The evolution of photospheric flow and magnetic fields before and after flares can provide important information regarding the flare triggering and back reaction processes. However, such studies on the flow field are rare due to the paucity of high-resolution observations covering the entire flaring period. Here we study the structural evolution of penumbra and shear flows associated with the 2015 June 22 M6.5 flare in NOAA AR 12371, using high-resolution imaging observation in the TiO band taken by the 1.6~m Goode Solar Telescope at Big Bear Solar Observatory, with the aid of the differential affine velocity estimator method for flow tracking. The accompanied photospheric vector magnetic field changes are also analyzed using data from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager. As a result, we found, for a penumbral segment in the negative field adjacent to the magnetic polarity inversion line (PIL), an enhancement of penumbral flows (up to an unusually high value of \sm2~\kms) and extension of penumbral fibrils after the first peak of the flare hard X-ray (HXR) emission. We also found an area at the PIL, which is co-spatial with a precursor brightening kernel, exhibits a gradual increase of shear flow velocity (up to \sm0.9~\kms) after the flare. The enhancing penumbral and shear flow regions are also accompanied by an increase of horizontal field and decrease of magnetic inclination angle(measured from the solar surface). These results are discussed in the context of the theory of back reaction of coronal restructuring on the photosphere as a result of flare energy release.
Flares produce sudden and permanent changes in the horizontal photospheric magnetic field. In particular flares generally produce increased magnetic shear in the photospheric field along the neutral line. Recent observations show also that flares can produce sudden photospheric motion. We present a model for the observed changes as the response of the photosphere to a large-amplitude shear Alfvén wave propagating down from the corona on either side of the neutral line. The Alfvénic front is assumed to impact the photosphere close to the neutral line first, and then successively further away wi…
The X9.3 flare of September 6, 2017, was the most powerful flare of Solar Cycle 24. It generated strong white-light emission and multiple helioseismic waves (sunquakes). By using data from Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) as well as hard X-ray data from KONUS instrument onboard WIND spacecraft, and Anti-Coincidence System (ACS) onboard the INTERGRAL space observatory, we investigate spatio-temporal dynamics of photospheric emission sources, identify sources of helioseismic waves and compare the flare photospheric dynamics with the hard X-ray (…
We present radiative hydrodynamic simulations of solar flares generated by the RADYN and RH codes to study the perturbations induced in photospheric Fe I lines by electron beam heating. We investigate how variations in the beam parameters result in discernible differences in the induced photospheric velocities. Line synthesis revealed a significant chromospheric contribution to the line profiles resulting in an apparent red asymmetry by as much as 40 m/s close to the time of maximum beam heating which was not reflective of the upflow velocities that arose from the radiative hydrodynamic simula…
It is shown that expressions for the global Lorentz force associated with a flaring active region derived by Fisher {\it et al.} (2012) can be used to estimate the Lorentz force changes for strong fields in large structures over photospheric subdomains within active regions. Gary's~(2001) model for the stratified solar atmosphere is used to demonstrate that in large-scale structures with typical horizontal magnetic length scale $\gg 300$~km and with strong magnetic fields ($\ge 1$~kG at the $τ=1$ opacity layer at 5000~Å), the Lorentz force acting on the photosphere may be approximated by a sur…
The X-class solar flare of October 23, 2012, generated continuum photospheric emission and a strong helioseismic wave ("sunquake") that points to an intensive energy release in the dense part of the solar atmosphere. We study properties of the energy release with high temporal and spatial resolutions, using photospheric data from the Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI) onboard Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), and hard X-ray observations made by the Ramaty High-Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI). For this analysis we use level-1 HMI data (filtergrams), obtained by scanning the Fe I line…
The structure of the photospheric magnetic field during solar flares is examined using echelle spectropolarimetric observations. The study is based on several Fe I and Cr I lines observed at locations corresponding to brightest H$α$ emission during thermal phase of flares. The analysis is performed by comparing magnetic field values deduced from lines with different magnetic sensitivities, as well as by examining the fine structure of $I\pm V$ Stokes profiles splitting. It is shown that the field has at least two components, with stronger unresolved flux tubes embedded in weaker ambient field.…
