratio between the field line‐integrated wind‐driven currents and the conductance. The flare‐induced conductivity enhancement is larger but the background wind speed is smaller in the E‐region than in the F‐region, as a result, the increase of total integrated wind‐driven currents is less than the conductance enhancement.

Solar Flare Effects on the Earth’s Lower Ionosphere

Solar flares significantly impact the conditions of the Earth's ionosphere. In particular, the sudden increase in X-ray flux during a flare penetrates down to the lowest-lying D-region and dominates ionization at these altitudes (60-100 km). Measurements of very low frequency (VLF: 3-30kHz) radio waves that reflect at D-region altitudes provide a unique remote-sensing probe to investigate the D-region response to solar flare emissions. Here, using a combination of VLF amplitude measurements at 24kHz together with X-ray observations from the Geostationary Operational Environment Satellite (GOES) X-ray sensor, we present a large-scale statistical study of 334 solar flare events and their impacts on the D-region over the past solar cycle. Focusing on both GOES broadband X-ray channels, we investigate how the flare peak fluxes and position on the solar disk dictate an ionospheric response and extend this to investigate the characteristic time delay between incident X-ray flux and the D-region response. We show that the VLF amplitude linearly correlates with both the 1-8 A and 0.5-4 A channels, with correlation coefficients of 0.80 and 0.79, respectively. Unlike higher altitude ionospheric regions for which the location of the flare on the solar disk affects the ionospheric response, we find that the D-region response to solar flares does not depend on the flare location. By comparing the time delays between the peak X-ray fluxes in both GOES channels and VLF amplitudes, we find that there is an important difference between the D-region response and the X-ray spectral band. We also demonstrate for several flare events that show a negative time delay, the peak VLF amplitude matches with the impulsive 25-50 keV hard X-ray fluxes measured by the Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI).

Non-thermal Electron Energization During the Impulsive Phase of an X9.3 Flare Revealed by Insight-HXMT

Abstract The X9.3 flare SOL20170906T11:55 was observed by the CsI detector aboard the first Chinese X-ray observatory Hard X-ray Modulation telescope (Insight-HXMT). Using the wavelets method, we report 22 s quasiperiodic pulsations during the impulsive phase. The spectra from 100 keV to 800 keV show the evolution with the gamma-ray flux of a power-law photon index from ∼1.8 before the peak, ∼2.0 around the flare peak, to ∼1.8 again. The gyrosynchrotron microwave spectral analysis reveals a 36.″6 ± 0.″6 radius gyrosynchrotron source with mean transverse magnetic field around 608.2 Gauss. The penetrated ≥10 keV non-thermal electron density is about 106.7 cm−3 at peak time. The magnetic field strength followed the evolution of high-frequency radio flux. Further gyrosynchrotron source modeling analysis implies that there exists a quite steady gyrosynchrotron source, and the non-thermal electron density and transverse magnetic field evolution are similar to higher-frequency light curves. The temporal spectral analysis reveals that those non-thermal electrons are accelerated by repeated magnetic reconnection, likely from a lower corona source.

Detection of a 20-min time lag observed from Sgr A* between 8 and 10 GHz with the VLA

ABSTRACT We report the detection and analysis of a radio flare observed on 17 April 2014 from Sgr A* at 9 GHz using the VLA in its A-array configuration. This is the first reported simultaneous radio observation of Sgr A* across 16 frequency windows between 8 and 10 GHz. We cross-correlate the lowest and highest spectral windows centred at 8.0 and 9.9 GHz, respectively, and find the 8.0 GHz light-curve lagging $18.37^{+2.17}_{-2.18}$ min behind the 9.9 GHz light curve. This is the first time lag found in Sgr A*’s light curve across a narrow radio frequency bandwidth. We separate the quiescent and flaring components of Sgr A* via flux offsets at each spectral window. The emission is consistent with an adiabatically expanding synchrotron plasma, which we fit to the light curves to characterize the two components. The flaring emission has an equipartition magnetic field strength of 2.2 Gauss, size of 14 Schwarzschild radii, average speed of 12 000 km s−1, and electron energy spectrum index (N(E) ∝ E−p), p = 0.18. The peak flare flux at 10 GHz is approximately 25 per cent of the quiescent emission. This flare is abnormal as the inferred magnetic field strength and size are typically about 10 Gauss and few Schwarzschild radii. The properties of this flare are consistent with a transient warm spot in the accretion flow at a distance of 10–100 Schwarzschild radii from Sgr A*. Our analysis allows for independent characterization of the variable and quiescent components, which is significant for studying temporal variations in these components.

