The smallest hard X-ray flare?

We report a NuSTAR observation of a small solar flare on 2015 September 1, estimated to be on the order of a GOES class A.05 flare in brightness. This flare is fainter than any hard X-ray (HXR) flares in the existing literature, and with a peak rate of only ∼5 counts s^-1 detector^-1 observed by RHESSI, is effectively the smallest that can just barely be detected by the current standard (indirectly imaging) solar HXR instrumentation, though we expect that smaller flares will continue to be discovered as instrumental and observational techniques progress. The flare occurred during a solar observation by the highly sensitive NuSTAR astrophysical HXR spacecraft, which used its direct focusing optics to produce detailed flare spectra and images. The flare exhibits properties commonly observed in larger flares, including a fast rise and more gradual decay, and similar spatial dimensions to the RHESSI microflares. We will discuss the presence of non-thermal (flare-accelerated) electrons during the impulsive phase. The flare is small in emission measure, temperature, and energy, though not in physical dimensions. Its presence is an indication that flares do indeed scale down to smaller energies and retain what we customarily think of as “flarelike” properties.