This work is a continuation of Paper I [Sharykin et al., 2018] devoted to analysis of nonthermal electron dynamics and plasma heating in the confined M1.2 class solar flare SOL2015-03-15T22:43 revealing energy release in the highly sheared interacting magnetic loops in the low corona, above the polarity inversion line (PIL). The scope of the present work is to make the first extensive quantitative analysis of the photospheric magnetic field and photospheric vertical electric current (PVEC) dynamics in the confined flare region near the PIL using new vector magnetograms obtained with the Helios…
The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager provides 45 s cadence intensity images and 720 s cadence vector magnetograms. These unprecedented high-cadence and high-resolution data give us a unique opportunity to study the change of photospheric flows and sunspot rotations associated with flares. By using the differential affine velocity estimator method and the Fourier local correlation tracking method separately, we calculate velocity and vorticity of photospheric flows in the flaring NOAA AR 11158, and investigate their temporal evolution around the X2.2 flare on 2011 February 15. It is found that …
We analyze the spatial and temporal variations of the abrupt photospheric magnetic changes associated with six major flares using 12-minute, 0.5-arcsec vector magnetograms from NASA's Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager instrument (HMI) on the Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite. The six major flares occurred near the main magnetic neutral lines of four active regions, NOAA 11158, 11166, 11283 and 11429. During all six flares the neutral line field vectors became stronger and more horizontal, in each case almost entirely due to strengthening of the horizontal field components parallel to the neu…
The photospheric response to solar flares, also known as coronal back reaction, is often observed as sudden flare-induced changes in vector magnetic field and sunspot motions. However, it remains obscure whether evolving flare ribbons, the flare signature closest to the photosphere, are accompanied by changes in vector magnetic field therein. Here we explore the relationship between the dynamics of flare ribbons in the chromosphere and variations of magnetic fields in the underlying photosphere, using high-resolution off-band H-alpha images and near-infrared vector magnetograms of the M6.5 fla…
The solar active region NOAA 11719 produced a large two-ribbon flare on 11 April 2013. We have investigated the sudden variations in the photospheric magnetic fields in this active region during the flare employing the magnetograms obtained in the spectral line Fe I 6173 Angstrom by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) onboard Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). The analysis of the line-of-sight magnetograms from HMI show sudden and persistent magnetic field changes at different locations of the active region before the onset of the flare and during the flare. The vector magnetic field obs…
Solar active regions (ARs) that produce major flares typically exhibit strong plasma shear flows around photospheric magnetic polarity inversion lines (MPILs). It is therefore important to quantitatively measure such photospheric shear flows in ARs for a better understanding of their relation to flare occurrence. Photospheric flow fields were determined by applying the Differential Affine Velocity Estimator for Vector Magnetograms (DAVE4VM) method to a large data set of 2,548 co-aligned pairs of AR vector magnetograms with 12-min separation over the period 2012-2016. From each AR flow-field ma…
This letter reports on a set of full-Stokes spectropolarimetric observations in the near infrared He I 10830 A spectral region covering the pre-, flare, and post-flare phases of an M3.2 class solar flare. The flare originated on 2013 May 17 and belonged to active region NOAA 11748. We detected strong He I 10830 A emission in the flare. The red component of the He I triplet peaks at an intensity ratio to the continuum of about 1.86. During the flare, He I Stokes V is substantially larger and appears reversed compared to the usually larger Si I Stokes V profile. The photospheric Si I inversions …
We developed a {\sl coronal non-linear force-free field (COR-NLFFF)} forward-fitting code that fits an approximate {\sl non-linear force-free field (NLFFF)} solution to the observed geometry of automatically traced coronal loops. In contrast to photospheric NLFFF codes, which calculate a magnetic field solution from the constraints of the transverse photospheric field, this new code uses coronal constraints instead, and this way provides important information on systematic errors of each magnetic field calculation method, as well as on the non-forcefreeness in the lower chromosphere. In this s…
