WorldWideScience

Sample records for flare rate analysis

  1. M DWARFS IN SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY STRIPE 82: PHOTOMETRIC LIGHT CURVES AND FLARE RATE ANALYSIS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kowalski, Adam F.; Hawley, Suzanne L.; Hilton, Eric J.; Becker, Andrew C.; Sesar, Branimir; West, Andrew A.; Bochanski, John J.

    2009-01-01

    We present a flare rate analysis of 50,130 M dwarf light curves in Sloan Digital Sky Survey Stripe 82. We identified 271 flares using a customized variability index to search ∼2.5 million photometric observations for flux increases in the u and g bands. Every image of a flaring observation was examined by eye and with a point-spread function-matching and image subtraction tool to guard against false positives. Flaring is found to be strongly correlated with the appearance of Hα in emission in the quiet spectrum. Of the 99 flare stars that have spectra, we classify eight as relatively inactive. The flaring fraction is found to increase strongly in stars with redder colors during quiescence, which can be attributed to the increasing flare visibility and increasing active fraction for redder stars. The flaring fraction is strongly correlated with |Z| distance such that most stars that flare are within 300 pc of the Galactic plane. We derive flare u-band luminosities and find that the most luminous flares occur on the earlier-type m dwarfs. Our best estimate of the lower limit on the flaring rate (averaged over Stripe 82) for flares with Δu ≥ 0.7 mag on stars with u -1 deg -2 but can vary significantly with the line of sight.

  2. Photospheric Magnetic Field Properties of Flaring versus Flare-quiet Active Regions. II. Discriminant Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leka, K. D.; Barnes, G.

    2003-10-01

    We apply statistical tests based on discriminant analysis to the wide range of photospheric magnetic parameters described in a companion paper by Leka & Barnes, with the goal of identifying those properties that are important for the production of energetic events such as solar flares. The photospheric vector magnetic field data from the University of Hawai'i Imaging Vector Magnetograph are well sampled both temporally and spatially, and we include here data covering 24 flare-event and flare-quiet epochs taken from seven active regions. The mean value and rate of change of each magnetic parameter are treated as separate variables, thus evaluating both the parameter's state and its evolution, to determine which properties are associated with flaring. Considering single variables first, Hotelling's T2-tests show small statistical differences between flare-producing and flare-quiet epochs. Even pairs of variables considered simultaneously, which do show a statistical difference for a number of properties, have high error rates, implying a large degree of overlap of the samples. To better distinguish between flare-producing and flare-quiet populations, larger numbers of variables are simultaneously considered; lower error rates result, but no unique combination of variables is clearly the best discriminator. The sample size is too small to directly compare the predictive power of large numbers of variables simultaneously. Instead, we rank all possible four-variable permutations based on Hotelling's T2-test and look for the most frequently appearing variables in the best permutations, with the interpretation that they are most likely to be associated with flaring. These variables include an increasing kurtosis of the twist parameter and a larger standard deviation of the twist parameter, but a smaller standard deviation of the distribution of the horizontal shear angle and a horizontal field that has a smaller standard deviation but a larger kurtosis. To support the

  3. DETERMINING HEATING RATES IN RECONNECTION FORMED FLARE LOOPS OF THE M8.0 FLARE ON 2005 MAY 13

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu Wenjuan; Qiu Jiong; Longcope, Dana W. [Department of Physics, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717-3840 (United States); Caspi, Amir [Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303 (United States)

    2013-06-20

    We analyze and model an M8.0 flare on 2005 May 13 observed by the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer and the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) to determine the energy release rate from magnetic reconnection that forms and heats numerous flare loops. The flare exhibits two ribbons in UV 1600 A emission. Analysis shows that the UV light curve at each flaring pixel rises impulsively within a few minutes, and decays slowly with a timescale longer than 10 minutes. Since the lower atmosphere (the transition region and chromosphere) responds to energy deposit nearly instantaneously, the rapid UV brightening is thought to reflect the energy release process in the newly formed flare loop rooted at the footpoint. In this paper, we utilize the spatially resolved (down to 1'') UV light curves and the thick-target hard X-ray emission to construct heating functions of a few thousand flare loops anchored at the UV footpoints, and compute plasma evolution in these loops using the enthalpy-based thermal evolution of loops model. The modeled coronal temperatures and densities of these flare loops are then used to calculate coronal radiation. The computed soft X-ray spectra and light curves compare favorably with those observed by RHESSI and by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite X-ray Sensor. The time-dependent transition region differential emission measure for each loop during its decay phase is also computed with a simplified model and used to calculate the optically thin C IV line emission, which dominates the UV 1600 A bandpass during the flare. The computed C IV line emission decays at the same rate as observed. This study presents a method to constrain heating of reconnection-formed flare loops using all available observables independently, and provides insight into the physics of energy release and plasma heating during the flare. With this method, the lower limit of the total energy used to heat the flare loops in

  4. Fibromyalgia Flares: A Qualitative Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vincent, Ann; Whipple, Mary O; Rhudy, Lori M

    2016-03-01

    Patients with fibromyalgia report periods of symptom exacerbation, colloquially referred to as "flares" and despite clinical observation of flares, no research has purposefully evaluated the presence and characteristics of flares in fibromyalgia. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe fibromyalgia flares in a sample of patients with fibromyalgia. Using seven open-ended questions, patients were asked to describe how they perceived fibromyalgia flares and triggers and alleviating factors associated with flares. Patients were also asked to describe how a flare differs from their typical fibromyalgia symptoms and how they cope with fibromyalgia flares. Content analysis was used to analyze the text. A total of 44 participants completed the survey. Responses to the seven open-ended questions revealed three main content areas: causes of flares, flare symptoms, and dealing with a flare. Participants identified stress, overdoing it, poor sleep, and weather changes as primary causes of flares. Symptoms characteristic of flares included flu-like body aches/exhaustion, pain, fatigue, and variety of other symptoms. Participants reported using medical treatments, rest, activity and stress avoidance, and waiting it out to cope with flares. Our results demonstrate that periods of symptom exacerbation (i.e., flares) are commonly experienced by patients with fibromyalgia and symptoms of flares can be differentiated from every day or typical symptoms of fibromyalgia. Our study is the first of its kind to qualitatively explore characteristics, causes, and management strategies of fibromyalgia flares. Future studies are needed to quantitatively characterize fibromyalgia flares and evaluate mechanisms of flares. © 2015 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  5. Flare-up rate of single-visit endodontics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trope, M

    1991-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to compare the flare-up rate for single-visit endodontics among teeth without radiographic or clinical signs of apical periodontitis, those with radiographic or clinical signs of apical periodontitis not previously root-treated, and those with apical periodontitis where retreatment was performed. All teeth were instrumented to a predetermined minimum size with a 0.5 per cent solution of sodium hypochlorite being used as the irrigant. The root canal was obturated without regard to the presence or absence of symptoms or diagnosis of the apical condition. The patients were given written post-operative instructions and a prescription for 600 mg ibuprofen to be taken if mild to moderate pain developed. If severe pain and/or swelling developed, the patient was instructed to telephone immediately and was considered to have had a flare-up. Teeth without signs of apical periodontitis did not have any flare-ups. One flare-up occurred in 69 teeth with signs of apical periodontitis not previously root-treated. The majority of the flare-ups (3 of 22 teeth) occurred in teeth with signs of apical periodontitis requiring retreatment.

  6. A global gas flaring black carbon emission rate dataset from 1994 to 2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Kan; Fu, Joshua S.

    2016-11-01

    Global flaring of associated petroleum gas is a potential emission source of particulate matters (PM) and could be notable in some specific regions that are in urgent need of mitigation. PM emitted from gas flaring is mainly in the form of black carbon (BC), which is a strong short-lived climate forcer. However, BC from gas flaring has been neglected in most global/regional emission inventories and is rarely considered in climate modeling. Here we present a global gas flaring BC emission rate dataset for the period 1994-2012 in a machine-readable format. We develop a region-dependent gas flaring BC emission factor database based on the chemical compositions of associated petroleum gas at various oil fields. Gas flaring BC emission rates are estimated using this emission factor database and flaring volumes retrieved from satellite imagery. Evaluation using a chemical transport model suggests that consideration of gas flaring emissions can improve model performance. This dataset will benefit and inform a broad range of research topics, e.g., carbon budget, air quality/climate modeling, and environmental/human exposure.

  7. Technical and economic analysis use of flare gas into alternative energy as a breakthrough in achieving zero routine flaring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petri, Y.; Juliza, H.; Humala, N.

    2018-03-01

    The activity of exploring natural oil and gas will produce gas flare 0.584 MMSCFD. A gas flare is the combustion of gas remaining to avoid poisonous gas like H2S and CO which is very dangerous for human and environmental health. The combustion can bring about environmental pollution and losses because it still contains valuable energy. It needs the policy to encourage the use of flare gas with Zero Routine Flaring and green productivity to reduce waste and pollution. The objective of the research was to determine the use of gas flare so that it will have economic value and can achieve Zero Routine Flaring. It was started by analysing based on volume or rate and composition gas flare was used to determine technical feasibility, and the estimation of the gas reserves as the determination of the economy of a gas well. The results showed that the use of flare gas as fuel for power generation feasible to be implemented technically and economically with Internal Rate of Return (IRR) 19.32% and the Payback Period (PP) 5 year. Thus, it can increase gas flare value economically and can achieve a breakthrough in Zero Routine Flaring.

  8. Exergy analysis of waste emissions from gas flaring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olawale Saheed ISMAIL

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Gas flaring produces a stream of waste gases at high temperature and pressure which contains carbon monoxide, Hydrogen Sulphide etc. The resultant effect of which is detrimental to our planet and, consequently, to the life of both the living and the non-living things. It’s well known that gas flaring contributes in no small measure to the global warming. Exergy analysis is applied in this work to analyze waste emissions from gas flaring so as to have a model through which impact of gas flaring can be measured. The study considers both the thermo-mechanical exergy and the chemical exergy of these gases. Relevant data on gas flaring activities in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria between the periods of fifteen (15 years was obtained from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC. A computer program (Exergy Calculator was developed based on the equations generated in the Model. Exergy associated with gas flaring activities in Nigeria between the periods of 1998 through 2012 was calculated. The results show that 1 mscf (in thousand cubic feet of flared gases generate 0.000041 MWh of energy leading to a value of 440158.607 MWh of energy for the period under review.The analysis provides important conclusions and recommendations for improving oil platforms operationsin in order to safeguard the environment, health of the populace, and maximize recovered exergy from gas flaring.

  9. USING CLOSE WHITE DWARF + M DWARF STELLAR PAIRS TO CONSTRAIN THE FLARE RATES IN CLOSE STELLAR BINARIES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morgan, Dylan P.; West, Andrew A. [Astronomy Department, Boston University, 725 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215 (United States); Becker, Andrew C., E-mail: dpmorg@bu.edu [Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States)

    2016-05-01

    We present a study of the statistical flare rates of M dwarfs (dMs) with close white dwarf (WD) companions (WD+dM; typical separations <1 au). Our previous analysis demonstrated that dMs with close WD companions are more magnetically active than their field counterparts. One likely implication of having a close binary companion is increased stellar rotation through disk-disruption, tidal effects, and/or angular momentum exchange; increased stellar rotation has long been associated with an increase in stellar activity. Previous studies show a strong correlation between dMs that are magnetically active (showing H α in emission) and the frequency of stellar flare rates. We examine the difference between the flare rates observed in close WD+dM binary systems and field dMs. Our sample consists of a subset of 181 close WD+dM pairs from Morgan et al. observed in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Stripe 82, where we obtain multi-epoch observations in the Sloan ugriz -bands. We find an increase in the overall flaring fraction in the close WD+dM pairs (0.09 ± 0.03%) compared to the field dMs (0.0108 ± 0.0007%) and a lower flaring fraction for active WD+dMs (0.05 ± 0.03%) compared to active dMs (0.28 ± 0.05%). We discuss how our results constrain both the single and binary dM flare rates. Our results also constrain dM multiplicity, our knowledge of the Galactic transient background, and may be important for the habitability of attending planets around dMs with close companions.

  10. Variability in the Reporting of Serum Urate and Flares in Gout Clinical Trials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stamp, Lisa K; Morillon, Melanie B; Taylor, William J

    2018-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To describe the ways in which serum urate (SU) and gout flares are reported in clinical trials, and to propose minimum reporting requirements. METHODS: This analysis was done as part of a systematic review aiming to validate SU as a biomarker for gout. The ways in which SU and flares.......3%) of these reporting at more than just the final study visit. Two ways of reporting gout flares were identified: mean flare rate and percentage of participants with flares. There was variability in time periods over which flares rates were reported. CONCLUSION: There is inconsistent reporting of SU and flares in gout...... studies. Reporting the percentage of participants who achieve a target SU reflects international treatment guidelines. SU should also be reported as a continuous variable with a relevant central and dispersion estimate. Gout flares should be reported as both percentage of participants and mean flare rates...

  11. The Discriminant Analysis Flare Forecasting System (DAFFS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leka, K. D.; Barnes, Graham; Wagner, Eric; Hill, Frank; Marble, Andrew R.

    2016-05-01

    The Discriminant Analysis Flare Forecasting System (DAFFS) has been developed under NOAA/Small Business Innovative Research funds to quantitatively improve upon the NOAA/SWPC flare prediction. In the Phase-I of this project, it was demonstrated that DAFFS could indeed improve by the requested 25% most of the standard flare prediction data products from NOAA/SWPC. In the Phase-II of this project, a prototype has been developed and is presently running autonomously at NWRA.DAFFS uses near-real-time data from NOAA/GOES, SDO/HMI, and the NSO/GONG network to issue both region- and full-disk forecasts of solar flares, based on multi-variable non-parametric Discriminant Analysis. Presently, DAFFS provides forecasts which match those provided by NOAA/SWPC in terms of thresholds and validity periods (including 1-, 2-, and 3- day forecasts), although issued twice daily. Of particular note regarding DAFFS capabilities are the redundant system design, automatically-generated validation statistics and the large range of customizable options available. As part of this poster, a description of the data used, algorithm, performance and customizable options will be presented, as well as a demonstration of the DAFFS prototype.DAFFS development at NWRA is supported by NOAA/SBIR contracts WC-133R-13-CN-0079 and WC-133R-14-CN-0103, with additional support from NASA contract NNH12CG10C, plus acknowledgment to the SDO/HMI and NSO/GONG facilities and NOAA/SWPC personnel for data products, support, and feedback. DAFFS is presently ready for Phase-III development.

