Detecting Magnetic Reconnection Signatures in Solar Flares

Forecasting of solar flares remains a challenge due to the limited understanding of the triggering mechanisms associated with magnetic reconnection, the primary physical phenomenon connected to these events. Consequently, forecasting methods continue to rely on climatological patterns of solar flare events as opposed to the underlying physics principles. Models of magnetic reconnection in the solar atmosphere places the null point of the reconnection within the corona. Though it is difficult to directly measure the magnetic field parameters in the solar corona, the coronal magnetic fields are tied to the photospheric magnetic fields, which are much easier to measure directly. Studies have indicated that changes to the photospheric magnetic fields - particularly in relation to the field helicity - occur during solar flare events, associated with magnetic reconnection. This study utilizes data from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) and SpaceWeather HMI Active Region Patches (SHARPs) to analyze full vector-field component data of the photospheric magnetic field during solar flare events within a near decade long HMI dataset. Analysis of the data is used to identify and compare the trends of differing flare strengths and timescales leading up to an event, and ultimately discern signatures of the physical mechanisms involved.