Barbara Sylwester

Archived high-resolution X-ray spectra in the 13–22 Å range from the Flat Crystal Spectrometer (FCS), an instrument on the Solar Maximum Mission operating in the 1980s, are analyzed with reference to nonflaring active regions, and to the Fe xvii line emission in light of laboratory and atomic data for nearby Fe xvi satellites. The satellites allow temperature to be found for these relatively low-temperature spectra, at which more conventional temperature-dependent line ratios are unavailable. By this means, the spectra can be arranged by temperature, showing that the Fe xvii lines are evident at temperatures of <3 MK. We confirm that the problem of the underintense Fe XVII 3C and 3D lines is not due to resonant scattering, and instead suggest that, for comparison with CHIANTI spectra, the problem may lie with a needed revision of collisional excitation rates. The line ratio 3G/3H is in theory density-dependent but for Fe xvii the ratio is in the low-density limit. However, we suggest that spectra taken during the impulsive stage of flares might reveal a departure from this limit and so allow densities to be derived and hence properties of the flaring plasma. Suggestions for the design of future crystal spectrometers are made in the light of the fluorescence background in FCS spectra.

Archived high-resolution X-ray spectra in the 13~Å to 22~Å range from the Flat Crystal Spectrometer (FCS), an instrument on the Solar Maximum Mission operating in the 1980s, are analyzed with reference to nonflaring active regions, and to the \ion{Fe}{17} line emission in light of laboratory and atomic data for nearby \ion{Fe}{16} satellites. The satellites allow temperature to be found for these relatively low-temperature spectra, at which more conventional temperature-dependent line ratios are unavailable. By this means, the spectra can be arranged by temperature, showing that the \ion{Fe}{17} lines are evident at temperatures of $<3$~MK. We confirm that the problem of the underintense Fe XVII 3C and 3D lines is not due to resonant scattering, and instead suggest that, for comparison with CHIANTI spectra, the problem may lie with a needed revision of collisional excitation rates. The line ratio 3G/3H is in theory density-dependent but for \ion{Fe}{17} the ratio is in the low-density limit. However, we suggest that spectra taken during the impulsive stage of flares might reveal a departure from this limit and so allow densities to be derived and hence properties of the flaring plasma. Suggestions for the design of future crystal spectrometers are made in the light of the fluorescence background in FCS spectra.

X-ray emissions from solar flares provide a comprehensive overview of the spatial and spectral behaviors of high-temperature plasma in the solar atmosphere. In particular, compact flares are one of the best candidates for quantifying the geometrical properties of the X-ray source, which is crucial in the estimation of flare energetics. Accordingly, we present a statistical investigation of 550 flares showing one compact source in images reconstructed with the MARLIN, Expectation Maximization, and Forward Fit algorithms in the 6–10 keV soft X-ray (SXR) energy channel of the Spectrometer Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX), on board Solar Orbiter. We compare various properties of the sources, reconstructed with the aforesaid algorithms, which show consistency. We further test different approaches to estimating source sizes. We find better agreement between the tested algorithms using the 50% signal contour for size estimation instead of the commonly used 50% isophote. Thermal–nonthermal flare plasma parameters and energetics are investigated for a subset of flares exhibiting significant enhancement in the 12–20 keV hard X-ray (HXR) energy channel. While strong correlations are found between the emitted SXR and HXR flux with temperature, the HXR flux with nonthermal energy, and thermal with nonthermal energy, plasma parameters were not significantly correlated with the flare size or volume. The thermal–nonthermal emission partition during compact flares, characterized using the Neupert effect, is revealed only for 40% of events. We find the fraction of HXR fluence to SXR flux to be positively correlated with volume while moderately anticorrelated with density. This indicates that tenuous flare loops emit relatively less SXR emission as a response to deposited energy, compared to dense loops.

We employ the differential evolution (DE) method to analyze observations from the Solar X-Ray Monitor on board the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft. DE belongs to the family of evolutionary algorithms that find solutions using mechanisms inspired by biological processes. This approach enables us to simultaneously calculate the distribution of the differential emission measure and elemental abundances through an iterative process. We establish a model for the emission sources of flaring plasma, incorporating temperature, emission measure, and abundances of eight elements: Mg, Al, Si, S, Ar, Ca, Fe, and Ni, for an M3.9 GOES-class solar flare that occurred on 2021 May 7 (SOL2021-05-07T19:04). Our analysis covers various phases of the flare, determining the evolution of temperature, emission measure, and elemental abundances. Additionally, utilizing data from the Spectrometer Telescope for Imaging X-rays on board the Solar Orbiter, we investigate the evolution of hard X-ray source morphology, source volume, electron density, and thermal behavior of the flaring plasma throughout the event. The results reveal notable variations in elemental abundances between photospheric and coronal values during different flare phases. This emphasizes the significance of elemental abundance information in comprehending X-ray emissions during solar flares.

