arXiv · 2208.06182
The Lyman-$\alpha$ Emission in a C1.4 Solar Flare Observed by the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager aboard Solar Orbiter
Abstract
The hydrogen Lyman-$\alpha$ (H {\sc i} Ly$\alpha$) emission during solar flares has rarely been studied in spatially resolved images and its physical origin has not been fully understood. In this paper, we present novel Ly$\alpha$ images for a C1.4 solar flare (SOL2021-08-20T22:00) from the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager aboard Solar Orbiter, together with multi-waveband and multi-perspective observations from the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory Ahead and the Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft. It is found that the Ly$\alpha$ emission has a good temporal correlation with the thermal emissions at 1--8 \AA\ and 5--7 keV, indicating that the flaring Ly$\alpha$ is mainly produced by a thermal process in this small event. However, nonthermal electrons play a minor role in generating Ly$\alpha$ at flare ribbons during the rise phase of the flare, as revealed by the hard X-ray imaging and spectral fitting. Besides originating from flare ribbons, the Ly$\alpha$ emission can come from flare loops, likely caused by plasma heating and also cooling that happen in different flare phases. It is also found that the Ly$\alpha$ emission shows fairly similar features with the He {\sc ii} 304 \AA\ emission in light curve and spatio-temporal variation along with small differences. These observational results improve our understanding of the Ly$\alpha$ emission in solar flares and also provide some insights for investigating the Ly$\alpha$ emission in stellar flares.
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Ying Li, Qiao Li, De-Chao Song, Andrea Francesco Battaglia, Hualin Xiao, Säm Krucker, Udo Schühle, Hui Li, Weiqun Gan, M. D. Ding. 2022-08-12. The Lyman-$\alpha$ Emission in a C1.4 Solar Flare Observed by the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager aboard Solar Orbiter. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357%2Fac897c
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