Reconstructed 3-d magnetic field structure and hard X-ray two ribbons for 2000 Bastille-day event

The Bastille-day event in 2000 produced energetic 3B/X5.6 flare with a halo CME, which had great geo-effects consequently. This event has been studied extensively and it is considered that it follows the two-ribbon flare model. The flare/CME event was triggered by an erupting filament and TRACE observations showed formation of giant arcade structures during the flare process. Hard X-ray (HXR) two ribbons revealed for the first time in this flare event (Masuda et al., 2001). The reconstruction of 3-D coronal magnetic fields revealed a magnetic flux rope structure, for the first time, from extrapolation of observed photospheric vector magnetogram data and the flux rope structure was co-spatial with portion of the filament and a UV bright lane (Yan et al., 2001a, 2001b). Here we review some recent work related to the flux rope structure and the HXR two ribbons by comparing their locations and the flux temporal profiles during the flare process so as to understand the energy release and particle accelerations. It is proposed that the rope instability may have triggered the flare event, and reconnection may occur during this process. The drifting pulsation structure in the decimetric frequency range is considered to manifest the rope ejection, or the initial phase of the coronal mass ejection. The HXR two ribbons were distributed along the flux rope and the rope foot points coincide with HXR sources. The energy dissipation from IPS observations occurred within about 100 R _⋅ is consistent with the estimate for the flux rope system. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Cyclotron masers and solar spike bursts

The theory of electron cyclotron maser emission and its application to solar spike bursts are reviewed. By analogy with the Earth's AKR, three sources of free energy are considered: a loss-cone anisotropy, a velocity-space hole, and a trapped distribution. The problem of how the radiation escapes through the second harmonic absorption layer is emphasized. Harmonic emission due to z mode coalescence may operate for some bursts, but the 2–5s delay between hard X-ray bursts and spike bursts suggests that some other mechanisms is required for most spike bursts. A model involving formation of a trapped distribution in low-density regions neighboring the flaring flux tube is considered.     

Variations of the magnetic fields in large solar flares

We present preliminary results from high resolution observations obtained with the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) instrument on the SOHO of two large solar flares of 14 July 2000 and 24 November 2000. We show that rapid variations of the line-of-sight magnetic field occured on a time scale of a few minutes during the flare explosions. The reversibility/irreversibility of the magnetic field of both active regions is a very good tool for understanding how the magnetic energy is released in these flares. The observed sharp increase of the magnetic energy density at the time of maximum of the solar flare could involve an unknown component which deposited supplementary energy into the system. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

High-Frequency Radio Signatures of Solar Eruptive Flares

Several examples of the radio emission of eruptive solar flares with high-frequency slowly drifting structures and type II bursts are presented. Relationships of these radio bursts with eruptive phenomena such as soft X-ray plasmoid ejection and shock formation are shown. Possible underlying physical processes are discussed in the framework of the plasmoid ejection model of eruptive solar flares. On the other hand, it is shown that these radio bursts can be considered as radio signatures of eruptive solar flares and thus used for the prediction of heliospheric effects. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

He-like Ar xvii triplet observed by RESIK

We present the observations of He-like Ar triplet lines obtained by RESIK spectrometer aboard CORONAS-F. Interpretation of intensity ratios between triplet lines of lower Z elements is known to provide useful diagnostics of plasma conditions within the emitting source. Here, we investigate whether triplet line ratios are useful for interpretation of higher Z element spectra. A high sensitivity, low background and precise absolute calibration of RESIK allow to consider in addition also the continuum contribution. This provides a way to determine the Ar absolute abundance from the observed triplet component ratios. The method is presented and the results are shown for two selected flares. Derived values of Ar absolute abundance for these flares are found to be similar: 2.6 × 10⁻⁶ and 2.9 × 10⁻⁶. They fall in the range between presently accepted Ar photospheric and coronal abundances.     