Stratification of physical parameters in a C-class solar flare using multiline observations

We present high-resolution and multiline observations of a C2-class solar flare (SOL2019-05-06T08:47), which occurred in NOAA AR 12740 on May 6, 2019. The rise, peak, and decay phases of the flare were recorded continuously and quasi-simultaneously in the Ca II K line with the CHROMIS instrument and in the Ca II 8542 Å and Fe I 6173 Å lines with the CRISP instrument at the Swedish 1 m Solar Telescope. The observations in the chromospheric Ca II lines exhibit intense brightening near the flare footpoints. At these locations, a nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium inversion code was employed to infer the temperature, magnetic field, line-of-sight (LOS) velocity, and microturbulent velocity stratification in the flaring atmosphere. The temporal analysis of the inferred temperature at the flare footpoints shows that the flaring atmosphere from log τ500 ∼ −2.5 to −3.5 is heated up to 7 kK, whereas from log τ500 ∼ −3.5 to −5 the inferred temperature ranges between ∼7.5 kK and ∼11 kK. During the flare peak time, the LOS velocity shows both upflows and downflows around the flare footpoints in the upper chromosphere and lower chromosphere, respectively. Moreover, the temporal analysis of the LOS magnetic field at the flare points exhibits a maximum change of ∼600 G. After the flare, the LOS magnetic field decreases to the non-flaring value, exhibiting no permanent or step-wise change. The analysis of response functions to the temperature, LOS magnetic field, and velocity shows that the Ca II lines exhibit enhanced sensitivity to the deeper layers (i.e., log τ500 ∼ −3) of the flaring atmosphere, whereas for the non-flaring atmosphere they are mainly sensitive around log τ500 ∼ −4. We suggest that a fraction of the apparent increase in the LOS magnetic field at the flare footpoints may be due to the increase in the sensitivity of the Ca II 8542 Å line in the deeper layers, where the field strength is relatively strong. The rest may be due to magnetic field reconfiguration during the flare. In the photosphere, we do not notice significant changes in the physical parameters during the flare or non-flare times. Our observations illustrate that even a less intense C-class flare can heat the deeper layers of the solar chromosphere, mainly at the flare footpoints, without affecting the photosphere.

Observations of 12.2 GHz methanol masers towards northern high-mass protostellar objects

Context.Class II methanol masers at 6.7 and 12.2 GHz occur close to high-mass young stellar objects (HMYSOs). When they are observed simultaneously, such studies may contribute to refining the characterisation of local physical conditions.Aims.We aim to search for the 12.2 GHz methanol emission in 6.7 GHz methanol masers that might have gone undetected in previous surveys of northern sky HMYSOs, mainly due to their variability. Contemporaneous observations of both transitions are used to refine the flux density ratio and examine the physical parameters.Methods.We observed a sample of 153 sites of 6.7 GHz methanol maser emission in the 12.2 GHz methanol line with the Torun 32 m radio telescope, using the newly builtX-band receiver.Results.The 12.2 GHz methanol maser emission was detected in 36 HMYSOs, with 4 of them detected for the first time. The 6.7–12.2 GHz flux density ratio for spectral features of the contemporaneously observed sources has a median value of 5.1, which is in agreement with earlier reports. The ratio differs significantly among the sources and for the periodic source G107.298+5.639 specifically, the ratio is weakly recurrent from cycle to cycle, but it generally reaches a minimum around the flare peak. This is consistent with the stochastic maser process, where small variations in the physical parameters along the maser path can significantly affect the ratio. A comparison of our data with historical results (from about ten years ago) implies significant (>50%) variability for about 47 and 14% at 12.2 and 6.7 GHz, respectively. This difference can be explained via the standard model of methanol masers.