A solar active region (AR) that produces at least one M- or X-class major flare tends to produce multiple flares during its passage across the solar disk. It will be interesting if we can estimate how flare-productive a given major flaring AR is for a time interval of several days, by investigating time series of its photospheric magnetic field properties. For this, we studied 93 major flaring ARs observed from 2010 to 2016 by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). More specifically, for each AR under study, the mean and fluctuation were calcu…
We present an analysis of the plasma parameters during the initial phase of the 12 June 2010 flare (SOL2010-06-12T00:57). A peculiarity of the flare was the detection of $γ$--emission that is unusual for such weak and short event. The analysis revealed the presence of a flare precursor detected about 5 minutes before the flare onset in 94 Å\ images which spatially coincided with the non-polarized microwave (MW) source at 17 GHz (\textit{the Nobeyama Radio Heliograph}) that is the Neutral Line associated Source (NLS). A comparison of the results obtained from MW data by \textit{the Nobeyama Rad…
The ratio of the Fe abundance in the photosphere to that in coronal flare plasmas is determined by X-ray lines within the complex at 6.7~keV (1.9~Å) emitted during flares. The line complex includes the He-like Fe (\fexxv) resonance line $w$ (6.70~keV) and Fe K$α$ lines (6.39, 6.40~keV), the latter being primarily formed by the fluorescence of photospheric material by X-rays from the hot flare plasma. The ratio of the Fe K$α$ lines to the \fexxv\ $w$ depends on the ratio of the photospheric-to-flare Fe abundance, heliocentric angle $θ$ of the flare, and the temperature $T_e$ of the flaring plas…
Sequences of line-of-sight (LOS) magnetograms recorded by the Michelson-Doppler Imager are used to quantitatively characterize photospheric magnetic structure and evolution in three active regions that rotated across the Sun's disk during the Whole Heliosphere Interval (WHI), in an attempt to relate the photospheric magnetic properties of these active regions to flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Several approaches are used in our analysis, on scales ranging from whole active regions, to magnetic features, to supergranular scales, and, finally, to individual pixels. We calculated severa…
Photospheric magnetic field not only plays important roles in building up free energy and triggering solar eruptions, but also has been observed to change rapidly and permanently responding to the coronal magnetic field restructuring due to coronal transients. The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager instrument (HMI) on board the newly launched Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) produces seeing-free full-disk vector magnetograms at consistently high resolution and high cadence, which finally makes possible an unambiguous and comprehensive study of this important back-reaction process. In this study,…
Based on several magnetic nonpotentiality parameters obtained from the vector photospheric active region magnetograms obtained with the Solar Magnetic Field Telescope at the Huairou Solar Observing Station over two solar cycles, a machine learning model has been constructed to predict the occurrence of flares in the corresponding active region within a certain time window. The Support Vector Classifier, a widely used general classifier, is applied to build and test the prediction models. Several classical verification measures are adopted to assess the quality of the predictions. We investigat…
From vector measurements of the photospheric magnetic field with the SDO/HMI instrument, we studied the field variations within the 2011 June 7 eruptive event related to the filament eruption (FE), flare, and coronal mass ejection (CME). We analyzed the variations in modulus (B), in radial (Br) and transversal (Bt) magnetic induction components, as well as in the field line inclination angle (α) to the radial direction from the Sun center were. The conclusion is that the most probable cause for the FE onset being the trigger related to the flares and CME, as well as for Stage 1 of the filament…
We examine the characteristic properties of photospheric p-modes and sub-photospheric flows of active regions (ARs) observed during the period of 26-31 October 2003. Using ring diagram analysis of Doppler velocity data obtained from the Global Oscillations Network Group (GONG), we have found that p-mode parameters evolve with ARs and show a strong association with flare activity. Sub-photospheric flows, derived using inversions of p-modes, show strong twist at the locations of ARs, and large variation with flare activity.