  12. Leflunomide is associated with a higher flare rate compared to methotrexate in the treatment of chronic uveitis in juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bichler, J; Benseler, S M; Krumrey-Langkammerer, M; Haas, J-P; Hügle, B

    2015-01-01

    Chronic anterior uveitis is a serious complication of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA); disease flares are highly associated with loss of vision. Leflunomide (LEF) is used successfully for JIA joint disease but its effectiveness in uveitis has not been determined. The aim of this study was to determine whether LEF improves flare rates of uveitis in JIA patients compared to preceding methotrexate (MTX) therapy. A single-centre retrospective study of consecutive children with JIA and chronic anterior uveitis was performed. All children initially received MTX and were then switched to LEF. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data, dose and duration of MTX and LEF therapy, concomitant medications and rate of anterior uveitis flares, as determined by an expert ophthalmologist, were obtained. Flare rates were compared using a generalized linear mixed model with a negative binomial distribution. A total of 15 children were included (80% females, all antinuclear antibody positive). The median duration of MTX therapy was 51 (range 26-167) months; LEF was given for a median of 12 (range 4-47) months. Anti-tumour necrosis factor (anti-TNF-α) co-medication was given to four children while on MTX. By contrast, LEF was combined with anti-TNF-α treatment in six children. On MTX, JIA patients showed a uveitis flare rate of 0.0247 flares/month, while LEF treatment was associated with a significantly higher flare rate of 0.0607 flares/month (p = 0.008). Children with JIA had significantly more uveitis flares on LEF compared to MTX despite receiving anti-TNF-α co-medication more frequently. Therefore, LEF may need to be considered less effective in controlling chronic anterior uveitis.

  13. Endodontic flare-ups: a prospective study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alves, Vanessa de Oliveira

    2010-11-01

    The objective of this prospective clinical study was to evaluate the incidence of flare-ups (pain and/or swelling requiring endodontic interappointment and emergency treatment) and identify the risk factors associated with their occurrence in patients who received endodontic treatment from June 2006 to June 2007 at the endodontics clinic of the São Paulo Dental Association (APCD), Jardim Paulista branch, São Paulo, Brazil. The incidence of flare-ups was 1.71% out of 408 teeth that had received endodontic therapy. Statistical analysis using the chi-squared test (P flare-up rate and the presence of a periradicular radiolucency. Copyright © 2010 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Feature Selection, Flaring Size and Time-to-Flare Prediction Using Support Vector Regression, and Automated Prediction of Flaring Behavior Based on Spatio-Temporal Measures Using Hidden Markov Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Ghraibah, Amani

    Solar flares release stored magnetic energy in the form of radiation and can have significant detrimental effects on earth including damage to technological infrastructure. Recent work has considered methods to predict future flare activity on the basis of quantitative measures of the solar magnetic field. Accurate advanced warning of solar flare occurrence is an area of increasing concern and much research is ongoing in this area. Our previous work 111] utilized standard pattern recognition and classification techniques to determine (classify) whether a region is expected to flare within a predictive time window, using a Relevance Vector Machine (RVM) classification method. We extracted 38 features which describing the complexity of the photospheric magnetic field, the result classification metrics will provide the baseline against which we compare our new work. We find a true positive rate (TPR) of 0.8, true negative rate (TNR) of 0.7, and true skill score (TSS) of 0.49. This dissertation proposes three basic topics; the first topic is an extension to our previous work [111, where we consider a feature selection method to determine an appropriate feature subset with cross validation classification based on a histogram analysis of selected features. Classification using the top five features resulting from this analysis yield better classification accuracies across a large unbalanced dataset. In particular, the feature subsets provide better discrimination of the many regions that flare where we find a TPR of 0.85, a TNR of 0.65 sightly lower than our previous work, and a TSS of 0.5 which has an improvement comparing with our previous work. In the second topic, we study the prediction of solar flare size and time-to-flare using support vector regression (SVR). When we consider flaring regions only, we find an average error in estimating flare size of approximately half a GOES class. When we additionally consider non-flaring regions, we find an increased average

  15. Elongation of Flare Ribbons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qiu, Jiong; Longcope, Dana W. [Department of Physics, Montana State University, Bozeman MT (United States); Cassak, Paul A. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, Morgantown WV (United States); Priest, Eric R. [School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St. Andrews, Fife KY16 9SS, Scotland (United Kingdom)

    2017-03-20

    We present an analysis of the apparent elongation motion of flare ribbons along the polarity inversion line (PIL), as well as the shear of flare loops in several two-ribbon flares. Flare ribbons and loops spread along the PIL at a speed ranging from a few to a hundred km s{sup −1}. The shear measured from conjugate footpoints is consistent with the measurement from flare loops, and both show the decrease of shear toward a potential field as a flare evolves and ribbons and loops spread along the PIL. Flares exhibiting fast bidirectional elongation appear to have a strong shear, which may indicate a large magnetic guide field relative to the reconnection field in the coronal current sheet. We discuss how the analysis of ribbon motion could help infer properties in the corona where reconnection takes place.

  16. Which of Kepler's Stars Flare?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohler, Susanna

    2017-12-01

    The habitability of distant exoplanets is dependent upon many factors one of which is the activity of their host stars. To learn about which stars are most likely to flare, a recent study examines tens of thousands of stellar flares observed by Kepler.Need for a Broader SampleArtists rendering of a flaring dwarf star. [NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center/S. Wiessinger]Most of our understanding of what causes a star to flare is based on observations of the only star near enough to examine in detail the Sun. But in learning from a sample size of one, a challenge arises: we must determine which conclusions are unique to the Sun (or Sun-like stars), and which apply to other stellar types as well.Based on observations and modeling, astronomers think that stellar flares result from the reconnection of magnetic field lines in a stars outer atmosphere, the corona. The magnetic activity is thought to be driven by a dynamo caused by motions in the stars convective zone.HR diagram of the Kepler stars, with flaring main-sequence (yellow), giant (red) and A-star (green) stars in the authors sample indicated. [Van Doorsselaere et al. 2017]To test whether these ideas are true generally, we need to understand what types of stars exhibit flares, and what stellar properties correlate with flaring activity. A team of scientists led by Tom Van Doorsselaere (KU Leuven, Belgium) has now used an enormous sample of flares observed by Kepler to explore these statistics.Intriguing TrendsVan Doorsselaere and collaborators used a new automated flare detection and characterization algorithm to search through the raw light curves from Quarter 15 of the Kepler mission, building a sample of 16,850 flares on 6,662 stars. They then used these to study the dependence of the flare occurrence rate, duration, energy, and amplitude on the stellar spectral type and rotation period.This large statistical study led the authors to several interesting conclusions, including:Flare star incidence rate as a a

  17. Space radiation dose analysis for solar flare of August 1989

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nealy, J.E.; Simonsen, L.C.; Sauer, H.H.; Wilson, J.W.; Townsend, L.W.

    1990-12-01

    Potential dose and dose rate levels to astronauts in deep space are predicted for the solar flare event which occurred during the week of August 13, 1989. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-7) monitored the temporal development and energy characteristics of the protons emitted during this event. From these data, differential fluence as a function of energy was obtained in order to analyze the flare using the Langley baryon transport code, BRYNTRN, which describes the interactions of incident protons in matter. Dose equivalent estimates for the skin, ocular lens, and vital organs for 0.5 to 20 g/sq cm of aluminum shielding were predicted. For relatively light shielding (less than 2 g/sq cm), the skin and ocular lens 30-day exposure limits are exceeded within several hours of flare onset. The vital organ (5 cm depth) dose equivalent is exceeded only for the thinnest shield (0.5 g/sq cm). Dose rates (rem/hr) for the skin, ocular lens, and vital organs are also computed

  18. On the Mass and Luminosity Functions of Tidal Disruption Flares: Rate Suppression due to Black Hole Event Horizons

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Velzen, S.

    2018-01-01

    The tidal disruption of a star by a massive black hole is expected to yield a luminous flare of thermal emission. About two dozen of these stellar tidal disruption flares (TDFs) may have been detected in optical transient surveys. However, explaining the observed properties of these events within the tidal disruption paradigm is not yet possible. This theoretical ambiguity has led some authors to suggest that optical TDFs are due to a different process, such as a nuclear supernova or accretion disk instabilities. Here we present a test of a fundamental prediction of the tidal disruption event scenario: a suppression of the flare rate due to the direct capture of stars by the black hole. Using a recently compiled sample of candidate TDFs with black hole mass measurements, plus a careful treatment of selection effects in this flux-limited sample, we confirm that the dearth of observed TDFs from high-mass black holes is statistically significant. All the TDF impostor models we consider fail to explain the observed mass function; the only scenario that fits the data is a suppression of the rate due to direct captures. We find that this suppression can explain the low volumetric rate of the luminous TDF candidate ASASSN-15lh, thus supporting the hypothesis that this flare belongs to the TDF family. Our work is the first to present the optical TDF luminosity function. A steep power law is required to explain the observed rest-frame g-band luminosity, {dN}/{{dL}}g\\propto {L}g-2.5. The mean event rate of the flares in our sample is ≈ 1× {10}-4 galaxy‑1 yr‑1, consistent with the theoretically expected tidal disruption rate.

  19. The NWRA Classification Infrastructure: description and extension to the Discriminant Analysis Flare Forecasting System (DAFFS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leka, K. D.; Barnes, Graham; Wagner, Eric

    2018-04-01

    A classification infrastructure built upon Discriminant Analysis (DA) has been developed at NorthWest Research Associates for examining the statistical differences between samples of two known populations. Originating to examine the physical differences between flare-quiet and flare-imminent solar active regions, we describe herein some details of the infrastructure including: parametrization of large datasets, schemes for handling "null" and "bad" data in multi-parameter analysis, application of non-parametric multi-dimensional DA, an extension through Bayes' theorem to probabilistic classification, and methods invoked for evaluating classifier success. The classifier infrastructure is applicable to a wide range of scientific questions in solar physics. We demonstrate its application to the question of distinguishing flare-imminent from flare-quiet solar active regions, updating results from the original publications that were based on different data and much smaller sample sizes. Finally, as a demonstration of "Research to Operations" efforts in the space-weather forecasting context, we present the Discriminant Analysis Flare Forecasting System (DAFFS), a near-real-time operationally-running solar flare forecasting tool that was developed from the research-directed infrastructure.

  20. Forecasting Flare Activity Using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernandez, T.

    2017-12-01

    Current operational flare forecasting relies on human morphological analysis of active regions and the persistence of solar flare activity through time (i.e. that the Sun will continue to do what it is doing right now: flaring or remaining calm). In this talk we present the results of applying deep Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) to the problem of solar flare forecasting. CNNs operate by training a set of tunable spatial filters that, in combination with neural layer interconnectivity, allow CNNs to automatically identify significant spatial structures predictive for classification and regression problems. We will start by discussing the applicability and success rate of the approach, the advantages it has over non-automated forecasts, and how mining our trained neural network provides a fresh look into the mechanisms behind magnetic energy storage and release.

  1. Flare-up rate in molars with periapical radiolucency in one-visit vs two-visit endodontic treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akbar, Iftikhar; Iqbal, Azhar; Al-Omiri, Mahmoud K

    2013-05-01

    The objective of this study was to compare postobturation flare-ups following single and two-visit endodontic treatment of molar teeth with periapical radiolucency. A total of 100 patients with asymptomatic molar teeth with periapical radiolucency were selected. They were randomly allocated into two groups. Fifty patients received complete endodontic treatment in one-visit. Fifty patients received treatment by debridement and instrumentation at the first visit followed by obturation at the second visit. 10% of patients had flare-ups in the single visit group and 8% of patients had flare-ups in the two-visit group. Number of visits did not affect the success of endodontic treatment (p>0.05). Age, gender and tooth type had no effects on the occurrence of flare-ups regardless the number of visits (p>0.05). One-visit endodontic treatment was as successful as two-visit endodontic treatment as evaluated by rate of flareups in asymptomatic molar teeth with periapical radiolucency.

  2. Field Measurements of Black Carbon Yields from Gas Flaring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conrad, Bradley M; Johnson, Matthew R

    2017-02-07

    Black carbon (BC) emissions from gas flaring in the oil and gas industry are postulated to have critical impacts on climate and public health, but actual emission rates remain poorly characterized. This paper presents in situ field measurements of BC emission rates and flare gas volume-specific BC yields for a diverse range of flares. Measurements were performed during a series of field campaigns in Mexico and Ecuador using the sky-LOSA optical measurement technique, in concert with comprehensive Monte Carlo-based uncertainty analyses. Parallel on-site measurements of flare gas flow rate and composition were successfully performed at a subset of locations enabling direct measurements of fuel-specific BC yields from flares under field conditions. Quantified BC emission rates from individual flares spanned more than 4 orders of magnitude (up to 53.7 g/s). In addition, emissions during one notable ∼24-h flaring event (during which the plume transmissivity dropped to zero) would have been even larger than this maximum rate, which was measured as this event was ending. This highlights the likely importance of superemitters to global emission inventories. Flare gas volume-specific BC yields were shown to be strongly correlated with flare gas heating value. A newly derived correlation fitting current field data and previous lab data suggests that, in the context of recent studies investigating transport of flare-generated BC in the Arctic and globally, impacts of flaring in the energy industry may in fact be underestimated.

