Ryan O. Milligan

THE RADIATED ENERGY BUDGET OF CHROMOSPHERIC PLASMA IN A MAJOR SOLAR FLARE DEDUCED FROM MULTI-WAVELENGTH OBSERVATIONS

This paper presents measurements of the energy radiated by the lower solar atmosphere, at optical, UV, and EUV wavelengths, during an X-class solar flare (SOL2011-02-15T01:56) in response to an injection of energy assumed to be in the form of nonthermal electrons. Hard X-ray observations from RHESSI were used to track the evolution of the parameters of the nonthermal electron distribution to reveal the total power contained in flare accelerated electrons. By integrating over the duration of the impulsive phase, the total energy contained in the nonthermal electrons was found to be >2 × 10{sup 31} erg. The response of the lower solar atmosphere was measured in the free-bound EUV continua of H I (Lyman), He I, and He II, plus the emission lines of He II at 304 A and H I (Lyα) at 1216 A by SDO/EVE, the UV continua at 1600 A and 1700 A by SDO/AIA, and the white light continuum at 4504 A, 5550 A, and 6684 A, along with the Ca II H line at 3968 A using Hinode/SOT. The summed energy detected by these instruments amounted to ∼3 × 10{sup 30} erg; about 15% of the total nonthermal energy. The Lyα line was foundmorexa0» to dominate the measured radiative losses. Parameters of both the driving electron distribution and the resulting chromospheric response are presented in detail to encourage the numerical modeling of flare heating for this event, to determine the depth of the solar atmosphere at which these line and continuum processes originate, and the mechanism(s) responsible for their generation.«xa0less

Extreme Ultra-Violet Spectroscopy of the Lower Solar Atmosphere During Solar Flares (Invited Review)

The extreme ultra-violet (EUV) portion of the solar spectrum contains a wealth of diagnostic tools for probing the lower solar atmosphere in response to an injection of energy, particularly during the impulsive phase of solar flares. These include temperature- and density-sensitive line ratios, Doppler-shifted emission lines, nonthermal broadening, abundance measurements, differential emission measure profiles, continuum temperatures and energetics, among others. In this article I review some of the recent advances that have been made using these techniques to infer physical properties of heated plasma at footpoint and ribbon locations during the initial stages of solar flares. I primarily focus on studies that have utilised spectroscopic EUV data from Hinode/EUV Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) and Solar Dynamics Observatory/EUV Variability Experiment (SDO/EVE), and I also provide some historical background and a summary of future spectroscopic instrumentation.

Radiative hydrodynamic modelling and observations of the X-class solar flare on 2011 March 9

We investigated the response of the solar atmosphere to non-thermal electron beam heating using the radiative transfer and hydrodynamics modelling code RADYN. The temporal evolution of the parameters that describe the non-thermal electron energy distribution were derived from hard X-ray observations of a particular flare, and we compared the modelled and observed parameters. The evolution of the non-thermal electron beam parameters during the X1.5 solar flare on 2011 March 9 were obtained from analysis of RHESSI X-ray spectra. The RADYN flare model was allowed to evolve for 110 seconds, after which the electron beam heating was ended, and was then allowed to continue evolving for a further 300s. The modelled flare parameters were compared to the observed parameters determined from extreme-ultraviolet spectroscopy. The model produced a hotter and denser flare loop than that observed and also cooled more rapidly, suggesting that additional energy input in the decay phase of the flare is required. In the explosive evaporation phase a region of high-density cool material propagated upward through the corona. This material underwent a rapid increase in temperature as it was unable to radiate away all of the energy deposited across it by the non-thermal electron beam and via thermal conduction. A narrow and high-density (

Anomalous temporal behaviour of broadband Lyα observations during solar flares from SDO/EVE

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Detection of three-minute oscillations in full-disk Lyα emission during a solar flare

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Reproducing Type II White-light Solar Flare Observations with Electron and Proton Beam Simulations

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A Si iv/O iv electron density diagnostic for the analysis of IRIS solar spectra

) region at the base of the flare transition region was the source of optical line emission in the model atmosphere. The collision-stopping depth of electrons was calculated throughout the evolution of the flare, and it was found that the compression of the lower atmosphere may permit electrons to penetrate farther into a flaring atmosphere compared to a quiet Sun atmosphere.