In this study, we present geometrical and kinematical analysis of Moreton wave observed in 2012 June 3rd and July 6th, recorded in H-$α$ images of Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) archive. These large-scale waves exhibit different features compared to each other. The observed wave of June 3rd has angular span of about $70^{\circ}$ with a diffuse wave front associated to NOAA active region 11496. It was found that the speed of the wave that started propagating at 17.53 UT is about $931\pm80$ km/s. The broadness nature of this Moreton wave can be interpreted as the vertical extension of t…
It is well known that the long-term evolution of the photospheric magnetic field plays an important role in building up free energy to power solar eruptions. Observations, despite being controversial, have also revealed a rapid and permanent variation of the photospheric magnetic field in response to the coronal magnetic field restructuring during the eruption. The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager instrument (HMI) on board the newly launched Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) produces seeing-free full-disk vector magnetograms at consistently high resolution and high cadence, which finally makes …
Time series of photospheric magnetic parameters of solar active regions (ARs) are used to answer whether scaling properties of fluctuations embedded in such time series help to distinguish between flare-quiet and flaring ARs. We examine a total of 118 flare-quiet and 118 flaring AR patches (called HARPs), which were observed from 2010 to 2016 by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). Specifically, the scaling exponent of fluctuations is derived applying the Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) method to a dataset of 8-day time series of 18 pho…
Solar flares abruptly release the free energy stored as a non-potential magnetic field in the corona and may be accompanied by eruptions of the coronal plasma. Formation of a non-potential magnetic field and the mechanisms for triggering the onset of flares are still poorly understood. In particular, photospheric dynamics observed near those polarity inversion lines that are sites of major flare production have not been well observed with high spatial resolution spectro-polarimetry. This paper reports on a remarkable high-speed material flow observed along the polarity inversion line located b…
Abrupt and permanent changes of photospheric magnetic fields have been observed during solar flares. The changes seem to be linked to the reconfiguration of magnetic fields, but their origin is still unclear. We carried out a statistical analysis of permanent line-of-sight magnetic field ($B_{\rm LOS}$) changes during 18 X-, 37 M-, 19 C- and 1 B-class flares using data from Solar Dynamics Observatory/Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager. We investigated the properties of permanent changes, such as frequency, areas, and locations. We detected changes of $B_{\rm LOS}$ in 59/75 flares. We find that s…
Where does solar flare energy come from? More specifically, assuming that the ultimate source of flare energy is mechanical energy in the convection zone, how is this translated into energy dissipated or stored in the corona? This question appears to have been given relatively little thought, as attention has been focussed predominantly on mechanisms for the rapid dissipation of coronal magnetic energy by way of MHD instabilities and plasma micro instabilities. We consider three types of flare theory: the steady state "photospheric dynamo" model in which flare power represents coronal dissipat…
We present geometrical and kinematical analysis of Moreton waves and EIT waves observed on June 3, 2012 and Moreton waves observed on July 6, 2012. The Moreton waves were recorded in H$α$ images of Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) archive and EIT waves obtained from SDO/AIA observations, especially in 193 nm channel. The observed wave of June 3 has angular span of about $70^{\circ}$ with a broad wave front associated to NOAA active region 11496. It was found that the speed of the wave that started propagating at 17.53 UT is between 950 to 1500 km/s. Related to this wave occurrence, ther…
We present a combined analysis of the applications of the weighted horizontal magnetic gradient (denoted as WG_M in Korsos et al., ApJ, 802, L21, 2015) method and the magnetic helicity tool (Berger & Field, JFM, 147, 133, 1984) employed for three active regions (ARs), namely NOAA AR11261, AR11283 and AR11429. All three active regions produced series flares and CMEs. We followed the evolution of the components of the WG_M and the magnetic helicity before the flare and CME occurrences. We found an unique and mutually shared behavior, called the U-shaped pattern, of the weighted distance componen…