  3. Flare-ups in endodontics and their relationship to various medicaments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ehrmann, Ernest H; Messer, Harold H; Clark, Robert M

    2007-12-01

    The purpose of this research is to investigate the frequency of endodontic flare-ups using a visual analogue scale. Definitions of flare-ups vary widely as does their reported frequency. A flare-up was defined as an increase of 20 or more points on the visual analogue scale for a given tooth, within the periods of 4 h and 24 h after the initial treatment appointment. The data from a previous study were used to determine the incidence of flare-ups after using three modalities (Ledermix, calcium hydroxide and no medication) to manage patients presenting for relief of pain of endodontic origin. A statistical analysis showed that there were no significant differences in flare-up rates at both the 4-h and 24-h periods between the three modalities. Further research is required using the above definition of a flare-up and standardising treatment protocols.

  4. Does erythrocyte sedimentation rate reflect and discriminate flare from infection in systemic lupus erythematosus? Correlation with clinical and laboratory parameters of disease activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schäfer, Valentin Sebastian; Weiß, Katharina; Krause, Andreas; Schmidt, Wolfgang Andreas

    2018-07-01

    To examine disease activity parameters in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) experiencing flare, infection, both, or neither condition, focusing on erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). This study is a retrospective analysis of 371 consecutive inpatient SLE cases from 2006 to 2015. Cases were classified as flare (n = 147), infection (n = 48), both (n = 23), or neither (n = 135). ESR levels were correlated to C-reactive protein (CRP), ferritin, anti-dsDNA antibodies, complement C3 reduction, serositis, and erythrocyturia with proteinuria (Pearson's correlation). ESR levels were related to an age- and gender-adapted cut-off value (ESRp). We analyzed mean values of age, ESR, ESRp, CRP, ferritin and distribution of anti-dsDNA antibodies, C3 reduction, serositis, and erythrocyturia with proteinuria. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated via receiver operating characteristic or two-by-two table. Association of parameters with disease activity and infection was tested via two-sided chi square test. ESR correlated moderately with CRP in cases with flare and/or infection (r = 0.505-0.586). While ESR and CRP were normal in remission, mean values overlapped in cases with flare, infection, or both. ESRp was higher in flare than in infection (p = 0.048). ESR lost association to activity in infected cases, CRP to infection in flaring cases. ESRp, serositis, and anti-dsDNA antibodies were related to disease activity regardless of infections. Anti-dsDNA antibodies were most sensitive for detecting flares (74%), while serositis, proteinuria with erythrocyturia, anti-dsDNA antibodies, C3 reduction, and ESRp values ≥ 2 were most specific. ESR levels were raised by flares, infections, and age; adapting them to age and gender increased their diagnostic value. Obtaining several parameters remains necessary to differentiate flare from infection.

  5. Flare observation by the satellite 'Hinotori'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tanaka, Toshio

    1981-01-01

    The satellite ''Hinotori'' makes 5 rounds a day and is doing flare observation. The total observation days amounted to 94 days. Among the observed flares, the quiet mode flares were picked up from the reproduced data. The plot of the time variation of flares was obtained for four energy bands, HXM-1 (17 to 40 keV), HXM2 - 7 (over 40 keV), FLM-L (1 to 5 keV) and FLM-H (5 to 12 keV). At present, the judge of flares is made by using hard X-ray of the HXM-1 plot. False signals were completely removed. A large percentage of big flares was collected by Hinotori, eleven X-class flares were recorded. The operation status of ''Hinotori'' has been in good condition. The spin frequency has increased with a constant rate. (Kato, T.)

  6. Flaring fix: better technologies green flaring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stastny, P.

    2004-01-01

    Recent advances in reducing solution gas flaring and venting are discussed, highlighting the 2002 report of the Clean Air Strategic Alliance (CASA) and its 39 recommendations targeting a 50 per cent reduction in flaring from a 1996 baseline. Much of the improvement to date (62 per cent at the end of 2002 on an annual basis) has come from collecting and sending gas down pipelines for processing, but improvements in technologies such as incineration, in combustion efficiency, and the use of micro-turbines, also helped to make a difference. Improvements in smokeless flares, through the addition of a special flare tip to flare stacks, has similarly contributed to higher combustion efficiency, and further improvements are expected from sonic flare technology currently under development. Expectations are also high for advances in incinerator technology, particularly enclosed burner systems, which almost completely burn flare gas while having no visible flame, smoke or odor

  7. Flare-ups after endodontic treatment: a meta-analysis of literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsesis, Igor; Faivishevsky, Vadim; Fuss, Zvi; Zukerman, Ofer

    2008-10-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of flare-ups and to evaluate factors that affect it by using meta-analysis of results of previous studies. MEDLINE database was searched by using Entrez PubMed search engine and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) search with EviDents Search Engine to identify the studies dealing with endodontic flare-up phenomenon. The search covered all articles published in dental journals in English from 1966-May 2007, and the relevancy of 119 selected articles was evaluated by reading their titles and abstracts, from which 54 were rejected as irrelevant and 65 were subjected to a suitability test. Six studies that met all the above mentioned criteria were included in the study. Average percentage of incidence of flare-ups for 982 patients was 8.4 (standard deviation +/-57). There were insufficient data to investigate the effect of the influencing factors.

  8. Two-phase Heating in Flaring Loops

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Chunming; Qiu, Jiong; Longcope, Dana W.

    2018-03-01

    We analyze and model a C5.7 two-ribbon solar flare observed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory, Hinode, and GOES on 2011 December 26. The flare is made of many loops formed and heated successively over one and half hours, and their footpoints are brightened in the UV 1600 Å before enhanced soft X-ray and EUV missions are observed in flare loops. Assuming that anchored at each brightened UV pixel is a half flaring loop, we identify more than 6700 half flaring loops, and infer the heating rate of each loop from the UV light curve at the footpoint. In each half loop, the heating rate consists of two phases: intense impulsive heating followed by a low-rate heating that is persistent for more than 20 minutes. Using these heating rates, we simulate the evolution of their coronal temperatures and densities with the model of the “enthalpy-based thermal evolution of loops.” In the model, suppression of thermal conduction is also considered. This model successfully reproduces total soft X-ray and EUV light curves observed in 15 passbands by four instruments GOES, AIA, XRT, and EVE. In this flare, a total energy of 4.9 × 1030 erg is required to heat the corona, around 40% of this energy is in the slow-heating phase. About two-fifths of the total energy used to heat the corona is radiated by the coronal plasmas, and the other three fifth transported to the lower atmosphere by thermal conduction.

  9. Joint Spectral Analysis for Early Bright X-ray Flares of γ-Ray Bursts ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Abstract. A joint spectral analysis for early bright X-ray flares that were simultaneously observed with Swift BAT and XRT are present. Both BAT and XRT lightcurves of these flares are correlated. Our joint spectral anal- ysis shows that the radiations in the two energy bands are from the same spectral component, which can ...

  10. MOST OBSERVATIONS OF OUR NEAREST NEIGHBOR: FLARES ON PROXIMA CENTAURI

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Davenport, James R. A. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Western Washington University, 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 98225 (United States); Kipping, David M. [Department of Astronomy, Columbia University, 550 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027 (United States); Sasselov, Dimitar [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Matthews, Jaymie M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, 6224 Agricultural Road, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1 (Canada); Cameron, Chris [Department of Mathematics, Physics and Geology, Cape Breton University, 1250 Grand Lake Road, Sydney, NS B1P 6L2 (Canada)

    2016-10-01

    We present a study of white-light flares from the active M5.5 dwarf Proxima Centauri using the Canadian microsatellite Microvariability and Oscillations of STars . Using 37.6 days of monitoring data from 2014 to 2015, we have detected 66 individual flare events, the largest number of white-light flares observed to date on Proxima Cen. Flare energies in our sample range from 10{sup 29} to 10{sup 31.5} erg. The flare rate is lower than that of other classic flare stars of a similar spectral type, such as UV Ceti, which may indicate Proxima Cen had a higher flare rate in its youth. Proxima Cen does have an unusually high flare rate given its slow rotation period, however. Extending the observed power-law occurrence distribution down to 10{sup 28} erg, we show that flares with flux amplitudes of 0.5% occur 63 times per day, while superflares with energies of 10{sup 33} erg occur ∼8 times per year. Small flares may therefore pose a great difficulty in searches for transits from the recently announced 1.27 M {sub ⊕} Proxima b, while frequent large flares could have significant impact on the planetary atmosphere.

  11. Influences of misprediction costs on solar flare prediction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Xin; Wang, HuaNing; Dai, XingHua

    2012-10-01

    The mispredictive costs of flaring and non-flaring samples are different for different applications of solar flare prediction. Hence, solar flare prediction is considered a cost sensitive problem. A cost sensitive solar flare prediction model is built by modifying the basic decision tree algorithm. Inconsistency rate with the exhaustive search strategy is used to determine the optimal combination of magnetic field parameters in an active region. These selected parameters are applied as the inputs of the solar flare prediction model. The performance of the cost sensitive solar flare prediction model is evaluated for the different thresholds of solar flares. It is found that more flaring samples are correctly predicted and more non-flaring samples are wrongly predicted with the increase of the cost for wrongly predicting flaring samples as non-flaring samples, and the larger cost of wrongly predicting flaring samples as non-flaring samples is required for the higher threshold of solar flares. This can be considered as the guide line for choosing proper cost to meet the requirements in different applications.

  12. Principal component analysis of solar flares in the soft X-ray flux

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Teuber, D.L.; Reichmann, E.J.; Wilson, R.M.; National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Huntsville, AL

    1979-01-01

    Principal component analysis is a technique for extracting the salient features from a mass of data. It applies, in particular, to the analysis of nonstationary ensembles. Computational schemes for this task require the evaluation of eigenvalues of matrices. We have used EISPACK Matrix Eigen System Routines on an IBM 360-75 to analyze full-disk proportional-counter data from the X-ray event analyzer (X-REA) which was part of the Skylab ATM/S-056 experiment. Empirical orthogonal functions have been derived for events in the soft X-ray spectrum between 2.5 and 20 A during different time frames between June 1973 and January 1974. Results indicate that approximately 90% of the cumulative power of each analyzed flare is contained in the largest eigenvector. The first two largest eigenvectors are sufficient for an empirical curve-fit through the raw data and a characterization of solar flares in the soft X-ray flux. Power spectra of the two largest eigenvectors reveal a previously reported periodicity of approximately 5 min. Similar signatures were also obtained from flares that are synchronized on maximum pulse-height when subjected to a principal component analysis. (orig.)

  13. Solar flares

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zirin, H.

    1974-01-01

    A review of the knowledge about solar flares which has been obtained through observations from the earth and from space by various methods is presented. High-resolution cinematography is best carried out at H-alpha wavelengths to reveal the structure, time history, and location of flares. The classification flares in H alpha according to either physical or morphological criteria is discussed. The study of flare morphology, which shows where, when, and how flares occur, is important for evaluating theories of flares. Consideration is given to studies of flares by optical spectroscopy, radio emissions, and at X-ray and XUV wavelengths. Research has shown where and possibly why flares occur, but the physics of the instability involved, of the particle acceleration, and of the heating are still not understood. (IAA)

  14. Effect of flow parameters on flare stack generator noise

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dinn, T.S.

    1998-01-01

    The SoundPLAN Computer Noise Model was used to determine the general effect of flare noise in a community adjacent to a petrochemical plant. Tests were conducted to determine the effect of process flow conditions and the pulsating flame on the flare stack generator noise from both a refinery flare and process flare. Flaring under normal plant operations, the flaring of fuel gas and the flaring of hydrogen were the three conditions that were tested. It was shown that the steam flow rate was the determining factor in the flare stack generated noise. Variations in the water seal level in the flare line surge tank increased or decreased the gas flowrate, which resulted in a pulsating flame. The period and amplitude of the pulsating noise from the flare stacks was determined by measuring several parameters. Flare stack noise oscillations were found to be greater for the process flare than for the refinery flare stack. It was suggested that minimizing the amount of steam fed to the flare and improving the burner design would minimize noise. 2 tabs., 6 figs

  15. Flare stars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nicastro, A.J.

    1981-01-01

    The least massive, but possibly most numerous, stars in a galaxy are the dwarf M stars. It has been observed that some of these dwarfs are characterized by a short increase in brightness. These stars are called flare stars. These flare stars release a lot of energy in a short amount of time. The process producing the eruption must be energetic. The increase in light intensity can be explained by a small area rising to a much higher temperature. Solar flares are looked at to help understand the phenomenon of stellar flares. Dwarfs that flare are observed to have strong magnetic fields. Those dwarf without the strong magnetic field do not seem to flare. It is believed that these regions of strong magnetic fields are associated with star spots. Theories on the energy that power the flares are given. Astrophysicists theorize that the driving force of a stellar flare is the detachment and collapse of a loop of magnetic flux. The mass loss due to stellar flares is discussed. It is believed that stellar flares are a significant contributor to the mass of interstellar medium in the Milky Way

  16. K2 Ultracool Dwarfs Survey. II. The White Light Flare Rate of Young Brown Dwarfs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gizis, John E.; Paudel, Rishi R.; Mullan, Dermott; Schmidt, Sarah J.; Burgasser, Adam J.; Williams, Peter K. G.

    2017-08-01

    We use Kepler K2 Campaign 4 short-cadence (one-minute) photometry to measure white light flares in the young, moving group brown dwarfs 2MASS J03350208+2342356 (2M0335+23) and 2MASS J03552337+1133437 (2M0355+11), and report on long-cadence (thirty-minute) photometry of a superflare in the Pleiades M8 brown dwarf CFHT-PL-17. The rotation period (5.24 hr) and projected rotational velocity (45 km s-1) confirm 2M0335+23 is inflated (R≥slant 0.20 {R}⊙ ) as predicted for a 0.06 {M}⊙ , 24 Myr old brown dwarf βPic moving group member. We detect 22 white light flares on 2M0335+23. The flare frequency distribution follows a power-law distribution with slope -α =-1.8+/- 0.2 over the range 1031 to 1033 erg. This slope is similar to that observed in the Sun and warmer flare stars, and is consistent with lower-energy flares in previous work on M6-M8 very-low-mass stars; taking the two data sets together, the flare frequency distribution for ultracool dwarfs is a power law over 4.3 orders of magnitude. The superflare (2.6× {10}34 erg) on CFHT-PL-17 shows higher-energy flares are possible. We detect no flares down to a limit of 2× {10}30 erg in the nearby L5γ AB Dor moving group brown dwarf 2M0355+11, consistent with the view that fast magnetic reconnection is suppressed in cool atmospheres. We discuss two multi-peaked flares observed in 2M0335+23, and argue that these complex flares can be understood as sympathetic flares, in which fast-mode magnetohydrodynamic waves similar to extreme-ultraviolet waves in the Sun trigger magnetic reconnection in different active regions.