On the performance of multi-instrument solar flare observations during Solar Cycle 24

Despite being the most prominent emission line in the solar spectrum, there has been a notable lack of studies devoted to variations in Lyemission during solar flares in recent years. However, the few examples that do exist have shown Lyemission to be a substantial radiator of the total energy budget of solar flares (on the order of 10%). It is also a known driver of fluctuations in earths ionosphere. The EUV Variability Experiment (EVE) onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory now provides broadband, photometric Lydata at 10 s cadence with its Multiple EUV Grating Spectrograph-Photometer (MEGS-P) component, and has observed scores of solar flares in the 5 years since it was launched. However, the MEGS-P time profiles appear to display a rise time of tens of minutes around the time of the flare onset. This is in stark contrast to the rapid, impulsive increase observed in other intrinsically chromospheric features (H�, Ly�, LyC, C III, etc.). Furthermore, the emission detected by MEGS-P peaks around the time of the peak of thermal soft X-ray emission, rather than during the impulsive phase when energy deposition in the chromosphere - often assumed to be in the form of nonthermal electrons - is greatest. The time derivative of Lylightcurves also appears to resemble that of the time derivative of soft X- rays, reminiscent of the Neupert Effect. Given that spectrally-resolved Lyobservations during flares from SORCE/SOLSTICE peak during the impulsive phase as expected, this suggests that the atypical behaviour of MEGS-P data is a manifestation of the broadband nature of the observations. This could imply that other lines and/or continuum emission that becomes enhanced during flares could be contributing to the passband. Users are hereby urged to exercise caution when interpreting broadband Lyobservations of solar flares. Comparisons have also been made with other broadband Lyphotometers such as PROBA2/LYRA and GOES/EUVS-E.

Suppression of Hydrogen Emission in an X-Class White-Light Solar Flare

In this Letter we report the detection of chromospheric 3-minute oscillations in disk-integrated EUV irradiance observations during a solar flare. A wavelet analysis of detrended Lyα (from GOES/EUVS) and Lyman continuum (from Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)/EVE) emission from the 2011 February 15 X-class flare (SOL2011-02-15T01:56) revealed a ~3 minute period present during the flares main phase. The formation temperature of this emission locates this radiation at the flares chromospheric footpoints, and similar behavior is found in the SDO/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly 1600 and 1700 A channels, which are dominated by chromospheric continuum. The implication is that the chromosphere responds dynamically at its acoustic cutoff frequency to an impulsive injection of energy. Since the 3-minute period was not found at hard X-ray (HXR) energies (50–100 keV) in Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager data we can state that this 3-minute oscillation does not depend on the rate of energization of non-thermal electrons. However, a second period of 120 s found in both HXR and chromospheric lightcurves is consistent with episodic electron energization on 2-minute timescales. Our finding on the 3-minute oscillation suggests that chromospheric mechanical energy should be included in the flare energy budget, and the fluctuations in the Lyα line may influence the composition and dynamics of planetary atmospheres during periods of high activity.

An assessment of Fe XX-Fe XXII emission lines in SDO/EVE data as diagnostics for high-density solar flare plasmas using EUVE stellar observations

We investigate the cause of the suppressed Balmer series and the origin of the white-light continuum emission in the X1.0 class solar flare on 2014 June 11. We use radiative hydrodynamic simulations to model the response of the flaring atmosphere to both electron and proton beams which are energetically constrained using RHESSI and Fermi observations. A comparison of synthetic spectra with the observations allow us to narrow the range of beam fluxes and low energy cut-off that may be applicable to this event. We conclude that the electron and proton beams that can reproduce the observed spectral features are those that have relatively low fluxes and high values for the low energy cut-off. While electron beams shift the upper chromosphere and transition region to greater geometrical heights, proton beams with a similar flux leave these areas of the atmosphere relatively undisturbed. It is easier for proton beams to penetrate to the deeper layers and not deposit their energy in the upper chromosphere where the Balmer lines are formed. The relatively weak particle beams that are applicable to this flare do not cause a significant shift of the