As one of the most violent eruptions on the Sun, flares are believed to be powered by magnetic reconnection. The fundamental physics involving the release, transfer and deposition of energy have been studied extensively. Taking advantage of the unprecedented resolution provided by the 1.6-m Goode Solar Telescope, here we show a sudden rotation of vector magnetic fields, about 12$^{\circ}$-20$^{\circ}$ counterclockwise, associated with a flare. Unlike the permanent changes reported previously, the azimuth-angle change is transient and co-spatial/temporal with H$α$ emission. The measured azimuth…
We study photospheric and sub-photospheric properties of active and quiet regions observed during 11-17 February 2011 including the first X-class flare X2.2 of the solar cycle 24 which occurred in the active region NOAA 11158 on 15 February 2011. The p-mode parameters and sub-photospheric flows are computed from the ring-diagrams and inversions. We found larger frequency shifts in active regions than quiet regions. The active region NOAA 11158 shows stronger twisted sub-photospheric flows than dormant active regions. The kinetic helicity density of sub-photospheric flows of the active region N…
The relationship between X-ray and UV emission during flares, particularly in the context of quasi-periodic pulsations, remains unclear. To address this, we study the impulsive X-ray and UV emission during the eruptive flare of 2011 June 7 utilising X-ray imaging from RHESSI and UV 1700A imaging from SDO/AIA. This event is associated with quasi-periodic pulsations in X-ray and possibly UV emission, as well as substantial parallel and perpendicular motion of the hard X-ray footpoints. The motion of the footpoints parallel to the flare ribbons is unusual; it is shown to reverse direction on at l…
There are still debates whether particle acceleration in solar flares may occur due to interruption of electric currents flowing along magnetic loops. To contribute to this problem, we performed the first statistical study of relationships between flare hard X-ray (HXR; $50-100$ keV) sources observed by the \textit{Ramaty High-Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager} (RHESSI) and photospheric vertical electric currents (PVECs, $j_{r}$) calculated using vector magnetograms obtained with the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on-board the \textit{Solar Dynamics Observatory} (SDO). A sample of 48 f…
We present multi-wavelength observations of an M-class flare (M3.9) that occurred on 2014 June 11. Our observations were conducted with the Dunn Solar Telescope (DST), adaptive optics, the multi-camera system ROSA (Rapid Oscillations in Solar Atmosphere) and new HARDcam (Hydrogen-Alpha Rapid Dynamics) camera in various wavelengths, such as Ca~II~K, Mg~I~b$_2$ (at 5172.7 Ang), and H$α$ narrow-band, and G-band continuum filters. Images were re-constructed using the Kiepencheuer-Institut Speckle Interferometry Package (KISIP) code, to improve our image resolution. We observed intensity increases …
Aims: Changes of the magnetic field and the line-of-sight velocities in the photosphere are being reported for an M-class flare that originated at a $δ$-spot belonging to active region NOAA 11865. Methods: High-resolution ground-based near-infrared spectropolarimetric observations were acquired simultaneously in two photospheric spectral lines, Fe I 10783 Å and Si I 10786 Å, with the Tenerife Infrared Polarimeter at the Vacuum Tower Telescope (VTT) in Tenerife on 2013 October 15. The observations covered several stages of the M-class flare. Inversions of the full-Stokes vector of both lines we…
The energy released during solar flares is believed to be stored in non-potential magnetic fields associated with electric currents flowing in the corona. While no measurements of coronal electric currents are presently available, maps of photospheric electric currents can now be derived from SDO/HMI observations. Photospheric electric currents have been shown to be the tracers of the coronal electric currents. Particle acceleration can result from electric fields associated with coronal electric currents. We revisit here some aspects of the relationship between particle acceleration in solar …
The most energetic flares start with a filament rise followed by magnetic reconnection below this filament. The start of the reconnection corresponds to the beginning of the flare impulsive phase. In this paper we study processes before this phase. During the filament rise we recognize an unusual radio continuum with a starting boundary drifting toward lower frequencies. The estimated velocity of the agent generating this continuum boundary is about 400 km/s, similar to that of the rising filament. In association with this filament rise, transient X-ray sources and extreme ultaviolet (EUV) bri…