  17. Analysis of the effect of dissimilar welding in a high pressure flare stack

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mahdi Ezwan Mahmoud; Mohd Harun; Zaifol Samsu; Norasiah Kasim; Zaiton Selamat; Alahuddin, K.H.

    2010-01-01

    A flare stack is an elevated vertical stack found in a natural gas processing plant, used primarily for combusting waste gases released by pressure relief valves. The materials used for our high pressure flare tip are carbon steel (CS) type A516 Gr. 55 for its lower portion, and stainless steel (SS) 310 for its upper portion. Both were combined into a single unit by arc welding (dissimilar welding), with SS310 as a base metal. After 5 years of operations, few mechanical deformations were observed on the flare stack, along with corrosion deposit on the CS portion of the flare. Detailed analysis shows the presence of toe and shrinkage cracks, along with spheroidization of pearlite in the CS. These are caused by factors such as mismatched welding and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) between the metals. These factors helped exacerbate crack initiation and propagation. Based on the evidence collected, it is recommended that the CS A516 be replaced with SS310. (author)

  18. WHITE-LIGHT FLARES ON CLOSE BINARIES OBSERVED WITH KEPLER

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao, Qing; Xin, Yu; Liu, Ji-Feng; Zhang, Xiao-Bin; Gao, Shuang

    2016-01-01

    Based on Kepler data, we present the results of a search for white light flares on 1049 close binaries. We identify 234 flare binaries, of which 6818 flares are detected. We compare the flare-binary fraction in different binary morphologies (“detachedness”). The result shows that the fractions in over-contact and ellipsoidal binaries are approximately 10%–20% lower than those in detached and semi-detached systems. We calculate the binary flare activity level (AL) of all the flare binaries, and discuss its variations along the orbital period ( P orb ) and rotation period ( P rot , calculated for only detached binaries). We find that the AL increases with decreasing P orb or P rot , up to the critical values at P orb ∼ 3 days or P rot ∼ 1.5 days, and thereafter the AL starts decreasing no matter how fast the stars rotate. We examine the flaring rate as a function of orbital phase in two eclipsing binaries on which a large number of flares are detected. It appears that there is no correlation between flaring rate and orbital phase in these two binaries. In contrast, when we examine the function with 203 flares on 20 non-eclipse ellipsoidal binaries, bimodal distribution of amplitude-weighted flare numbers shows up at orbital phases 0.25 and 0.75. Such variation could be larger than what is expected from the cross section modification.

  19. University of Alberta Flare Research Project : characterization of gases and liquids flared at battery sites in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kostiuk, L.W.; Thomas, G. P.

    2004-01-01

    Flaring is commonly used in the energy and petrochemical industries to dispose of unwanted combustible gases by burning them in an open flame. The Flare Research Project at the University of Alberta is an ongoing multiyear study into the emissions, combustion process and fluid mechanics related to flaring. This report presents the results of one phase of the study which characterizes the nature and relative quantities of gases and liquids being flared at seven battery sites in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. A sampling system was specially developed to collect and analyze both the gas and liquid component of the flare stream. The analysis was performed by an independent chemical analysis company. Results indicate that no liquids were collected or observed at any of the sites, dispelling the assumption that liquids are commonly found in flare streams. Analysis of the gas phase showed a wide variation in the volume fraction of fuel and inert components. No correlation was made to link the appearance of smoke at a flare site to the composition of the flare gases. The preliminary tests provide the foundation for recommendations for future work regarding sampling programs and issues of combustion efficiency. 1 tab., 4 figs., 1 appendix

  20. A satellite-based analysis of the Val d'Agri Oil Center (southern Italy) gas flaring emissions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faruolo, M.; Coviello, I.; Filizzola, C.; Lacava, T.; Pergola, N.; Tramutoli, V.

    2014-10-01

    In this paper, the robust satellite techniques (RST), a multi-temporal scheme of satellite data analysis, was implemented to analyze the flaring activity of the Val d'Agri Oil Center (COVA), the largest Italian gas and oil pre-treatment plant, owned by Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi (ENI). For this site, located in an anthropized area characterized by a large environmental complexity, flaring emissions are mainly related to emergency conditions (i.e., waste flaring), as industrial processes are regulated by strict regional laws. While regarding the peculiar characteristics of COVA flaring, the main aim of this work was to assess the performances of RST in terms of sensitivity and reliability in providing independent estimations of gas flaring volumes in such conditions. In detail, RST was implemented for 13 years of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) medium and thermal infrared data in order to identify the highly radiant records associated with the COVA flare emergency discharges. Then, using data provided by ENI about gas flaring volumes in the period 2003-2009, a MODIS-based regression model was developed and tested. The results achieved indicate that the such a model is able to estimate, with a good level of accuracy (R2 of 0.83), emitted gas flaring volumes at COVA.

  1. Can we explain atypical solar flares?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalmasse, K.; Chandra, R.; Schmieder, B.; Aulanier, G.

    2015-02-01

    Context. We used multiwavelength high-resolution data from ARIES, THEMIS, and SDO instruments to analyze a non-standard, C3.3 class flare produced within the active region NOAA 11589 on 2012 October 16. Magnetic flux emergence and cancellation were continuously detected within the active region, the latter leading to the formation of two filaments. Aims: Our aim is to identify the origins of the flare taking the complex dynamics of its close surroundings into account. Methods: We analyzed the magnetic topology of the active region using a linear force-free field extrapolation to derive its 3D magnetic configuration and the location of quasi-separatrix layers (QSLs), which are preferred sites for flaring activity. Because the active region's magnetic field was nonlinear force-free, we completed a parametric study using different linear force-free field extrapolations to demonstrate the robustness of the derived QSLs. Results: The topological analysis shows that the active region presented a complex magnetic configuration comprising several QSLs. The considered data set suggests that an emerging flux episode played a key role in triggering the flare. The emerging flux probably activated the complex system of QSLs, leading to multiple coronal magnetic reconnections within the QSLs. This scenario accounts for the observed signatures: the two extended flare ribbons developed at locations matched by the photospheric footprints of the QSLs and were accompanied with flare loops that formed above the two filaments, which played no important role in the flare dynamics. Conclusions: This is a typical example of a complex flare that can a priori show standard flare signatures that are nevertheless impossible to interpret with any standard model of eruptive or confined flare. We find that a topological analysis, however, permitted us to unveil the development of such complex sets of flare signatures. Movies associated to Figs. 1, 3, and 9 are only available at the CDS via

  2. Thermodynamic Spectrum of Solar Flares Based on SDO/EVE Observations: Techniques and First Results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yuming; Zhou, Zhenjun; Zhang, Jie; Liu, Kai; Liu, Rui; Shen, Chenglong; Chamberlin, Phillip C.

    2016-01-01

    The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)/EUV Variability Experiment (EVE) provides rich information on the thermodynamic processes of solar activities, particularly on solar flares. Here, we develop a method to construct thermodynamic spectrum (TDS) charts based on the EVE spectral lines. This tool could potentially be useful for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) astronomy to learn about the eruptive activities on distant astronomical objects. Through several cases, we illustrate what we can learn from the TDS charts. Furthermore, we apply the TDS method to 74 flares equal to or greater than the M5.0 class, and reach the following statistical results. First, EUV peaks are always behind the soft X-ray (SXR) peaks and stronger flares tend to have faster cooling rates. There is a power-law correlation between the peak delay times and the cooling rates, suggesting a coherent cooling process of flares from SXR to EUV emissions. Second, there are two distinct temperature drift patterns, called Type I and Type II. For Type I flares, the enhanced emission drifts from high to low temperature like a quadrilateral, whereas for Type II flares the drift pattern looks like a triangle. Statistical analysis suggests that Type II flares are more impulsive than Type I flares. Third, for late-phase flares, the peak intensity ratio of the late phase to the main phase is roughly correlated with the flare class, and the flares with a strong late phase are all confined. We believe that the re-deposition of the energy carried by a flux rope, which unsuccessfully erupts out, into thermal emissions is responsible for the strong late phase found in a confined flare. Furthermore, we show the signatures of the flare thermodynamic process in the chromosphere and transition region in the TDS charts. These results provide new clues to advance our understanding of the thermodynamic processes of solar flares and associated solar eruptions, e.g., coronal mass ejections.

  3. THERMODYNAMIC SPECTRUM OF SOLAR FLARES BASED ON SDO/EVE OBSERVATIONS: TECHNIQUES AND FIRST RESULTS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Yuming; Zhou, Zhenjun; Liu, Kai; Liu, Rui; Shen, Chenglong [CAS Key Laboratory of Geospace Environment, Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (China); Zhang, Jie [School of Physics, Astronomy and Computational Sciences, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, MSN 6A2, Fairfax, VA 22030 (United States); Chamberlin, Phillip C., E-mail: ymwang@ustc.edu.cn [Solar Physics Laboratory, Heliophysics Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)

    2016-03-15

    The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)/EUV Variability Experiment (EVE) provides rich information on the thermodynamic processes of solar activities, particularly on solar flares. Here, we develop a method to construct thermodynamic spectrum (TDS) charts based on the EVE spectral lines. This tool could potentially be useful for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) astronomy to learn about the eruptive activities on distant astronomical objects. Through several cases, we illustrate what we can learn from the TDS charts. Furthermore, we apply the TDS method to 74 flares equal to or greater than the M5.0 class, and reach the following statistical results. First, EUV peaks are always behind the soft X-ray (SXR) peaks and stronger flares tend to have faster cooling rates. There is a power-law correlation between the peak delay times and the cooling rates, suggesting a coherent cooling process of flares from SXR to EUV emissions. Second, there are two distinct temperature drift patterns, called Type I and Type II. For Type I flares, the enhanced emission drifts from high to low temperature like a quadrilateral, whereas for Type II flares the drift pattern looks like a triangle. Statistical analysis suggests that Type II flares are more impulsive than Type I flares. Third, for late-phase flares, the peak intensity ratio of the late phase to the main phase is roughly correlated with the flare class, and the flares with a strong late phase are all confined. We believe that the re-deposition of the energy carried by a flux rope, which unsuccessfully erupts out, into thermal emissions is responsible for the strong late phase found in a confined flare. Furthermore, we show the signatures of the flare thermodynamic process in the chromosphere and transition region in the TDS charts. These results provide new clues to advance our understanding of the thermodynamic processes of solar flares and associated solar eruptions, e.g., coronal mass ejections.

  4. Flare energetics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, S. T.; Dejager, C.; Dennis, B. R.; Hudson, H. S.; Simnett, G. M.; Strong, K. T.; Bentley, R. D.; Bornmann, P. L.; Bruner, M. E.; Cargill, P. J.

    1986-01-01

    In this investigation of flare energetics, researchers sought to establish a comprehensive and self-consistent picture of the sources and transport of energy within a flare. To achieve this goal, they chose five flares in 1980 that were well observed with instruments on the Solar Maximum Mission, and with other space-borne and ground-based instruments. The events were chosen to represent various types of flares. Details of the observations available for them and the corresponding physical parameters derived from these data are presented. The flares were studied from two perspectives, the impulsive and gradual phases, and then the results were compared to obtain the overall picture of the energics of these flares. The role that modeling can play in estimating the total energy of a flare when the observationally determined parameters are used as the input to a numerical model is discussed. Finally, a critique of the current understanding of flare energetics and the methods used to determine various energetics terms is outlined, and possible future directions of research in this area are suggested.

  5. Feasibility of flare gas reformation to practical energy in Farashband gas refinery: no gas flaring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahimpour, Mohammad Reaza; Jokar, Seyyed Mohammad

    2012-03-30

    A suggested method for controlling the level of hazardous materials in the atmosphere is prevention of combustion in flare. In this work, three methods are proposed to recover flare gas instead of conventional gas-burning in flare at the Farashband gas refinery. These methods aim to minimize environmental and economical disadvantages of burning flare gas. The proposed methods are: (1) gas to liquid (GTL) production, (2) electricity generation with a gas turbine and, (3) compression and injection into the refinery pipelines. To find the most suitable method, the refinery units that send gas to the flare as well as the required equipment for the three aforementioned methods are simulated. These simulations determine the amount of flare gas, the number of GTL barrels, the power generated by the gas turbine and the required compression horsepower. The results of simulation show that 563 barrels/day of valuable GTL products is produced by the first method. The second method provides 25 MW electricity and the third method provides a compressed natural gas with 129 bar pressure for injection to the refinery pipelines. In addition, the economics of flare gas recovery methods are studied and compared. The results show that for the 4.176MMSCFD of gas flared from the Farashband gas refinery, the electricity production gives the highest rate of return (ROR), the lowest payback period, the highest annual profit and mild capital investment. Therefore, the electricity production is the superior method economically. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. The evolution of flaring and non-flaring active regions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kilcik, A.; Yurchyshyn, V.; Sahin, S.; Sarp, V.; Obridko, V.; Ozguc, A.; Rozelot, J. P.