Ionospheric Sluggishness: A Characteristic Time‐Lag of the Ionospheric Response to Solar Flares

AbstractThe term “sluggishness” was coined by E. V. Appleton in the 1950s to describe the time delay between peak irradiance at solar noon and the resulting peak in ionospheric electron density. Sluggishness can be understood as an inertial property of the ionosphere that manifests as a lag of the ionospheric response to a solar driver. As shown by Appleton, estimates of sluggishness can be used to study the chemistry of the lower ionosphere, of the D‐region in particular. In this study, for the first time, we have examined ionospheric sluggishness in terms of the time delay between the peak irradiance during a solar flare and the resulting peak in ionospheric electron density using HF instruments. Estimates of the delay are obtained using HF observations from riometers and SuperDARN radars that are primarily sensitive to absorption in the D‐region. Two new methods for measuring delay are introduced. Sluggishness is shown to be anti‐correlated with peak solar X‐ray flux and positively correlated with zenith angle and latitude. The choices of instrument, method, and reference solar waveband affect the sluggishness estimation. A simulation study was performed to estimate the effective recombination coefficient in the D‐region. The coefficient was found to vary by orders of magnitude with peak flare intensity. We argue that the variation in effective recombination coefficient with peak flare intensity is highly sensitive to changes in the negative and positive ion chemistry of the D‐region, which is sensitive to the incoming solar X‐ray and EUV radiation.

A coupled model of the D and E regions of Mars' ionosphere for flare and non-flare electron density profiles

Solar X-ray flare responses in the E region of Mars' ionosphere were observed from Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) on 6 April 2001 and 17 March 2003. We have developed a coupled model for the calculation of Ionospheric Electron Content (IEC), flare and non-flare electron density profiles due to impact of X-rays (0.5–90 Å) and Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) in the D and E regions of Mars' ionosphere simultaneously. In the non-flare profile the D layer is produced at 25 km due to impact of GCR and hard X-rays (0.5–3 Å) with electron densities 1.0 × 102 cm−3 and 8 × 102 cm−3 respectively while E layer is produced at 100–110 km with electron density ~ 4–5 × 104 cm−3 due to impact of soft X-rays (3–90 Å). The D flare peak is produced at 30 km with electron density ~ 2–4 × 104 cm−3. The E flare peak is produced at 100 km with electron density 1–2 × 105 cm−3. The predicted flare E-peak density is higher by a factor of ~2 than the measurements carried out by MGS. The D peak density of flare profile is larger by 1–2 orders of magnitude than that produced for non-flare profiles. Our model suggests that hard X-ray is a major source of the D layer in the Martian ionosphere.

Comparison of physical conditions in two phases of the solar flare of July 19, 2000 of M6.4/3N class

We study the solar flare of July 19, 2000 of M6.4/3N class, which occurred in the active region NOAA 9087. Echelle Zeeman spectrograms of this flare were obtained with the horizontal solar telescope of the Astronomical Observatory of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Physical conditions were compared for two times corresponding to the pre-peak and peak phases of the flare in area of a small sunspot. It was found that the effective magnetic field $B$ eff by Fe I 6301.5 and Fe I 6302.5 lines was almost the same for both times and both spectral lines. However, $B$ eff in peak phase measured by the splitting of the emission peaks of Fe II and H $\upbeta $ lines turned out to be 300–500 G stronger than those by the above-mentioned Fe I lines, whereas by D3 He I line it was found to be close to zero. This may indicate a local magnetic field increase in height range from temperature minimum region to the lower chromosphere. A semi-empirical model of the photospheric layers of the flare, constructed on a base of observations of Fe I 5123.7 and Fe I 5434.5 lines by solving the inverse problem for non-equilibrium radiative transfer using Tikhonov stabilizers, shows the moderate increasing of temperature (∼300 K) in altitude range 250–500 km. The radial velocities were decreased during peak phase. The micro-turbulent velocity was increased in the photosphere layers before the flare peak, while during the peak phase it was significantly decreased. The obtained results indicate that in the pre-peak phase the altitude perturbations in the photosphere were larger than in the peak phase.

