Connecting Chromospheric Condensation Signatures To Reconnection Driven Heating Rates In An X1.0 Flare
Abstract
Observations of solar flare reconnection at very high resolution can be in-directly made at the footpoints of reconnected loops into which flare energy is deposited. The response of the lower atmosphere to this energy input includes a downward-propagating shock called chromospheric condensation, which can be observed at wavelengths including UV and visible. In order to characterize connection using high-resolution observations of this shock, one must develop a quantitative relationship between the two. Such a relation was recently developed in previous work and here we test it on observations of chromospheric condensation in a single footpoint in the flare ribbon of the X1.0 SOL2014-10-25T16:56:36. Measurements taken of Si iv 1402.77 *A emission spectra with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) using a 5 s cadence show a red-shifted component undergoing typical condensation evolution, with a peak downward velocity of 35 km s*1 and a half-life of 16 s. Simultaneous observations taken with the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) reveal a temporally and spatially correlated increase in UV emission in the 1600 *A band. We apply a technique called the Ultraviolet Footpoint Calorimeter (UFC) to the 1600 *A light curve to infer the energy deposition into the footpoint. We then input this energy into a one-dimensional, hydrodynamic simulation to compute the chromospheric response, including condensation. From this simulation, we synthesize Si iv spectra and compute the time-evolving Doppler velocity. This is found to compare reasonably well with the IRIS observation, thus corroborating our reconnection-condensation relationship.
- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- June 2021
- Bibcode:
- 2021AAS...23812708A