    2018-06-01

    According to the modified Zurich classification, sunspot groups are classified into seven different classes (A, B, C, D, E, F and H) based on their morphology and evolution. In this classification, classes A and B, which are small groups, describe the beginning of sunspot evolution, while classes D, E and F describe the large and evolved groups. Class C describes the middle phase of sunspot evolution and the class H describes the end of sunspot evolution. Here, we compare the lifetime and temporal evolution of flaring and non-flaring active regions (ARs), and the flaring effect on ARs in these groups in detail for the last two solar cycles (1996 through 2016). Our main findings are as follows: (i) Flaring sunspot groups have longer lifetimes than non-flaring ones. (ii) Most of the class A, B and C flaring ARs rapidly evolve to higher classes, while this is not applicable for non-flaring ARs. More than 50 per cent of the flaring A, B and C groups changed morphologically, while the remaining D, E, F and H groups did not change remarkably after the flare activity. (iii) 75 per cent of all flaring sunspot groups are large and complex. (iv) There is a significant increase in the sunspot group area in classes A, B, C, D and H after flaring activity. In contrast, the sunspot group area of classes E and F decreased. The sunspot counts of classes D, E and F decreased as well, while classes A, B, C and H showed an increase.

  7. A comparative study between clinical grading of anterior chamber flare and flare reading using the Kowa laser flare meter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konstantopoulou, Kallirroi; Del'Omo, Roberto; Morley, Anne M; Karagiannis, Dimitris; Bunce, Catey; Pavesio, Carlos

    2015-10-01

    To assess the accuracy of standard clinical grading of aqueous flare in uveitis according to the Standardization of Uveitis Nomenclature consensus, and compare the results with the readings of the laser flare meter, Kowa 500. Two examiners clinically graded the flare in 110 eyes. The flare was then measured using the Kowa laser flare meter. Twenty-nine eyes were graded as anterior chamber flare +2; for 18 of these, the clinicians were in agreement, the rest differed by the order of one grade. The range of the laser flare meter for these eyes was 5.2-899.1 photons/ms. The median value was 41.4. Seventy-four eyes were graded with flare +1. Agreement was established in 51 of these eyes. Disagreement for the rest was again by the order of 1, and the flare meter range was 1.1-169.9 photons/ms, median value 18.4. For the clinical measure of flare 0, the clinicians disagreed on three out of five eyes. The flare meter readings ranged from 2.5 to 14.1 photons/ms, median value 9.9. Only two eyes were graded with flare +3 and there was one step disagreement on both of them. We found little evidence of association between the flare readings and intraocular pressure or age. Our findings suggest that clinical evaluation of aqueous flare is subjective. Compared with the Kowa laser flare meter's numeric readings, the discrepancies observed indicate that clinical grading is an approximate science. The laser flare meter provides an accurate, reproducible, non-invasive assessment of aqueous flare that can prove valuable in research and clinical decisions.

  8. PRODUCTIVITY OF SOLAR FLARES AND MAGNETIC HELICITY INJECTION IN ACTIVE REGIONS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Sung-hong; Wang Haimin; Chae, Jongchul

    2010-01-01

    The main objective of this study is to better understand how magnetic helicity injection in an active region (AR) is related to the occurrence and intensity of solar flares. We therefore investigate the magnetic helicity injection rate and unsigned magnetic flux, as a reference. In total, 378 ARs are analyzed using SOHO/MDI magnetograms. The 24 hr averaged helicity injection rate and unsigned magnetic flux are compared with the flare index and the flare-productive probability in the next 24 hr following a measurement. In addition, we study the variation of helicity over a span of several days around the times of the 19 flares above M5.0 which occurred in selected strong flare-productive ARs. The major findings of this study are as follows: (1) for a sub-sample of 91 large ARs with unsigned magnetic fluxes in the range from (3-5) x 10 22 Mx, there is a difference in the magnetic helicity injection rate between flaring ARs and non-flaring ARs by a factor of 2; (2) the GOES C-flare-productive probability as a function of helicity injection displays a sharp boundary between flare-productive ARs and flare-quiet ones; (3) the history of helicity injection before all the 19 major flares displayed a common characteristic: a significant helicity accumulation of (3-45) x 10 42 Mx 2 during a phase of monotonically increasing helicity over 0.5-2 days. Our results support the notion that helicity injection is important in flares, but it is not effective to use it alone for the purpose of flare forecast. It is necessary to find a way to better characterize the time history of helicity injection as well as its spatial distribution inside ARs.

  9. MAG4 Versus Alternative Techniques for Forecasting Active-Region Flare Productivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Falconer, David A.; Moore, Ronald L.; Barghouty, Abdulnasser F.; Khazanov, Igor

    2014-01-01

    MAG4 (Magnetogram Forecast), developed originally for NASA/SRAG (Space Radiation Analysis Group), is an automated program that analyzes magnetograms from the HMI (Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager) instrument on NASA SDO (Solar Dynamics Observatory), and automatically converts the rate (or probability) of major flares (M- and X-class), Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), and Solar Energetic Particle Events. MAG4 does not forecast that a flare will occur at a particular time in the next 24 or 48 hours; rather the probability of one occurring.

  10. KEPLER FLARES. I. ACTIVE AND INACTIVE M DWARFS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hawley, Suzanne L.; Davenport, James R. A.; Kowalski, Adam F.; Wisniewski, John P.; Deitrick, Russell; Hilton, Eric J. [Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Hebb, Leslie, E-mail: slhawley@uw.edu [Department of Physics, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 300 Pulteney Street, Geneva, NY 14456 (United States)

    2014-12-20

    We analyzed Kepler short-cadence M dwarf observations. Spectra from the Astrophysical Research Consortium 3.5 m telescope identify magnetically active (Hα in emission) stars. The active stars are of mid-M spectral type, have numerous flares, and have well-defined rotational modulation due to starspots. The inactive stars are of early M type, exhibit less starspot signature, and have fewer flares. A Kepler to U-band energy scaling allows comparison of the Kepler flare frequency distributions with previous ground-based data. M dwarfs span a large range of flare frequency and energy, blurring the distinction between active and inactive stars designated solely by the presence of Hα. We analyzed classical and complex (multiple peak) flares on GJ 1243, finding strong correlations between flare energy, amplitude, duration, and decay time, with only a weak dependence on rise time. Complex flares last longer and have higher energy at the same amplitude, and higher energy flares are more likely to be complex. A power law fits the energy distribution for flares with log E{sub K{sub p}}> 31 erg, but the predicted number of low-energy flares far exceeds the number observed, at energies where flares are still easily detectable, indicating that the power-law distribution may flatten at low energy. There is no correlation of flare occurrence or energy with starspot phase, the flare waiting time distribution is consistent with flares occurring randomly in time, and the energies of consecutive flares are uncorrelated. These observations support a scenario where many independent active regions on the stellar surface are contributing to the observed flare rate.

  11. KEPLER FLARES. I. ACTIVE AND INACTIVE M DWARFS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hawley, Suzanne L.; Davenport, James R. A.; Kowalski, Adam F.; Wisniewski, John P.; Deitrick, Russell; Hilton, Eric J.; Hebb, Leslie

    2014-01-01

    We analyzed Kepler short-cadence M dwarf observations. Spectra from the Astrophysical Research Consortium 3.5 m telescope identify magnetically active (Hα in emission) stars. The active stars are of mid-M spectral type, have numerous flares, and have well-defined rotational modulation due to starspots. The inactive stars are of early M type, exhibit less starspot signature, and have fewer flares. A Kepler to U-band energy scaling allows comparison of the Kepler flare frequency distributions with previous ground-based data. M dwarfs span a large range of flare frequency and energy, blurring the distinction between active and inactive stars designated solely by the presence of Hα. We analyzed classical and complex (multiple peak) flares on GJ 1243, finding strong correlations between flare energy, amplitude, duration, and decay time, with only a weak dependence on rise time. Complex flares last longer and have higher energy at the same amplitude, and higher energy flares are more likely to be complex. A power law fits the energy distribution for flares with log E K p > 31 erg, but the predicted number of low-energy flares far exceeds the number observed, at energies where flares are still easily detectable, indicating that the power-law distribution may flatten at low energy. There is no correlation of flare occurrence or energy with starspot phase, the flare waiting time distribution is consistent with flares occurring randomly in time, and the energies of consecutive flares are uncorrelated. These observations support a scenario where many independent active regions on the stellar surface are contributing to the observed flare rate

  12. University of Alberta Flare Research Project : characterization of gases and liquids flared at battery sites in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-01-01

    The Flare Research Project at the University of Alberta is an ongoing multi year study into the emissions, combustion process and fluid mechanics related to flaring, which is commonly used in the energy and petrochemical industries to dispose of unwanted combustible gases by burning them in an open flame. This report presents the results of one phase of the study which characterizes the nature and relative quantities of gases and liquids being flared at seven battery sites in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. A sampling system was specially developed to collect and analyze both the gas and liquid component of the flare stream. The analysis was performed by an independent chemical analysis company. Results indicate that no liquids were collected or observed at any of the sites, dispelling the assumption that liquids are commonly found in flare streams. Analysis of the gas phase showed a wide variation in the volume fraction of fuel and inert components. No correlation was made to link the appearance of smoke at a flare site to the composition of the flare gases. The preliminary tests provide the foundation for recommendations for future work regarding sampling programs and issues of combustion efficiency tab., 4 figs., 1 appendix

  13. Deep Flare Net (DeFN) Model for Solar Flare Prediction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nishizuka, N.; Sugiura, K.; Kubo, Y.; Den, M.; Ishii, M.

    2018-05-01

    We developed a solar flare prediction model using a deep neural network (DNN) named Deep Flare Net (DeFN). This model can calculate the probability of flares occurring in the following 24 hr in each active region, which is used to determine the most likely maximum classes of flares via a binary classification (e.g., ≥M class versus statistically predict flares, the DeFN model was trained to optimize the skill score, i.e., the true skill statistic (TSS). As a result, we succeeded in predicting flares with TSS = 0.80 for ≥M-class flares and TSS = 0.63 for ≥C-class flares. Note that in usual DNN models, the prediction process is a black box. However, in the DeFN model, the features are manually selected, and it is possible to analyze which features are effective for prediction after evaluation.

  14. A satellite-based analysis of the Val d'Agri (South of Italy) Oil Center gas flaring emissions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faruolo, M.; Coviello, I.; Filizzola, C.; Lacava, T.; Pergola, N.; Tramutoli, V.

    2014-06-01

    In this paper the Robust Satellite Techniques (RST), a multi-temporal scheme of satellite data analysis, was implemented to analyze the flaring activity of the largest Italian gas and oil pre-treatment plant (i.e. the Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi - ENI - Val d'Agri Oil Center - COVA). For this site, located in an anthropized area characterized by a~large environmental complexity, flaring emissions are mainly related to emergency conditions (i.e. waste flaring), being the industrial process regulated by strict regional laws. With reference to the peculiar characteristics of COVA flaring, the main aim of this work was to assess the performances of RST in terms of sensitivity and reliability in providing independent estimations of gas flaring volumes in such conditions. In detail, RST was implemented on thirteen years of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) medium and thermal infrared data in order to identify the highly radiant records associated to the COVA flare emergency discharges. Then, exploiting data provided by ENI about gas flaring volumes in the period 2003-2009, a MODIS-based regression model was developed and tested. Achieved results indicate that such a model is able to estimate, with a good level of accuracy (R2 of 0.83), emitted gas flaring volumes at COVA.

  15. Flare Characteristics from X-ray Light Curves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gryciuk, M.; Siarkowski, M.; Sylwester, J.; Gburek, S.; Podgorski, P.; Kepa, A.; Sylwester, B.; Mrozek, T.

    2017-06-01

    A new methodology is given to determine basic parameters of flares from their X-ray light curves. Algorithms are developed from the analysis of small X-ray flares occurring during the deep solar minimum of 2009, between Solar Cycles 23 and 24, observed by the Polish Solar Photometer in X-rays (SphinX) on the Complex Orbital Observations Near-Earth of Activity of the Sun-Photon (CORONAS- Photon) spacecraft. One is a semi-automatic flare detection procedure that gives start, peak, and end times for single ("elementary") flare events under the assumption that the light curve is a simple convolution of a Gaussian and exponential decay functions. More complex flares with multiple peaks can generally be described by a sum of such elementary flares. Flare time profiles in the two energy ranges of SphinX (1.16 - 1.51 keV, 1.51 - 15 keV) are used to derive temperature and emission measure as a function of time during each flare. The result is a comprehensive catalogue - the SphinX Flare Catalogue - which contains 1600 flares or flare-like events and is made available for general use. The methods described here can be applied to observations made by Geosynchronous Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES), the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) and other broad-band spectrometers.

  16. DRAFTS: A DEEP, RAPID ARCHIVAL FLARE TRANSIENT SEARCH IN THE GALACTIC BULGE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Osten, Rachel A.; Sahu, Kailash; Kowalski, Adam; Hawley, Suzanne L.

    2012-01-01

    We utilize the Sagittarius Window Eclipsing Extrasolar Planet Search Hubble Space Telescope/Advanced Camera for Surveys data set for a Deep Rapid Archival Flare Transient Search to constrain the flare rate toward the older stellar population in the Galactic bulge. During seven days of monitoring 229,293 stars brighter than V = 29.5, we find evidence for flaring activity in 105 stars between V = 20 and V = 28. We divided the sample into non-variable stars and variable stars whose light curves contain large-scale variability. The flare rate on variable stars is ∼700 times that of non-variable stars, with a significant correlation between the amount of underlying stellar variability and peak flare amplitude. The flare energy loss rates are generally higher than those of nearby well-studied single dMe flare stars. The distribution of proper motions is consistent with the flaring stars being at the distance and age of the Galactic bulge. If they are single dwarfs, then they span a range of ≈1.0-0.25 M ☉ . A majority of the flaring stars exhibit periodic photometric modulations with P < 3 days. If these are tidally locked magnetically active binary systems, then their fraction in the bulge is enhanced by a factor of ∼20 compared to the local value. These stars may be useful for placing constraints on the angular momentum evolution of cool close binary stars. Our results expand the type of stars studied for flares in the optical band, and suggest that future sensitive optical time-domain studies will have to contend with a larger sample of flaring stars than the M dwarf flare stars usually considered.

