arXiv subjects

Xuchun Duan

Publications and source records attributed to Xuchun Duan.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Unprecedent fast winking of solar flares triggered by bursty magnetic reconnection

Flare ribbons form as a result of energy deposition associated with particles accelerated in low layers of the solar atmosphere. The fine-scale structures of flare ribbons, also called ribbon kernels, offer a potentially powerful diagnostic of the flare reconnection process, however to date the dynamic evolution of ribbon kernels has not been fully characterized in statistical studies. Here, we checked the state-of-the-art observations (cadence $\leq$ 2.5 seconds) of solar flares in the ultraviolet from space by Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) over the past 12 years. Our results showed the first statistical study of multiple spatially-resolved flare kernel quasi-periodic pulsation events for 31 flares, with the period of 6-24 seconds. The ribbon kernels have a spatial scale of 480$-$1200 km and some kernels exhibit unprecedent fast ``winking" process, i.e., quasi-periodic pulsation-like flashing of individual kernels. The shortest heating time reaches about 2$-$3 s, implying that the energy is deposited only in a small localized region within flare ribbons, persisting for only a few seconds. Meanwhile, some ribbon kernels were observed to slip along the ribbon at speeds of 20-1800 km s$^{-1}$. These observations strongly imply a joint picture for the dynamics and the bursty nature of ribbon kernels as being due to coupled effects of plasmoid formation and three-dimensional (3D) magnetic reconnection in the overlaying coronal current sheet. We suggest that the observed flare behaviors provide strong observational evidences of 3D bursty reconnection.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2026

Solar Energetic Particle Events and Associated Type II Radio Bursts from Different Source Regions

Large solar energetic particle (SEP) events are thought to originate from the shocks driven by fast coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and thus generally accompanied by type II radio bursts. However, a significant proportion of type II radio bursts is not accompanied by SEP events. To study the relationship between SEPs and type II radio bursts and the associated physical mechanisms, we statistically analyze 43 SEP halo-CMEs and 131 non-SEP halo-CMEs observed from 2010 to 2024, and check the related properties of type II radio bursts and solar source region. We find nearly all SEP events and approximately two-thirds of non-SEP events are accompanied by type II radio bursts. Type II radio bursts associated with SEP events usually have longer duration and lower ending frequencies. The starting frequency exhibits a clear source region dependence, being highest for ''single active region (AR)'', intermediate for ''multiple ARs'', and lowest for ''outside of ARs''. Furthermore, the spectra of both protons and electrons exhibit a similar softening trend in the three types of source regions. Joint analysis of spectra and type II radio bursts reveals that the proton spectra index has a good anti-correlation with the starting frequency of the type II radio bursts. Our statistical results have important implications for the mechanisms behind SEP acceleration

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2025

A Statistical Analysis of Magnetic Parameters in Solar Source Regions of Halo-CMEs with and without SEP events

Large SEPs can cause adverse space weather hazard to humans technology and such events are especially associated with halo coronal mass ejections (CMEs). But in turn, a significant portion of halo-CMEs are not associated with large SEPs. The objective of this study is to gain an understanding of the source region distinctions between halo-CMEs in SEP and No-SEP events. Among the 176 halo-CMEs observed from 2010-2024, we screen out 45 large SEP events and 131 No-SEP events from this dataset. It is revealed that CME speed is a good discriminator between SEP and No-SEP events. Through classifying the source regions of all the halo-CMEs, we find that 53\% of SEP events originate from ``Single AR'', and 47\% from ``Multiple ARs'' or ``Outside of ARs''. The corresponding proportion for No-SEP events is 70\% and 30\%. This suggests that SEP source regions are more likely to originate from large-scale sources. We have also calculated the relevant magnetic parameters of the source regions and found that SEP source regions have higher magnetic free energy and reconnection flux compared to No-SEP source regions. However, SEP source regions are smaller in terms of the intensive magnetic parameters such as mean characteristic magnetic twist $α$ and mean shear angles. Our statistical results can provide new potential variables for forecasting SEPs.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2025