We report on calcium abundance A(Ca) estimates during the decay phases of 194 solar X-ray flares using archived data from the Bent Crystal Spectrometer (BCS) on the Solar Maximum Mission (operational 1980–1989). The abundances are derived from the ratio of the total calcium X-ray line emission in BCS channel 1 to that in neighboring continuum, with temperature from a satellite-to-resonance line ratio. Generally, the calcium abundance is found to be about 3 times the photospheric abundance, as previously found, indicating a “first ionization potential” (FIP) effect for calcium, which has a relatively low FIP value. The precision of the abundance estimates (referred to hydrogen on a logarithmic scale with A(H) = 12), is typically ∼± 0.01, enabling any time variations of A(Ca) during the flare decay to be examined. For a total of 270 short time segments with A(Ca) determined to better than 2.3% accuracy, many (106; 39%) showed variations in A(Ca) at the 3σ level. For the majority, in 74 (70%) of these 106 segments A(Ca) decreased with time, and for 32 (30%) A(Ca) increased with time. For 79 out of 270 (29%) we observed constant or nearly constant A(Ca), and the remaining 85 (31%) with irregular time behavior. A common feature was the presence of discontinuities in the time behavior of A(Ca). Relating these results to the ponderomotive force theory of Laming, we attribute the nature of varying A(Ca) to the emergence of loop structures in addition to the initial main loop, each with its characteristic calcium abundance.

The calcium abundance in flare plasmas is estimated using X-ray spectra from the Solar Maximum Mission Bent Crystal Spectrometer (BCS) during the decays of 194 flares (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES, classifications from B6.4 to X13) occurring between 1980 and 1989. Previous work by Sylwester et al. found that the abundance varied from flare to flare. That analysis is improved on here using updated instrument parameters and by including all calcium lines viewed by the BCS instead of only the resonance line, so greatly enhancing the photon count statistics. The abundance variations are confirmed with the average abundance, A(Ca) (expressed logarithmically with A(H) = 12), equal to 6.77 ± 0.20 for 194 flares (141 of which are new in this study). This range corresponds to factors of between 1.7 and 7.2 larger than the photospheric abundance, and so our results are in line with a “first ionization potential” (FIP) effect whereby low-FIP elements like Ca (FIP = 6.11 eV) have enhanced coronal abundances. The Ca flare abundance is uncorrelated with solar activity indices, but weak correlations are suggested with GOES flare class and duration (larger A(Ca) for smaller and shorter flares). The ponderomotive force theory of Laming explaining the FIP effect gives a range of parameters within which our estimates of A(Ca) agree with the theory. However, this then gives rise to disagreements with previous estimates of the flare silicon and sulfur abundances, although those of argon and iron are in good agreement. Small adjustments of the theory may thus be necessary.

Using methods of differential evolution (DE), we determined the coronal elemental abundances and the differential emission measure (DEM) distributions for the plasma flaring on 2003 January 21. The analyses have been made based on RESIK X-ray spectra. DE belongs to the family of evolutionary algorithms. DE is conceptually simple and easy to implement, so it has been applied to solve many problems in science and engineering. In this study we apply this method in a new context: simultaneous determination of plasma composition and DEM. In order to increase the confidence of the results obtained using DE, we tested the use of its algorithms by comparing the DE synthesized with respective spectra observed by RESIK. Extensive discussion of the DE method used and the obtained physical characteristics of flaring plasma is presented.

The Bent Crystal Spectrometer (BCS) on the NASA Solar Maximum Mission spacecraft observed the X-ray spectra of numerous solar flares during the periods 1980 February–November and 1984–1989. The instrument, the first of its kind to use curved crystal technology, observed the resonance lines of He-like Ca (Ca xix) and Fe (Fe xxv), and neighboring satellite lines, allowing the study of the rapid evolution of flare plasma temperature, turbulence, mass motions etc. To date there has not been a solar X-ray spectrometer with comparable spectral and time resolution, while subsequent solar cycles have delivered far fewer and less intense flares. The BCS data archive thus offers an unparalleled resource for flare studies. A recent reassessment of the BCS calibration and its operations is extended here by using data during a spacecraft scan in the course of a flare on 1980 November 6 that highlights small deformations in the crystal curvature of the important channel 1 (viewing lines of Ca xix and satellites). The results explain long-standing anomalies in spectral line ratios which have been widely discussed in the past. We also provide an in-flight estimation of the BCS collimator field of view which improves the absolute intensity calibration of the BCS. The BCS channel 1 background is shown to be entirely due to solar continuum radiation, confirming earlier analyses implying a time-variable flare abundance of Ca. We suggest that BCS high-resolution Ca xix and Fe xxv line spectra be used as templates for the analysis of X-ray spectra of nonsolar sources.

We present a multiwavelength analysis of the long-duration flare observed on 15 April 2002 (soft X-ray peak time at 03:55 UT, ). This flare occurred on the disk (S15W01) in NOAA 9906 and was observed by a number of space instruments including the Extreme-Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO/EIT), the RESIK spectrometer onboard the Coronas-F spacecraft, and the Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI). We have performed a complex analysis of these measurements and studied the morphology and physical parameters characterizing the conditions in flaring plasmas. The 195 Å SOHO/EIT images have been used to study evolution of flaring loops. Analysis of RHESSI data provided the opportunity for a detailed analysis of hard X-ray emission with 1 keV energy resolution. We have used Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) observations for isothermal interpretation of the X-ray measurements. Temperature diagnostics of the flaring plasma have been carried out by means of a differential emission measure (DEM) analysis based on RESIK X-ray spectra. The DEM distributions were calculated based on two methods: Withbroe–Sylwester (WS) and differential evolution (DE). Both of the approaches provided similar results. We obtained two-component DEM distributions independent of the evolutionary flare phase. We found that the amount of energy of thermal plasma for this flare is of the order of 10³⁰ ergs. The values obtained by assuming an isothermal plasma model are lower than those determined from the differential emission measure distributions.