  17. Slipping magnetic reconnection during an X-class solar flare observed by SDO/AIA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dudík, J.; Del Zanna, G.; Mason, H. E. [DAMTP, CMS, University of Cambridge, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA (United Kingdom); Janvier, M. [Department of Mathematics, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 4HN (United Kingdom); Aulanier, G.; Schmieder, B. [LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, UMR 8109 (CNRS), F-92195 Meudon Principal Cedex (France); Karlický, M., E-mail: J.Dudik@damtp.cam.ac.uk, E-mail: mjanvier@maths.dundee.ac.uk [Astronomical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Fričova 298, 251 65 Ondřejov (Czech Republic)

    2014-04-01

    We present SDO/AIA observations of an eruptive X-class flare of 2012 July 12, and compare its evolution with the predictions of a three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulation. We focus on the dynamics of flare loops that are seen to undergo slipping reconnection during the flare. In the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) 131 Å observations, lower parts of 10 MK flare loops exhibit an apparent motion with velocities of several tens of km s{sup –1} along the developing flare ribbons. In the early stages of the flare, flare ribbons consist of compact, localized bright transition-region emission from the footpoints of the flare loops. A differential emission measure analysis shows that the flare loops have temperatures up to the formation of Fe XXIV. A series of very long, S-shaped loops erupt, leading to a coronal mass ejection observed by STEREO. The observed dynamics are compared with the evolution of magnetic structures in the 'standard solar flare model in 3D.' This model matches the observations well, reproducing the apparently slipping flare loops, S-shaped erupting loops, and the evolution of flare ribbons. All of these processes are explained via 3D reconnection mechanisms resulting from the expansion of a torus-unstable flux rope. The AIA observations and the numerical model are complemented by radio observations showing a noise storm in the metric range. Dm-drifting pulsation structures occurring during the eruption indicate plasmoid ejection and enhancement of the reconnection rate. The bursty nature of radio emission shows that the slipping reconnection is still intermittent, although it is observed to persist for more than an hour.

  18. Modelling emissions from natural gas flaring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Ezaina Umukoro

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The world today recognizes the significance of environmental sustainability to the development of nations. Hence, the role oil and gas industry plays in environmental degrading activities such as gas flaring is of global concern. This study presents material balance equations and predicts results for non-hydrocarbon emissions such as CO2, CO, NO, NO2, and SO2 etc. from flaring (combustion of 12 natural gas samples representing composition of natural gas of global origin. Gaseous emission estimates and pattern were modelled by coding material balance equations for six reaction types and combustion conditions with a computer program. On the average, anticipated gaseous emissions from flaring natural gas with an average annual global flaring rate 126 bcm per year (between 2000 and 2011 in million metric tonnes (mmt are 560 mmt, 48 mmt, 91 mmt, 93 mmt and 50 mmt for CO2, CO, NO, NO2 and SO2 respectively. This model predicted gaseous emissions based on the possible individual combustion types and conditions anticipated in gas flaring operation. It will assist in the effort by environmental agencies and all concerned to track and measure the extent of environmental pollution caused by gas flaring operations in the oil and gas industry.

  19. The Effects of Flare Definitions on the Statistics of Derived Flare Distrubtions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryan, Daniel; Dominique, Marie; Seaton, Daniel B.; Stegen, Koen; White, Arthur

    2016-05-01

    The statistical examination of solar flares is crucial to revealing their global characteristics and behaviour. However, statistical flare studies are often performed using standard but basic flare detection algorithms relying on arbitrary thresholds which may affect the derived flare distributions. We explore the effect of the arbitrary thresholds used in the GOES event list and LYRA Flare Finder algorithms. We find that there is a small but significant relationship between the power law exponent of the GOES flare peak flux frequency distribution and the algorithms’ flare start thresholds. We also find that the power law exponents of these distributions are not stable but appear to steepen with increasing peak flux. This implies that the observed flare size distribution may not be a power law at all. We show that depending on the true value of the exponent of the flare size distribution, this deviation from a power law may be due to flares missed by the flare detection algorithms. However, it is not possible determine the true exponent from GOES/XRS observations. Additionally we find that the PROBA2/LYRA flare size distributions are clearly non-power law. We show that this is consistent with an insufficient degradation correction which causes LYRA absolute irradiance values to be unreliable. This means that they should not be used for flare statistics or energetics unless degradation is adequately accounted for. However they can be used to study time variations over shorter timescales and for space weather monitoring.

  20. Solar flares

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaastra, J.S.

    1985-01-01

    In this thesis an electrodynamic model for solar flares is developed. The main theoretical achievements underlying the present study are treated briefly and the observable flare parameters are described within the framework of the flare model of this thesis. The flare model predicts large induced electric fields. Therefore, acceleration processes of charged particles by direct electric fields are treated. The spectrum of the accelerated particles in strong electric fields is calculated, 3 with the electric field and the magnetic field perpendicular and in the vicinity of an X-type magnetic neutral line. An electromagnetic field configuration arises in the case of a solar flare. A rising current filament in a quiescent background bipolar magnetic field causes naturally an X-type magnetic field configuration below the filament with a strong induced electric field perpendicular to the ambient magnetic field. This field configuration drives particles and magnetic energy towards the neutral line, where a current sheet is generated. The global evolution of the fields in the flare is determined by force balance of the Lorentz forces on the filament and the force balance on the current sheet. The X-ray, optical and radio observations of a large solar flare on May 16, 1981 are analyzed. It is found that these data fit the model very well. (Auth.)

  1. Dwarf Star Erupts in Giant Flare

    Science.gov (United States)

    2005-01-01

    This movie taken by NASA'S Galaxy Evolution Explorer shows one of the largest flares, or star eruptions, ever recorded at ultraviolet wavelengths. The star, called GJ 3685A, just happened to be in the Galaxy Evolution Explorer's field of view while the telescope was busy observing galaxies. As the movie demonstrates, the seemingly serene star suddenly exploded once, then even more intensely a second time, pouring out in total about one million times more energy than a typical flare from our Sun. The second blast of light constituted an increase in brightness by a factor of at least 10,000. Flares are huge explosions of energy stemming from a single location on a star's surface. They are caused by the brief destruction of a star's magnetic fields. Many types of stars experience them, though old, small, rapidly rotating 'red dwarfs' like GJ 3685A tend to flare more frequently and dramatically. These stars, called flare stars, can experience powerful eruptions as often as every few hours. Younger stars, in general, also erupt more often. One of the reasons astronomers study flare stars is to gain a better picture and history of flare events taking place on the Sun. A preliminary analysis of the GJ 3685A flare shows that the mechanisms underlying stellar eruptions may be more complex than previously believed. Evidence for the two most popular flare theories was found. Though this movie has been sped up (the actual flare lasted about 20 minutes), time-resolved data exist for each one-hundredth of a second. These observations were taken at 2 p.m. Pacific time, April 24, 2004. In the still image, the time sequence starts in the upper left panel, continues in the upper right, then moves to the lower left and ends in the lower right. The circular and linear features that appear below and to the right of GJ 3685A during the flare event are detector artifacts caused by the extreme brightness of the flare.

  2. KEPLER FLARES. II. THE TEMPORAL MORPHOLOGY OF WHITE-LIGHT FLARES ON GJ 1243

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Davenport, James R. A.; Hawley, Suzanne L.; Johnson, Emily C.; Peraza, Jesus; Jansen, Tiffany C.; Larsen, Daniel M. [Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, P.O. Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Hebb, Leslie [Department of Physics, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 300 Pulteney Street, Geneva, NY 14456 (United States); Wisniewski, John P.; Malatesta, Michael; Keil, Marcus; Silverberg, Steven M.; Scheffler, Matthew S.; Berdis, Jodi R. [HL Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma, 440 W Brooks Street, Norman, OK 73019 (United States); Kowalski, Adam F. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 671, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Hilton, Eric J., E-mail: jrad@astro.washington.edu [Universe Sandbox, 911 E. Pike Street #333, Seattle, WA 98122 (United States)

    2014-12-20

    We present the largest sample of flares ever compiled for a single M dwarf, the active M4 star GJ 1243. Over 6100 individual flare events, with energies ranging from 10{sup 29} to 10{sup 33} erg, are found in 11 months of 1 minute cadence data from Kepler. This sample is unique for its completeness and dynamic range. We have developed automated tools for finding flares in short-cadence Kepler light curves, and performed extensive validation and classification of the sample by eye. From this pristine sample of flares we generate a median flare template. This template shows that two exponential cooling phases are present during the white-light flare decay, providing fundamental constraints for models of flare physics. The template is also used as a basis function to decompose complex multi-peaked flares, allowing us to study the energy distribution of these events. Only a small number of flare events are not well fit by our template. We find that complex, multi-peaked flares occur in over 80% of flares with a duration of 50 minutes or greater. The underlying distribution of flare durations for events 10 minutes and longer appears to follow a broken power law. Our results support the idea that sympathetic flaring may be responsible for some complex flare events.

  3. KEPLER FLARES. II. THE TEMPORAL MORPHOLOGY OF WHITE-LIGHT FLARES ON GJ 1243

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davenport, James R. A.; Hawley, Suzanne L.; Johnson, Emily C.; Peraza, Jesus; Jansen, Tiffany C.; Larsen, Daniel M.; Hebb, Leslie; Wisniewski, John P.; Malatesta, Michael; Keil, Marcus; Silverberg, Steven M.; Scheffler, Matthew S.; Berdis, Jodi R.; Kowalski, Adam F.; Hilton, Eric J.

    2014-01-01

    We present the largest sample of flares ever compiled for a single M dwarf, the active M4 star GJ 1243. Over 6100 individual flare events, with energies ranging from 10 29 to 10 33 erg, are found in 11 months of 1 minute cadence data from Kepler. This sample is unique for its completeness and dynamic range. We have developed automated tools for finding flares in short-cadence Kepler light curves, and performed extensive validation and classification of the sample by eye. From this pristine sample of flares we generate a median flare template. This template shows that two exponential cooling phases are present during the white-light flare decay, providing fundamental constraints for models of flare physics. The template is also used as a basis function to decompose complex multi-peaked flares, allowing us to study the energy distribution of these events. Only a small number of flare events are not well fit by our template. We find that complex, multi-peaked flares occur in over 80% of flares with a duration of 50 minutes or greater. The underlying distribution of flare durations for events 10 minutes and longer appears to follow a broken power law. Our results support the idea that sympathetic flaring may be responsible for some complex flare events

  4. Fluctuation analysis of solar radio bursts associated with geoeffective X-class flares

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Veronese, T.B.; Rosa, R. R.; Bolzan, M.J.A.; Fernandes, F. C. R.; Sawant, H. S.; Karlický, Marian

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 73, 11-12 (2011), s. 1311-1316 ISSN 1364-6826 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10030501 Keywords : decimetric solar radio bursts * solar flares * detrended fluctuation analysis Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics Impact factor: 1.596, year: 2011

  5. Excitation of helium resonance lines in solar flares

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Porter, J.G.; Gebbie, K.B.; November, L.J.; Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics, Boulder, CO; National Solar Observatory, Sunspot, NM)

    1985-01-01

    Helium resonance line intensities are calculated for a set of six flare models corresponding to two rates of heating and three widely varying incident fluxes of soft X-rays. The differing ionization and excitation equilibria produced by these models, the processes which dominate the various cases, and the predicted helium line spectra are examined. The line intensities and their ratios are compared with values derived from Skylab NRL spectroheliograms for a class M flare, thus determining which of these models most nearly represents the density vs temperature structure and soft X-ray flux in the flaring solar transition region, and the temperature and dominant mechanaism of formation of the helium line spectrum during a flare. 26 references

  6. CONNECTING FLARES AND TRANSIENT MASS-LOSS EVENTS IN MAGNETICALLY ACTIVE STARS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Osten, Rachel A. [Space Telescope Science Institute 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Wolk, Scott J., E-mail: osten@stsci.edu [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge MA 02138 (United States)

    2015-08-10

    We explore the ramification of associating the energetics of extreme magnetic reconnection events with transient mass-loss in a stellar analogy with solar eruptive events. We establish energy partitions relative to the total bolometric radiated flare energy for different observed components of stellar flares and show that there is rough agreement for these values with solar flares. We apply an equipartition between the bolometric radiated flare energy and kinetic energy in an accompanying mass ejection, seen in solar eruptive events and expected from reconnection. This allows an integrated flare rate in a particular waveband to be used to estimate the amount of associated transient mass-loss. This approach is supported by a good correspondence between observational flare signatures on high flaring rate stars and the Sun, which suggests a common physical origin. If the frequent and extreme flares that young solar-like stars and low-mass stars experience are accompanied by transient mass-loss in the form of coronal mass ejections, then the cumulative effect of this mass-loss could be large. We find that for young solar-like stars and active M dwarfs, the total mass lost due to transient magnetic eruptions could have significant impacts on disk evolution, and thus planet formation, and also exoplanet habitability.

  7. Study on the flare stars in the Taurus region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khodzhaev, A.S.

    1986-01-01

    The results of the search of flare stars and their photometric, Hsub(α)-spectroscopic and statistical study in the Taurus are presented. By means of photographic observations carried out during 1980-1984, 92 new flare stars were discovered, 13 of which are known Orion Population variables, and 16 repeated flare-ups among 13 known flare stars. Spatial distribution of these stars was considered and the problem of their membership was discussed. Comparative analysis of the data of flare stars in the Taurus with that of other systems has been carried out. The Herzsprung-Russel and two-colour (U-B, B-V) diagrams for the Taurus flare stars are similar to the diagrams of stellar clusters and associations (Pleiades, Orion etc.). The estimated total number of flare stars in this region is larger than 500

  8. Flares of Nearby, Mid-to-late M-dwarfs Characterized by the MEarth Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mondrik, Nicholas; Charbonneau, David; Irwin, Jonathan; Newton, Elisabeth R.