Solar Irradiance Variability Due to Solar Flares Observed in Lyman-Alpha Emission

As the Lyman-alpha (Lyupalpha ) line of neutral hydrogen is the brightest emission line in the solar spectrum, detecting increases in irradiance due to solar flares at this wavelength can be challenging due to the very high background. Previous studies that have focused on the largest flares have shown that even these extreme cases generate enhancements in Lyupalpha of only a few percent above the background. In this study, a superposed-epoch analysis was performed on ≈8500 flares greater than B1 class to determine the contribution that they make to changes in the solar EUV irradiance. Using the peak of the 1 – 8 Å X-ray emission as a fiducial time, the corresponding time series of 3123 B- and 4972 C-class flares observed in Lyupalpha emission by the EUV Sensor on the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 15 (GOES-15) were averaged to reduce background fluctuations and improve the flare signal. The summation of these weaker events showed that they produced a 0.1 – 0.3% enhancement to the solar Lyupalpha irradiance on average. For comparison, the same technique was applied to 453 M- and 31 X-class flares, which resulted in a 1 – 4% increase in Lyupalpha emission. Flares were also averaged with respect to their heliographic angle to investigate any potential center-to-limb variation. For each GOES class, the relative enhancement in Lyupalpha at the flare peak was found to diminish for flares that occurred closer to the solar limb due to the opacity of the line and/or foreshortening of the footpoints. One modest event included in the study, a C6.6 flare, exhibited an unusually high increase in Lyupalpha of 7% that may have been attributed to a failed filament eruption. Increases of this magnitude have hitherto only been associated with a small number of X-class flares.

The RS CVn–type Star GT Mus Shows Most Energetic X-Ray Flares Throughout the 2010s

Abstract We report that the RS CVn–type star GT Mus (HR 4492, HD 101379+HD 101380) was the most active star in the X-ray sky in the last decade in terms of the scale of recurrent energetic flares. We detected 11 flares from GT Mus in 8 yr of observations with the Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) from 2009 August to 2017 August. The detected flare peak luminosities were 1–4 × 1033 erg s−1 in the 2.0–20.0 keV band for its distance of 109.6 pc. Our timing analysis showed long durations (τ r + τ d) of 2–6 days with long decay times (τ d) of 1–4 days. The released energies during the decay phases of the flares in the 0.1–100 keV band were in the range of 1–11 × 1038 erg, which are at the upper end of the observed stellar flare. The released energies during the whole duration were in the range of 2–13 × 1038 erg in the same band. We carried out X-ray follow-up observations for one of the 11 flares with the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) on 2017 July 18 and found that the flare cooled quasi-statically. On the basis of a quasi-static cooling model, the flare loop length is derived to be 4 × 1012 cm (or 60 R ☉). The electron density is derived to be 1 × 1010 cm−3, which is consistent with the typical value of solar and stellar flares (1010–13 cm−3). The ratio of the cooling timescales between radiative (τ rad) and conductive (τ cond) cooling is estimated to be τ rad ∼ 0.1 τ cond from the temperature; thus, radiative cooling was dominant in this flare.

