Solar flare plasmas

The solar flare is discussed in terms of its three phases: energy storage, energy release, and dissipation. Some of the problems associated with theoretical modelling are considered, together with the limitations imposed by current observations. New measurements to be made by the N.A.S.A. Solar Maximum Mission satellite are expected to advance significantly our understanding of the flare mechanism.

During the period of the 1980 solar maximum three space missions (P78-1, Solar Maximum Mission and Hinotori ) carried out extensive studies of solar flares. In their different ways all of these missions contributed significant new information to our understanding of the solar flare phenomenon. In this volume the contribution made by these three spacecraft to the study of the energy release and the related creation of high-tem perature plasma, the transport of energy from the primary release site, the production of gamma-rays at energies up to 10 MeV and the ejection of solar matter into interplanetary space are reviewed.


1988 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-89
Author(s):  
E.R. Priest

By far the most significant event for Solar Flares as a whole over the past 3 years has been the operation of the Solar Maximum Mission Satellite, together with the accompanying data analysis, ground-based support and theoretical modelling. This has culminated in the series of SMM Flare Workshops, whose proceedings have now appeared (Kundu and Woodgate 1986 (I)), with chapters on a wide variety of topics which indicate the enormity and complexity of the flare problem.


Solar flare spectra in the ultraviolet and X-ray wavelength regions are rich in emission lines from highly ionized ions, formed at temperatures around 10 7 K. These lines can be used as valuable diagnostics for probing the physical conditions in solar flares. Such analyses require accurate atomic data for excitation, ionization and recombination processes. In this paper, we present a review of work which has already been carried out, in particular for the Solar Maximum Mission observations, and we look to future requirements for Solar-A .


Science ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 244 (4903) ◽  
pp. 441-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. RIEGER ◽  
G. KANBACH ◽  
C. REPPIN ◽  
W. T. VESTRAND ◽  
D. J. FORREST ◽  
...  

1982 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 345-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Csoeke-Poeckh ◽  
R. H. Lee ◽  
W. J. Wagner ◽  
L. House ◽  
E. Hildner ◽  
...  

1984 ◽  
Vol 86 ◽  
pp. 9-11
Author(s):  
K.T. Strong ◽  
R.A. Stern ◽  
J.R. Lemen ◽  
K.J.H. Phillips

The X-Ray Polychromator (XRP) resumed operations on 24 April 1984 following the successful in-orbit repair of the Solar Maximum Mission Satellite. Since that time the two instruments that comprise the XRP, the Flat Crystal Spectrometer (FCS) and the Bent Crystal Spectrometer (BCS), have been used to obtain new spectroscopic data from active regions and flares. The FCS, in particular, has accumulated far more observations of soft X-ray line profiles than were obtained during SMM-I in 1980. For this short presentation, we have chosen two topics to illustrate the type of data that we have obtained since the repair.


X -ray and ultraviolet observations of flares have provided much important information on their spatial structure and magnetic topology. The early observations from Skylab emphasized the role of simple loops and loop arcades, but later observations from the Solar Maximum Mission have greatly complicated this picture. Flares appear in a multitude of loops with complex spatial and temporal interrelations. In many cases, interactions between different loops appear to play a crucial role. The inferred magnetic topology of solar flares will be reviewed with emphasis on the implications for processes of energy release and transfer. It will be shown that the spatial resolution of the observations obtained so far is still inadequate for solving many basic questions of solar flare research.


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