    2017-01-01

    Stellar flares are both a curse and a blessing: Transit and radial velocity searches for exoplanets are hindered by the variability caused by flares, while the characteristics of this variability offer valuable insight into the magnetic properties of the star. We present an analysis of flare events of nearby, mid-to-late M-dwarfs from the MEarth Project. MEarth consists of a northern and a southern array of 8 telescopes each that photometrically monitors most mid-to-late M-dwarfs within 30 parsecs. Although the initial motivation was to search for exoplanet transits, the cadence of approximately 20 minutes is well-suited to capturing long-lived flares. However, MEarth employs a single, wide, red bandpass, which poses challenges to the robust detection of flare events, which are typically bluer in color. Using MEarth data, our team has recently published trigonometric parallaxes and estimates of rotation periods for an unprecedented number of nearby low-mass stars. We also gathered supplementary optical and near infrared spectra of a subset of these stars. We describe here the properties of the flares detected by MEarth, and explore the relation of the presence of flares on individual stars with stellar parameters such as rotational period, mass, and H-alpha equivalent width. We also provide an estimate of flare rate for individual stars by injecting flares into our pipeline.The MEarth project acknowledges funding from the National Science Foundation and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation Fellowship for Science and Engineering. This work was made possible through the support of a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.

  9. Flare Observations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benz Arnold O.

    2008-02-01

    Full Text Available Solar flares are observed at all wavelengths from decameter radio waves to gamma-rays at 100 MeV. This review focuses on recent observations in EUV, soft and hard X-rays, white light, and radio waves. Space missions such as RHESSI, Yohkoh, TRACE, and SOHO have enlarged widely the observational base. They have revealed a number of surprises: Coronal sources appear before the hard X-ray emission in chromospheric footpoints, major flare acceleration sites appear to be independent of coronal mass ejections (CMEs, electrons, and ions may be accelerated at different sites, there are at least 3 different magnetic topologies, and basic characteristics vary from small to large flares. Recent progress also includes improved insights into the flare energy partition, on the location(s of energy release, tests of energy release scenarios and particle acceleration. The interplay of observations with theory is important to deduce the geometry and to disentangle the various processes involved. There is increasing evidence supporting reconnection of magnetic field lines as the basic cause. While this process has become generally accepted as the trigger, it is still controversial how it converts a considerable fraction of the energy into non-thermal particles. Flare-like processes may be responsible for large-scale restructuring of the magnetic field in the corona as well as for its heating. Large flares influence interplanetary space and substantially affect the Earth’s lower ionosphere. While flare scenarios have slowly converged over the past decades, every new observation still reveals major unexpected results, demonstrating that solar flares, after 150 years since their discovery, remain a complex problem of astrophysics including major unsolved questions.

  10. Flare Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benz, Arnold O.

    2017-12-01

    Solar flares are observed at all wavelengths from decameter radio waves to gamma-rays beyond 1 GeV. This review focuses on recent observations in EUV, soft and hard X-rays, white light, and radio waves. Space missions such as RHESSI, Yohkoh, TRACE, SOHO, and more recently Hinode and SDO have enlarged widely the observational base. They have revealed a number of surprises: Coronal sources appear before the hard X-ray emission in chromospheric footpoints, major flare acceleration sites appear to be independent of coronal mass ejections, electrons, and ions may be accelerated at different sites, there are at least 3 different magnetic topologies, and basic characteristics vary from small to large flares. Recent progress also includes improved insights into the flare energy partition, on the location(s) of energy release, tests of energy release scenarios and particle acceleration. The interplay of observations with theory is important to deduce the geometry and to disentangle the various processes involved. There is increasing evidence supporting magnetic reconnection as the basic cause. While this process has become generally accepted as the trigger, it is still controversial how it converts a considerable fraction of the energy into non-thermal particles. Flare-like processes may be responsible for large-scale restructuring of the magnetic field in the corona as well as for its heating. Large flares influence interplanetary space and substantially affect the Earth's ionosphere. Flare scenarios have slowly converged over the past decades, but every new observation still reveals major unexpected results, demonstrating that solar flares, after 150 years since their discovery, remain a complex problem of astrophysics including major unsolved questions.

  11. A New Paradigm for Flare Particle Acceleration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guidoni, Silvina E.; Karpen, Judith T.; DeVore, C. Richard

    2017-08-01

    The mechanism that accelerates particles to the energies required to produce the observed high-energy impulsive emission and its spectra in solar flares is not well understood. Here, we propose a first-principle-based model of particle acceleration that produces energy spectra that closely resemble those derived from hard X-ray observations. Our mechanism uses contracting magnetic islands formed during fast reconnection in solar flares to accelerate electrons, as first proposed by Drake et al. (2006) for kinetic-scale plasmoids. We apply these ideas to MHD-scale islands formed during fast reconnection in a simulated eruptive flare. A simple analytic model based on the particles’ adiabatic invariants is used to calculate the energy gain of particles orbiting field lines in our ultrahigh-resolution, 2.5D, MHD numerical simulation of a solar eruption (flare + coronal mass ejection). Then, we analytically model electrons visiting multiple contracting islands to account for the observed high-energy flare emission. Our acceleration mechanism inherently produces sporadic emission because island formation is intermittent. Moreover, a large number of particles could be accelerated in each macroscopic island, which may explain the inferred rates of energetic-electron production in flares. We conclude that island contraction in the flare current sheet is a promising candidate for electron acceleration in solar eruptions. This work was supported in part by the NASA LWS and H-SR programs..

  12. Solar flare loops observations and interpretations

    CERN Document Server

    Huang, Guangli; Ji, Haisheng; Ning, Zongjun

    2018-01-01

    This book provides results of analysis of typical solar events, statistical analysis, the diagnostics of energetic electrons and magnetic field, as well as the global behavior of solar flaring loops such as their contraction and expansion. It pays particular attention to analyzing solar flare loops with microwave, hard X-ray, optical and EUV emissions, as well as the theories of their radiation, and electron acceleration/transport. The results concerning influence of the pitch-angle anisotropy of non-thermal electrons on their microwave and hard X-ray emissions, new spectral behaviors in X-ray and microwave bands, and results related to the contraction of flaring loops, are widely discussed in the literature of solar physics. The book is useful for graduate students and researchers in solar and space physics.

  13. On the possible cyclic recurrence of flare activity of flare stars in the pleiades

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mirzoyan, L.V.; Oganyan, G.V.

    1977-01-01

    The flare activity of flare stars in Pleiades is investigated. It is shown that according to flare statistics only one half of the probable Pleiades members with low luminosities have flare activity throughout the observation period. Two assumptions are suggested to explain this contradiction with the concept on the evolutionary importance of the flare star phase which all the dwarf stars go through: cyclic nature of the flare activity and large dispersion in flare activity phase durations for equally luminous stars. Certain evidences to support cyclic flare activity assumption are adduced

  14. A study of flare stars in the taurus region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khodzhaev, A.S.

    1986-01-01

    The results are given of a search for flare stars in the region of the dark clouds in Taurus together with the results of photometric, H /sub alpha/ -spectroscopic, and statistical investigations of them. Photographic observations during 1980-1984 revealed 92 new flare stars, 13 of which were found to be known Orion variables with 16 repeated flares of 13 previously known flare stars. Their apparent distribution is considered. The question of whether the flare stars belong to a dark cloud is discussed. A comparative analysis of the flare stars in the Taurus region and other aggregates is made. The Hertzsprung-Russell (V, B - V) and two-color (U - B, B - V) diagrams for the flare stars are similar to the corresponding diagrams constructed for star clusters and associations (Pleiades, Orion, etc.). The total number of flare stars in the region of the dark clouds in Taurus is estimated at ≥ 500

  15. Prediction and comparison of noise levels from ground and elevated flare systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Obasi, E.

    2009-01-01

    Flaring is a process to dispose of hydrocarbons during clean-up, emergency shut downs or dispose a small volume waste streams of mixed gasses that cannot easily or safely be separated. This presentation discussed flaring as a noise issue. It focused on flaring noise characterization; flare noise modeling; flare sound power levels; and flare sound pressure level comparison at a distance of 1.5 km. The presentation included a photograph of flaring at a gas plant in Nigeria. The presentation listed some of the potential health effects associated with long term exposure to excessive noise, such as hearing loss; headaches; stress; fatigue; sleep disturbance; and high blood pressure. Companies flare gas to dispose waste gases in a safe and reliable manner through combustion and to depressurize gas lines during maintenance and emergencies. This presentation also discussed ground and elevated flares; components of flare noise characterization; and key factors affecting flare noise. A model to predict flaring noise was also presented. It demonstrated that at the same gas mass flow rate, the noise level from elevated flare stacks are significantly higher than ground flares. tabs., figs.

  16. Prediction and comparison of noise levels from ground and elevated flare systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Obasi, E. [Stantec Consulting Ltd., Surrey, BC (Canada)

    2009-07-01

    Flaring is a process to dispose of hydrocarbons during clean-up, emergency shut downs or dispose a small volume waste streams of mixed gasses that cannot easily or safely be separated. This presentation discussed flaring as a noise issue. It focused on flaring noise characterization; flare noise modeling; flare sound power levels; and flare sound pressure level comparison at a distance of 1.5 km. The presentation included a photograph of flaring at a gas plant in Nigeria. The presentation listed some of the potential health effects associated with long term exposure to excessive noise, such as hearing loss; headaches; stress; fatigue; sleep disturbance; and high blood pressure. Companies flare gas to dispose waste gases in a safe and reliable manner through combustion and to depressurize gas lines during maintenance and emergencies. This presentation also discussed ground and elevated flares; components of flare noise characterization; and key factors affecting flare noise. A model to predict flaring noise was also presented. It demonstrated that at the same gas mass flow rate, the noise level from elevated flare stacks are significantly higher than ground flares. tabs., figs.

  17. HIGH RESOLUTION He i 10830 Å NARROW-BAND IMAGING OF AN M-CLASS FLARE. I. ANALYSIS OF SUNSPOT DYNAMICS DURING FLARING

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Ya; Su, Yingna; Hong, Zhenxiang; Ji, Haisheng [Key Laboratory of DMSA, Purple Mountain Observatory, CAS, Nanjing, 210008 (China); Zeng, Zhicheng; Goode, Philip R.; Cao, Wenda [Big Bear Solar Observatory, 40386 North Shore Lane, Big Bear City, CA 92314 (United States); Ji, Kaifan [Yunnan Astronomical Observatories, Kunming 650011 (China)

    2016-12-20

    In this paper, we report our first-step results of high resolution He i 10830 Å narrow-band imaging (bandpass: 0.5 Å) of an M1.8 class two-ribbon flare on 2012 July 5. The flare was observed with the 1.6 m aperture New Solar Telescope at Big Bear Solar Observatory. For this unique data set, sunspot dynamics during flaring were analyzed for the first time. By directly imaging the upper chromosphere, running penumbral waves are clearly seen as an outward extension of umbral flashes; both take the form of absorption in the 10830 Å narrow-band images. From a space–time image made of a slit cutting across a flare ribbon and the sunspot, we find that the dark lanes for umbral flashes and penumbral waves are obviously broadened after the flare. The most prominent feature is the sudden appearance of an oscillating absorption strip inside the ribbon when it sweeps into the sunspot’s penumbral and umbral regions. During each oscillation, outwardly propagating umbral flashes and subsequent penumbral waves rush out into the inwardly sweeping ribbon, followed by a return of the absorption strip with similar speed. We tentatively explain the phenomena as the result of a sudden increase in the density of ortho-helium atoms in the area of the sunspot being excited by the flare’s extreme ultraviolet illumination. This explanation is based on the observation that 10830 Å absorption around the sunspot area gets enhanced during the flare. Nevertheless, questions are still open and we need further well-devised observations to investigate the behavior of sunspot dynamics during flares.

  18. Gas Flaring: Carbon dioxide Contribution to Global Warming ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    PROF HORSFALL

    emissions resulting from high consumption of fossil fuels. Flaring been a ... method of analysis showed that carbon dioxide from gas flaring constitute 1% of the total ... Although of these, methane is potentially the most .... in some gas plants.

  19. Implications of NRL/ATM solar flare observations on flare theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheng, C.C.; Spicer, D.S.

    1975-01-01

    During the Skylab mission, many solar flares were observed with the NRL XUV spectroheliogram in the wavelength region from 150 to 650 A. Because of its high spatial resolution (approximately 2ins.) the three-dimensional structures of the flare emission regions characterized by temperatures from 10 4 K to 20 x 10 6 K can be resolved. Thus the spatial relationship between the relatively cool plasma and the hot plasma components of a flare, and the associated magnetic field structure can be inferred. The implications for various flare models are discussed. (Auth.)

