Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2005-12-20
Astrophys.J.641:1217-1221,2006
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
16 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ
Scientific paper
10.1086/500635
We present observations of the 2002 September 30 white-light flare, in which the optical continuum emission near the Halpha line is enhanced by ~10%. The continuum emission exhibits a close temporal and spatial coincidence with the hard X-ray (HXR) footpoint observed by RHESSI. We find a systematic motion of the flare footpoint seen in the continuum emission; the motion history follows roughly that of the HXR source. This gives strong evidence the this white-light flare is powered by heating of nonthermal electrons. We note that the HXR spectrum in 10-50 keV is quite soft with gamma being ~7 and there is no HXR emission above 50 keV. The magnetic configuration of the flaring region implies magnetic reconnection taking place at a relatively low altitude during the flare. Despite a very soft spectrum of the electron beam, its energy content is still sufficient to produce the heating in the lower atmosphere where the continuum emission originates. This white-light flare highlights the importance of radiative backwarming to transport the energy below when direct heating by beam electrons is obviously impossible.
Chen Qing-Rong
Ding Ming-De Ding
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