A statistical study is carried out on the photospheric magnetic nonpotentiality in solar active regions and its relationship with associated flares. We select 2173 photospheric vector magnetograms from 1106 active regions observed by the Solar Magnetic Field Telescope at Huairou Solar Observing Station, National Astronomical Observatories of China, in the period of 1988-2008, which covers most of the 22nd and 23rd solar cycles. We have computed the mean planar magnetic shear angle (\bar{Δϕ}), mean shear angle of the vector magnetic field (\bar{Δψ}), mean absolute vertical current density (\bar…
We study the correlation between abrupt permanent changes of magnetic field during X-class flares observed by the GONG and HMI instruments, and the hard X-ray (HXR) emission observed by RHESSI, to relate the photospheric field changes to the coronal restructuring and investigate the origin of the field changes. We find that spatially the early RHESSI emission corresponds well to locations of the strong field changes. The field changes occur predominantly in the regions of strong magnetic field near the polarity inversion line (PIL). The later RHESSI emission does not correspond to significant …
Rapid increase of horizontal magnetic field ($B_h$) around the flaring polarity inversion line is the most prominent photospheric field change during flares. It is considered to be caused by the contraction of flare loops, the details behind which is still not fully understood. Here we investigate the $B_h$-increase in 35 major flares using HMI high-cadence vector magnetograms. We find that $B_h$-increase is always accompanied by the increase of field inclination. It usually initiates near the flare ribbons, showing step-like change in between the ribbons. In particular, its evolution in early…
We estimated photospheric velocities by separately applying the Fourier Local Correlation Tracking (FLCT) and Differential Affine Velocity Estimator (DAVE) methods to 2708 co-registered pairs of SOHO/MDI magnetograms, with nominal 96-minute cadence and ~2" pixels, from 46 active regions (ARs) from 1996-1998 over the time interval t45 when each AR was within 45^o of disk center. For each magnetogram pair, we computed the average estimated radial magnetic field, B; and each tracking method produced an independently estimated flow field, u. We then quantitatively characterized these magnetic and …
We analyzed a highly impulsive solar flare observed on June 3, 2012. In association with this flare, emissions of hard X-rays, high-energy gamma rays, and neutrons were detected by the detectors onboard the FERMI, RHESSI satellites and the International Space Station. We compared those results with the pictures taken by the UV telescope onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite and found the crossing structure of two magnetic ropes at two positions on the solar surface almost at the same time. High-energy gamma rays were detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope satellite, implying tha…
Solar active regions contain electric currents. Information on the distribution of currents is important for understanding the processes of energy release on the surface of the Sun and in the overlying layers. The paper presents an analysis of the probability density function (PDF) of the absolute value of the photospheric vertical electric current density ($|j_z|$) in 48 active regions before and after flares in 2010--2017. Calculation of $|j_z|$ is performed by applying the differential form of Ampere's circuital law to photospheric vector magnetograms obtained from observations of the Helio…
The active region NOAA 11158 produced the first X-class flare of Solar Cycle 24, an X2.2 flare at 01:44 UT on 2011 February 15. Here we analyze SDO/HMI magnetograms covering a 12-hour interval centered at the time of this flare. We describe the spatial distributions of the photospheric magnetic changes associated with this flare, including the abrupt changes in the field vector, vertical electric current and Lorentz force vector. We also trace these parameters' temporal evolution. The abrupt magnetic changes were concentrated near the neutral line and in two neighboring sunspots. Near the neut…
The standard model for eruptive flares has in the past few years been extended to 3D. It predicts typical J-shaped photospheric footprints of the coronal current layer, forming at similar locations as the Quasi-Separatrix Layers (QSLs). Such a morphology is also found for flare ribbons observed in the EUV band, as well as in non-linear force-free field (NLFFF) magnetic field extrapolations and models. We study the evolution of the photospheric traces of the current density and flare ribbons, both obtained with the SDO instruments. We investigate the photospheric current evolution during the 6 …