Fe/O Ratios in Interplanetary Shock Accelerated Particles

It is widely accepted that diffusive shock acceleration is an important process in the heliosphere, in particular in producing the energetic particles associated with interplanetary shocks driven by coronal mass ejections. In its simplest formulation shock acceleration is expected to accelerate ions with higher mass to charge ratios less efficiently than those with lower mass to charge. Thus it is anticipated that the Fe/O ratio in shock-accelerated ion populations will decrease with increasing energy above some energy. We examine the circumstances of five interplanetary shocks that have been reported to have associated populations in which Fe/O increases with increasing energy. In each event, the situation is complex, with particle contributions from other sources in addition to the shock. Furthermore, we show that the Fe/O ratio in shock-accelerated ions can decrease even when the shock is traveling through an Fe-rich ambient ion population. Thus, although shock acceleration of an Fe-rich suprathermal population has been proposed to explain large Fe-rich solar particle events, we find no support for this proposal in these observations.     

On the Coronal Magnetic Field Configuration and Solar Flare/CME Process

The coronal magnetic field configuration is important for understanding the energy storage and release processes that account for flares and/or CMEs. Here we present a model which is based on the work for potential magnetic field problems that only applies the condition at infinity with the boundary condition on the solar surface specified. We also discuss some recent progress on general force-free field models. For some event analyses, we have employed MDI/SOHO longitudinal magnetogram insected into the synoptic magnetogram to obtain whole boundary condition over the solar surface. Globally, the extrapolated global magnetic field structures effectively demonstrate the case for the disk signature of the radio CMEs and the evolution of the radio sources during the CME/flare processes.     

The gas pixel detector as a solar X-ray polarimeter and imager

The Sun is the nearest astrophysical source with a very intense emission in the X-ray band. The study of energetic events, such as solar flares, can help us to understand the behaviour of the magnetic field of our star. There are in the literature numerous studies published about polarization predictions, for a wide range of solar flares models involving the emission from thermal and/or non-thermal processes, but observations in the X-ray band have never been exhaustive.The gas pixel detector (GPD) was designed to achieve X-ray polarimetric measurements as well as X-ray images for far astrophysical sources. Here we present the possibility to employ this instrument for the observation of our Sun in the X-ray band.     

Space observations of comets during solar flares: A possible explanation for comet brightness outbursts

Problems connected with mechanisms for comet brightness outbursts as well as for gamma-ray bursts remain open. Meantime, calculations show that irradiation of a certain class of comet nuclei, having high specific electric resistance, by intense fluxes of energetic protons and positively charged ions with kinetic energies more than 1 MeV/nucleon, ejected from the Sun during strong solar flares, can produce a macroscopic high-voltage electric double layer with positive charge in the subsurface zone of the nucleus, during irradiation times of the order of 10–100 h at heliocentric distances around 1–10 AU. The maximum electric energy accumulated in such layer will be restricted by the electric discharge potential of the layer material. For comet nuclei with typical radii of the order of 1–10 km the accumulated energy of such natural electric capacitor is comparable to the energy of large comet outbursts that are estimated on the basis of ground based optical observations. The impulse gamma and X-ray radiation together with optical burst from the comet nucleus during solar flares, anticipated due to high-voltage electric discharge, may serve as an indicator of realization of the processes above considered. Multi-wavelength observations of comets and pseudo-asteroids of cometary origin, having brightness correlation with solar activity, using ground based optical telescopes as well as space gamma and X-ray observatories, during strong solar flares, are very interesting for the physics of comets as well as for high energy astrophysics.     

Radio fine structures in dm–cm wavelength range associated with magnetic reconnection processes

Radio bursts with fine structures in decimetric–centimetric wave range are generally believed to manifest the primary energy release process during flare/CME events. By spectropolarimeters in 1–2 GHz, 2.6–3.8 GHz, and 5.2–7.6 GHz at NAOC/Huairou with very high temporal (1.25–8 ms) and spectral (4–20 MHz) resolutions, the zebra patterns, spikes, and new types of radio fine structures with mixed frequency drift features are observed during several significant flare/CME events. In this paper we will discuss the occurrence of radio fine structures during the impulsive phase of flares and/or CME initiations, which may be connected to the magnetic reconnection processes.