Multiwavelength flare observations of the blazar S5 1803+784

ABSTRACTThe radio, optical, and γ-ray light curves of the blazar S5 1803+784, from the beginning of the Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) mission in 2008 August–2018 December, are presented. The aim of this work is to look for correlations among different wavelengths useful for further theoretical studies. We analysed all the data collected by Fermi-LAT for this source, taking into account the presence of nearby sources, and we collected optical data from our own observations and public archive data to build the most complete optical and γ-ray light curve possible. Several γ-ray flares (F > 2.3 10−7ph(E > 0.1 GeV) cm−2 s−1) with optical coverage were detected, all but one with corresponding optical enhancement; we also found two optical flares without a γ-ray counterpart. We obtained two Swift Target of Opportunity observations during the strong flare of 2015. Radio observations performed with VLBA and EVN through our proposals in the years 2016–2020 were analysed to search for morphological changes after the major flares. The optical/γ-ray flux ratio at the flare peak varied for each flare. Very minor optical V − I colour changes were detected during the flares. The X-ray spectrum was well fitted by a power law with photon spectral index α = 1.5, nearly independent of the flux level: No clear correlation with the optical or the γ-ray emission was found. The γ-ray spectral shape was well fitted by a power law with average photon index α = 2.2. These findings support an inverse-Compton origin for the high-energy emission of the source, nearly co-spatial with the optically emitting region. The radio maps showed two new components originating from the core and moving outwards, with ejection epochs compatible with the dates of the two largest γ-ray flares.

Statistical and Observational Research on Solar Flare EUV Spectra and Geometrical Features

Abstract We performed statistical analysis on the flare emission data to examine parameters related to the flare extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) spectra. This study used the data from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite X-ray Sensors to determine the fundamental flare parameters. The relationship between soft X-ray data and EUV emission data observed by the Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) MEGS-A was investigated for 50 events. The results showed the hotter Fe line emissions have strong correlation with soft X-ray data in many cases. However, our statistical study revealed that EUV flare peak flux of Fe xv, Fe xvi and He ii lines have weak correlation with soft X-ray peak flux. In EUV line light curves, there was time difference in peak time, however the tendency to reach the peak in order from the hotter line to cooler line was not so clear. These results indicate that the temporal evolution of EUV emission can be roughly explained by soft X-ray data. However, the time changes of temperature and density distributions in the flare loop must be needed for accurate reproduction. Moreover, we compared the geometrical features of solar flares observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on board the SDO with the fundamental flare parameters for 32 events. The ribbon distance strongly correlated with both soft X-ray flare rise and decay times. This results indicate that the geometrical feature is essential parameter for predicting flare emission duration.

The flaring X-ray corona in the quasar PDS 456

ABSTRACT New Swift monitoring observations of the variable, radio-quiet quasar, PDS 456, are presented. A bright X-ray flare was captured in 2018 September, the flux increasing by a factor of 4 and with a doubling time-scale of 2 d. From the light crossing argument, the coronal size is inferred to be ≲30 gravitational radii for a black hole mass of 109 M⊙ and the total flare energy exceeds 1051 erg. A hardening of the X-ray emission accompanied the flare, with the photon index decreasing from Γ = 2.2 to Γ = 1.7 and back again. The flare is produced in the X-ray corona, the lack of any optical or UV variability being consistent with a constant accretion rate. Simultaneous XMM–Newton and NuSTAR observations were performed, 1–3 d after the flare peak and during the decline phase. These caught PDS 456 in a bright, bare state, where no disc wind absorption features are apparent. The hard X-ray spectrum shows a high energy roll-over, with an e-folding energy of $E_{\rm fold}=51^{+11}_{-8}$ keV. The deduced coronal temperature, of kT = 13 keV, is one of the coolest measured in any AGN and PDS 456 lies well below the predicted pair annihilation line in X-ray corona. The spectral variability, becoming softer when fainter following the flare, is consistent with models of cooling X-ray coronae. Alternatively, an increase in a non-thermal component could contribute towards the hard X-ray flare spectrum.