Quasiperiodic Slow-Propagating EUV "Wave" Trains After the Filament Eruption

The eruption of the filament/flux rope generates the coronal perturbations, which further form EUV waves. There are two types of EUV waves, including fast-mode magnetosonic waves and slow waves. In this paper, we first report an event showing the Quasiperiodic Slow-Propagating (QSP) EUV "wave" trains during an M6.4-class flare (SOL2023-02-25T18:40), using multiple observations from SDO/AIA, CHASE/HIS, ASO-S/FMG, SUTRI, and LASCO/C2. The QSP "wave" trains occurred as the filament showed a rapid rise. The QSP "wave" trains have the projected speeds of 50-130 km s$^{-1}$ on the plane of the sky, which is slower than the fast-mode magnetosonic speed in the solar corona. And the calculated period of the QSP wave trains is 117.9 s, which is in good agreement with the associated flare Quasi-Periodic Pulsation (140.3 s). The QSP wave trains could be observed during the entire impulsive phase of the flare and lasted about 30 minutes in the field of view (FOV) of SDO/AIA. About 30 minutes later, they appeared in the FOV of LASCO/C2 and propagated to the northwest. We suggest that the QSP wave trains are probably apparent waves that are caused by the successive stretching of the inclined field lines overlying the eruptive filament. The periodic pattern of the QSP wave trains may be related to the intermittent energy release during the flare.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2025

Quasiperiodic Super-Alfvenic Slippage Along Flare Ribbons Observed by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph

The apparent slipping motion of flare loops is regarded as a key feature of the 3D magnetic reconnection in the solar flares. The slippage with a super-Alfvénic speed could be defined as slipping-running reconnection while the slippage with a sub-Alfvénic speed is called slipping reconnection. Due to the limitation of the observational instrument temporal resolution, the apparent slippage of the flare loop footpoints along the flare ribbons with super-Alfvénic speed is quite rare to our knowledge. In this paper, we report a unique event that exhibits not only the sub-Alfvénic slippage, but also the quasiperiodic super-Alfvénic slippage of ribbon substructures during a C3.4-class flare (SOL2023-01-18-T15:23), using the high temporal resolution observations of the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph ($\sim$2 s). The super-Alfvénic slippage with a speed of up to $\sim$ 1688 km s$^{-1}$ is directly observed in this study. The calculated period of the apparent super-Alfvénic slippage in both ribbons is between 8.4 and 11.9 seconds. This work provides the first observational evidence of the periodicity for the slipping-running magnetic reconnection.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2022

Dynamic Property and Magnetic Nonpotentiality of Two Types of Confined Solar Flares

We analyze 152 large confined flares (GOES class $\geq$M1.0 and $\leq$$45^{\circ}$ from disk center) during 2010$-$2019, and classify them into two types according to the criterion taken from the work of Li et al. (2019). "Type I" flares are characterized by slipping motions of flare loops and ribbons and a stable filament underlying the flare loops. "Type II" flares are associated with the failed eruptions of the filaments, which can be explained by the classical 2D flare model. A total of 59 flares are "Type I" flares (about 40\%) and 93 events are "Type II" flares (about 60\%). There are significant differences in distributions of the total unsigned magnetic flux ($Φ$$_\mathrm{AR}$) of active regions (ARs) producing the two types of confined flares, with "Type I" confined flares from ARs with a larger $Φ$$_{AR}$ than "Type II". We calculate the mean shear angle $Ψ$$_\mathrm{HFED}$ within the core of an AR prior to the flare onset, and find that it is slightly smaller for "Type I" flares than that for "Type II" events. The relative non-potentiality parameter $Ψ$$_\mathrm{HFED}$/$Φ$$_\mathrm{AR}$ has the best performance in distinguishing the two types of flares. About 73\% of "Type I" confined flares have $Ψ$$_\mathrm{HFED}$/$Φ$$_\mathrm{AR}$$<$1.0$\times$$10^{-21}$ degree Mx$^{-1}$, and about 66\% of "Type II" confined events have $Ψ$$_\mathrm{HFED}$/$Φ$$_\mathrm{AR}$$\geq$1.0$\times$$10^{-21}$ degree Mx$^{-1}$. We suggest that "Type I" confined flares cannot be explained by the standard flare model in 2D/3D, and the occurrence of multiple slipping magnetic reconnections within the complex magnetic systems probably leads to the observed flare.

astro-ph.SR↗