Context: Many previous studies have shown that the magnetic precursor of a coronal mass ejection (CME) takes the form of a magnetic flux rope, and a subset of them have become known as `hot flux ropes' due to their emission signatures in $\sim$10 MK plasma. Aims: We seek to identify the processes by which these hot flux ropes form, with a view of developing our understanding of CMEs and thereby improving space weather forecasts. Methods: Extreme-ultraviolet observations were used to identify five pre-eruptive hot flux ropes in the solar corona and study how they evolved. Confined flares were o…
The goal of this paper is to understand the drivers, configurations, and scenarios of two similar eruptive events, which occurred in the same solar active region 9973 on 2002 June 1 and 2. The June 2 event was previously studied by Sui, Holman, and Dennis (2006, 2008), who concluded that it was challenging for popular flare models. Using multi-spectral data, we analyze a combination of the two events. Each of the events exhibited an evolving cusp-like feature. We have revealed that these apparent ``cusps'' were most likely mimicked by twisted magnetic flux ropes, but unlikely to be related to …
We present a technique for automatic determination of flare-ribbon separation and the energy released during the course of two-ribbon flares. We have used chromospheric H$α$ filtergrams and photospheric line-of-sight magnetograms to analyse flare-ribbon separation and magnetic-field structures, respectively. Flare-ribbons were first enhanced and then extracted by the technique of "region growing", i.e., a morphological operator to help resolve the flare-ribbons. Separation of flare-ribbons was then estimated from magnetic polarity reversal line using an automatic technique implemented into Int…
Narrowband (~5 MHz) and short-lived (~0.01 s) spikes with three different distributions on the 800-2000 MHz radio spectrum of the 13 June 2012 flare are detected and analyzed. We designate them as SB (spikes distributed in broad band or bands), SZ (spikes distributed in zebra-like bands) and SBN (spikes distributed in broad and narrow bands). Analyzing AIA/SDO images of the active region NOAA 11504, a rough correspondence between groups of the spikes observed on 1000 MHz and peaks in the time profiles of AIA channels taken from the flare sub-area close to the leading sunspot is found. Among ty…
The well-established notion of a "common population" of the accelerated electrons simultaneously producing the hard X-ray (HXR) and the microwave (MW) emission during the flare impulsive phase has been challenged by some studies reporting the discrepancies between the HXR-inferred and the MW-inferred electron energy spectra. The traditional methods of their spectral inversion have some problems that can be mainly attributed to the unrealistic and the oversimplified treatment of the flare emission. To properly address this problem, we use a Non-linear Force Free Field (NLFFF) model extrapolated…
Photospheric Lorentz force changes in eruptive and confined solar flares
Indian Institute of Astrophysics（印度天体物理研究所）；Joint Astronomy Programme and Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science（印度科学学院天文联合项目与物理系）；University of Helsinki（赫尔辛基大学）；Udaipur Solar Observatory, Physical Research Laboratory（乌代布尔太阳观测站，物理研究实验室）
In this paper, we present a study on persistent and gradual penumbral decay and correlated decline of the photospheric transverse field component during 10-20 hours before a major flare (X1.8) eruption on 2011 September 7. This long-term pre-eruption behavior is corroborated with the well-imaged pre-flare filament rising, the consistent expansion of coronal arcades overlying the filament, as well as the NLFFF modelling results in the literature. We suggest that both the long-term pre-flare penumbral decay and the transverse field decline are the photospheric manifestation of the gradual rise o…
Using multi-wavelength observations of SoHO/MDI, SOT-Hinode/blue-continuum (4504 Å), G-band (4305 Å), Ca II H (3968 Å) and TRACE 171 Å, we present the observational signature of highly twisted magnetic loop in AR 10960 during the period 04:43 UT-04:52 UT at 4 June, 2007. SOT-Hinode/blue-continuum (4504 Å) observations show that penumbral filaments of positive polarity sunspot have counter-clock wise twist, which may be caused by the clock-wise rotation of the spot umbrae. The coronal loop, whose one footpoint is anchored in this sunspot, shows strong right-handed twist in chromospheric SOT-Hin…
Stepwise changes of the photospheric magnetic field, which often becomes more horizontal, have been observed during many flares. Previous interpretations include coronal loops that contract and it has been speculated that such jerks could be responsible for sunquakes. Here we report the detection of stepwise chromospheric line-of-sight magnetic field (B$_{\rm LOS}$) changes obtained through spectropolarimetry of Ca II 8542 Å with DST/IBIS during the X1-flare SOL20140329T17:48. They are stronger ($<$640 Mx cm$^{-2}$) and appear in larger areas than their photospheric counterparts ($<$320 Mx cm$…