The 2017 September 6 Flare: Radio Bursts and Pulsations in the 22–5000 MHz Range and Associated Phenomena

Abstract For the 2017 September 6 flare (SOL2017-Sep-06T11:53) we present not only unusual radio bursts but also their interesting time association with the other flare phenomena observed in extreme ultraviolet (EUV), white-light, X-ray, and γ-ray emissions. Using our new method based on wavelets we found quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs) in several locations of the whole time–frequency domain of the analyzed radio spectrum (11:55–12:07 UT and 22–5000 MHz). Among them the drifting QPPs are new and the most interesting, especially a bidirectional QPP at the time of the hard X-ray and γ-ray peaks and a sunquake start. In the pre-impulsive phase we show an unusual drifting pulsation structure (DPS) in association with the EUV brightenings caused by the interaction of magnetic ropes. In the flare impulsive phase we found an exceptional radio burst drifting from 5000 to 800 MHz. In connection with this drifting burst, we show a U burst at about the onset time of an EUV writhed structure and a drifting radio burst as a signature of a shock wave at high frequencies (1050–1350 MHz). In the peak flare phase we found an indication of an additional energy-release process located at higher altitudes in the solar atmosphere. These phenomena are interpreted considering a rising magnetic rope, magnetosonic waves, and particle beams. Using a density model we estimated the density, wave velocities, and source heights for the bidirectionally drifting QPPs, the density for the pre-impulsive DPS and U burst, and the density and magnetic field strength for the drifting radio burst.

The Role of Peak Temperatures in Solar X-Ray Flare Associations with CME Speeds and Widths and in Flare Size Distributions

Abstract Recently, we reported that solar X-ray flares with relatively low peak (0.05–0.3 nm)/(0.1–0.8 nm) ratios R, a proxy for peak flare temperature T, were preferentially associated not only with solar energetic (E > 10 MeV) particle (SEP) events, but also with fast (V cme ≥ 1000 km s−1) coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that produce the SEP events. Flares associated with a characteristic CME speed V cme range from small and cool to large and hot, and cooler X-ray flares were preferentially associated with broader CME widths. Here we increase the list of analyzed Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite flares from the previous 450 to 588 and validate the earlier results with flare peak X-ray temperatures T from the TEBBS (Temperature and Emission measure-based Background Subtraction) method catalog. Power-law size distributions of flare peak fluxes F p are increasingly steeper for X-ray flares with (1) fast (V cme ≥ 1000 km s−1); (2) slow (V cme < 1000 km s−1); and (3) no CMEs; in each case flares of larger F p are characteristically hotter. The power-law size distribution of SEP event peak intensities I p is flatter than any of the X-ray F p distributions or a distribution formed from the product of the steep SEP I p dependence on V cme and the V cme number distributions.

Information Theoretical Approach to Understanding Flare Waiting Times

Abstract There is not currently a consensus on the process responsible for producing the waiting time distribution of solar flares. This study presents an information theoretical approach to determining whether solar flare data are significantly distinguishable from a nonstationary Poisson process. A study of solar flares stronger than C1 class detected by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite from 1975 to 2017 was performed. A sequence of waiting times (time elapsed between adjacent X-ray flare peaks) was constructed from the data. Surrogate waiting time sequences were produced using a time-varying Poisson firing rate from the Bayesian block procedure. Utilizing Shannon entropy, the mutual information of time-lagged waiting time distributions was computed for both the original data and the surrogates using a method of discretization by binning. When the entire period is considered, we see that when compared to carefully constructed surrogates, there is a significant elevation of mutual information on a timescale of approximately 30 hr, demonstrating that flares are confidently related to subsequent flares, contradicting the null hypothesis that flares are produced by a nonstationary Poisson process. When only 4 yr subsets of the data are considered, we see that at relatively small timescales (on the order of 10–30 hr), solar flare waiting times have a significant impact on subsequent flares. When corrected for the number of points in each considered time window, there is no correlation between the magnitude of significance and position in the solar cycle.