  20. Incidence and Predictive Factors of Pain Flare After Spine Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy: Secondary Analysis of Phase 1/2 Trials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pan, Hubert Y.; Allen, Pamela K.; Wang, Xin S.; Chang, Eric L.; Rhines, Laurence D.; Tatsui, Claudio E.; Amini, Behrang; Wang, Xin A.; Tannir, Nizar M.; Brown, Paul D.; Ghia, Amol J.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose/Objective(s): To perform a secondary analysis of institutional prospective spine stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) trials to investigate posttreatment acute pain flare. Methods and Materials: Medical records for enrolled patients were reviewed. Study protocol included baseline and follow-up surveys with pain assessment by Brief Pain Inventory and documentation of pain medications. Patients were considered evaluable for pain flare if clinical note or follow-up survey was completed within 2 weeks of SBRT. Pain flare was defined as a clinical note indicating increased pain at the treated site or survey showing a 2-point increase in worst pain score, a 25% increase in analgesic intake, or the initiation of steroids. Binary logistic regression was used to determine predictive factors for pain flare occurrence. Results: Of the 210 enrolled patients, 195 (93%) were evaluable for pain flare, including 172 (88%) clinically, 135 (69%) by survey, and 112 (57%) by both methods. Of evaluable patients, 61 (31%) had undergone prior surgery, 57 (29%) had received prior radiation, and 34 (17%) took steroids during treatment, mostly for prior conditions. Pain flare was observed in 44 patients (23%). Median time to pain flare was 5 days (range, 0-20 days) after the start of treatment. On multivariate analysis, the only independent factor associated with pain flare was the number of treatment fractions (odds ratio = 0.66, P=.004). Age, sex, performance status, spine location, number of treated vertebrae, prior radiation, prior surgery, primary tumor histology, baseline pain score, and steroid use were not significant. Conclusions: Acute pain flare after spine SBRT is a relatively common event, for which patients should be counseled. Additional study is needed to determine whether prophylactic or symptomatic intervention is preferred

  1. Incidence and Predictive Factors of Pain Flare After Spine Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy: Secondary Analysis of Phase 1/2 Trials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pan, Hubert Y.; Allen, Pamela K. [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer, Houston, Texas (United States); Wang, Xin S. [Department of Symptom Research, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer, Houston, Texas (United States); Chang, Eric L. [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer, Houston, Texas (United States); Department of Radiation Oncology, USC Norris Cancer Center, Los Angeles, California (United States); Rhines, Laurence D.; Tatsui, Claudio E. [Department of Neurosurgery, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer, Houston, Texas (United States); Amini, Behrang [Department of Diagnostic Radiology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer, Houston, Texas (United States); Wang, Xin A. [Department of Radiation Physics, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer, Houston, Texas (United States); Tannir, Nizar M. [Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer, Houston, Texas (United States); Brown, Paul D. [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer, Houston, Texas (United States); Ghia, Amol J., E-mail: AJGhia@mdanderson.org [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer, Houston, Texas (United States)

    2014-11-15

    Purpose/Objective(s): To perform a secondary analysis of institutional prospective spine stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) trials to investigate posttreatment acute pain flare. Methods and Materials: Medical records for enrolled patients were reviewed. Study protocol included baseline and follow-up surveys with pain assessment by Brief Pain Inventory and documentation of pain medications. Patients were considered evaluable for pain flare if clinical note or follow-up survey was completed within 2 weeks of SBRT. Pain flare was defined as a clinical note indicating increased pain at the treated site or survey showing a 2-point increase in worst pain score, a 25% increase in analgesic intake, or the initiation of steroids. Binary logistic regression was used to determine predictive factors for pain flare occurrence. Results: Of the 210 enrolled patients, 195 (93%) were evaluable for pain flare, including 172 (88%) clinically, 135 (69%) by survey, and 112 (57%) by both methods. Of evaluable patients, 61 (31%) had undergone prior surgery, 57 (29%) had received prior radiation, and 34 (17%) took steroids during treatment, mostly for prior conditions. Pain flare was observed in 44 patients (23%). Median time to pain flare was 5 days (range, 0-20 days) after the start of treatment. On multivariate analysis, the only independent factor associated with pain flare was the number of treatment fractions (odds ratio = 0.66, P=.004). Age, sex, performance status, spine location, number of treated vertebrae, prior radiation, prior surgery, primary tumor histology, baseline pain score, and steroid use were not significant. Conclusions: Acute pain flare after spine SBRT is a relatively common event, for which patients should be counseled. Additional study is needed to determine whether prophylactic or symptomatic intervention is preferred.

  2. Statistical study of spatio-temporal distribution of precursor solar flares associated with major flares

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gyenge, N.; Ballai, I.; Baranyi, T.

    2016-07-01

    The aim of the present investigation is to study the spatio-temporal distribution of precursor flares during the 24 h interval preceding M- and X-class major flares and the evolution of follower flares. Information on associated (precursor and follower) flares is provided by Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI). Flare list, while the major flares are observed by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) system satellites between 2002 and 2014. There are distinct evolutionary differences between the spatio-temporal distributions of associated flares in about one-day period depending on the type of the main flare. The spatial distribution was characterized by the normalized frequency distribution of the quantity δ (the distance between the major flare and its precursor flare normalized by the sunspot group diameter) in four 6 h time intervals before the major event. The precursors of X-class flares have a double-peaked spatial distribution for more than half a day prior to the major flare, but it changes to a lognormal-like distribution roughly 6 h prior to the event. The precursors of M-class flares show lognormal-like distribution in each 6 h subinterval. The most frequent sites of the precursors in the active region are within a distance of about 0.1 diameter of sunspot group from the site of the major flare in each case. Our investigation shows that the build-up of energy is more effective than the release of energy because of precursors.

  3. Flare stars in Pleiades. 6

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mirzoyan, L.V.; Chavushyan, O.S.; Oganyan, G.B.; Ambaryan, V.V.; Garibdzhanyan, A.T.; Melikyan, N.D.; Natsvlishvili, R.Sh.; AN Gruzinskoj SSR, Abastumani. Abastumanskaya Astrofizicheskaya Observatoriya)

    1981-01-01

    The results of photographic observations of stellar flares in the Pleiades region carried out at the Byurakan and Abastumani astrophysical observatories during 1976-1979 are given. On the basis of these observations 17 new flare stars have been found. Total number of all known flare stars in the Pleiades region on 1 June 1980 reached 524, and the number of all flares-1244. The observational data on distribution of flare stars according to the observed flares is satisfactorily represented by the average frequency function introduced by V.A.Ambartsumian. The total number of the flare stars in the Pleiades is of the order of 1100. Using three telescopes, synchronous photographic observations of stellar flares in Pleiades in U, B, V, system are carried out. The colour indices U-B and B-V of stellar flares in periods including the maximum of the flare slightly differ from that of photoelectrically defined for flares of UV Ceti type stars, which testifies the physical relationship of flare stars in Pleiades and in the vicinity of the Sun [ru

  4. THE NATURE OF CME-FLARE-ASSOCIATED CORONAL DIMMING

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cheng, J. X. [Key Laboratory of Planetary Sciences, Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Shanghai 200030 (China); Qiu, J., E-mail: chengjx@shao.ac.cn [Department of Physics, Montana State University, Bozeman MT 59717-3840 (United States)

    2016-07-01

    Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are often accompanied by coronal dimming that is evident in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and soft X-ray observations. The locations of dimming are sometimes considered to map footpoints of the erupting flux rope. As the emitting material expands in the corona, the decreased plasma density leads to reduced emission observed in spectral and irradiance measurements. Therefore, signatures of dimming may reflect the properties of CMEs in the early phase of their eruption. In this study, we analyze the event of flare, CME, and coronal dimming on 2011 December 26. We use the data from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on the Solar Dynamics Observatory for disk observations of the dimming, and analyze images taken by EUVI, COR1, and COR2 on board the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory to obtain the height and velocity of the associated CMEs observed at the limb. We also measure the magnetic reconnection rate from flare observations. Dimming occurs in a few locations next to the flare ribbons, and it is observed in multiple EUV passbands. Rapid dimming starts after the onset of fast reconnection and CME acceleration, and its evolution tracks the CME height and flare reconnection. The spatial distribution of dimming exhibits cores of deep dimming with a rapid growth, and their light curves are approximately linearly scaled with the CME height profile. From the dimming analysis we infer the process of the CME expansion, and estimate properties of the CME.

  5. THE NATURE OF CME-FLARE-ASSOCIATED CORONAL DIMMING

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheng, J. X.; Qiu, J.

    2016-01-01

    Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are often accompanied by coronal dimming that is evident in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and soft X-ray observations. The locations of dimming are sometimes considered to map footpoints of the erupting flux rope. As the emitting material expands in the corona, the decreased plasma density leads to reduced emission observed in spectral and irradiance measurements. Therefore, signatures of dimming may reflect the properties of CMEs in the early phase of their eruption. In this study, we analyze the event of flare, CME, and coronal dimming on 2011 December 26. We use the data from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on the Solar Dynamics Observatory for disk observations of the dimming, and analyze images taken by EUVI, COR1, and COR2 on board the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory to obtain the height and velocity of the associated CMEs observed at the limb. We also measure the magnetic reconnection rate from flare observations. Dimming occurs in a few locations next to the flare ribbons, and it is observed in multiple EUV passbands. Rapid dimming starts after the onset of fast reconnection and CME acceleration, and its evolution tracks the CME height and flare reconnection. The spatial distribution of dimming exhibits cores of deep dimming with a rapid growth, and their light curves are approximately linearly scaled with the CME height profile. From the dimming analysis we infer the process of the CME expansion, and estimate properties of the CME.

  6. Temporal and Periodic Variations of Sunspot Counts in Flaring and Non-Flaring Active Regions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kilcik, A.; Yurchyshyn, V.; Donmez, B.; Obridko, V. N.; Ozguc, A.; Rozelot, J. P.

    2018-04-01

    We analyzed temporal and periodic variations of sunspot counts (SSCs) in flaring (C-, M-, or X-class flares), and non-flaring active regions (ARs) for nearly three solar cycles (1986 through 2016). Our main findings are as follows: i) temporal variations of monthly means of the daily total SSCs in flaring and non-flaring ARs behave differently during a solar cycle and the behavior varies from one cycle to another; during Solar Cycle 23 temporal SSC profiles of non-flaring ARs are wider than those of flaring ARs, while they are almost the same during Solar Cycle 22 and the current Cycle 24. The SSC profiles show a multi-peak structure and the second peak of flaring ARs dominates the current Cycle 24, while the difference between peaks is less pronounced during Solar Cycles 22 and 23. The first and second SSC peaks of non-flaring ARs have comparable magnitude in the current solar cycle, while the first peak is nearly absent in the case of the flaring ARs of the same cycle. ii) Periodic variations observed in the SSCs profiles of flaring and non-flaring ARs derived from the multi-taper method (MTM) spectrum and wavelet scalograms are quite different as well, and they vary from one solar cycle to another. The largest detected period in flaring ARs is 113± 1.6 days while we detected much longer periodicities (327± 13, 312 ± 11, and 256± 8 days) in the non-flaring AR profiles. No meaningful periodicities were detected in the MTM spectrum of flaring ARs exceeding 55± 0.7 days during Solar Cycles 22 and 24, while a 113± 1.3 days period was detected in flaring ARs of Solar Cycle 23. For the non-flaring ARs the largest detected period was only 31± 0.2 days for Cycle 22 and 72± 1.3 days for the current Cycle 24, while the largest measured period was 327± 13 days during Solar Cycle 23.

  7. Observation of solar flare by Hinotori SXT/HXM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohki, Ken-ichiro; Takakura, Tatsuo; Tsuneta, Sukehisa; Nitta, Nariaki; Makishima, Kazuo.

    1982-01-01

    Solar flares were observed by SXT (hard X-ray two-dimensional observation system) and HXM (hard X-ray spectrometer) on Hinotori. The results of two-dimensional analysis of 20 flares are reported in this paper. Various images of hard X-ray were observed. Hard X-ray bursts with relatively long duration may be generated in corona. The hard X-ray flare generated on the solar disc gives information on the relative position to the H flare. The examples of this hard X-ray images are presented. The HXM can observe the hard X-ray spectra up to 350 keV. The flares with duration less than 5 min have the spectra coninciding with the thermal radiation from a single temperature before the peak, and power law type non-thermal radiation spectra after the peak. The hard X-ray flares with duration longer than 10 min have power law type spectra. (Kato, T.)

  8. Solar Flares: Magnetohydrodynamic Processes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kazunari Shibata

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper outlines the current understanding of solar flares, mainly focused on magnetohydrodynamic (MHD processes responsible for producing a flare. Observations show that flares are one of the most explosive phenomena in the atmosphere of the Sun, releasing a huge amount of energy up to about 10^32 erg on the timescale of hours. Flares involve the heating of plasma, mass ejection, and particle acceleration that generates high-energy particles. The key physical processes for producing a flare are: the emergence of magnetic field from the solar interior to the solar atmosphere (flux emergence, local enhancement of electric current in the corona (formation of a current sheet, and rapid dissipation of electric current (magnetic reconnection that causes shock heating, mass ejection, and particle acceleration. The evolution toward the onset of a flare is rather quasi-static when free energy is accumulated in the form of coronal electric current (field-aligned current, more precisely, while the dissipation of coronal current proceeds rapidly, producing various dynamic events that affect lower atmospheres such as the chromosphere and photosphere. Flares manifest such rapid dissipation of coronal current, and their theoretical modeling has been developed in accordance with observations, in which numerical simulations proved to be a strong tool reproducing the time-dependent, nonlinear evolution of a flare. We review the models proposed to explain the physical mechanism of flares, giving an comprehensive explanation of the key processes mentioned above. We start with basic properties of flares, then go into the details of energy build-up, release and transport in flares where magnetic reconnection works as the central engine to produce a flare.

  9. Models for stellar flares

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cram, L.E.; Woods, D.T.

    1982-01-01

    We study the response of certain spectral signatures of stellar flares (such as Balmer line profiles and the broad-band continuum) to changes in atmospheric structure which might result from physical processes akin to those thought to occur in solar flares. While each physical process does not have a unique signature, we can show that some of the observed properties of stellar flares can be explained by a model which involves increased pressures and temperatures in the flaring stellar chromosphere. We suggest that changes in stellar flare area, both with time and with depth in the atmosphere, may play an important role in producing the observed flare spectrum

  10. Flare stars in Pleiades. 5

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mirzoyan, L.V.; Chavushyan, O.S.; Erastova, L.K.; Oganyan, G.B.; Melikyan, N.D.; Natsvlishvili, R.Sh.; Tsvetkov, M.K.

    1977-01-01

    The results of photographic observations of stellar flares in the Pleiades region made in the Byurakan and Abastumany astrophysical observatories in 1973-1974 are presented. The observations and revisions of the pictures taken earlier helped to detect 20 new flare stars and 62 repeated flares of flare stars known before. Two-colour photographic and UV observation of 21 flares were carried out. The observation data point to considerable differences in the mean frequency of flares of various flare stars in the Pleiades

  11. Frequent Flaring in the TRAPPIST-1 System—Unsuited for Life?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vida, K.; Kővári, Zs.; Pál, A.; Oláh, K.; Kriskovics, L., E-mail: vidakris@konkoly.hu [Konkoly Observatory, MTA CSFK, H-1121 Budapest, Konkoly Thege M. út 15-17 (Hungary)

    2017-06-01

    We analyze the K2 light curve of the TRAPPIST-1 system. The Fourier analysis of the data suggests P {sub rot} = 3.295 ± 0.003 days. The light curve shows several flares, of which we analyzed 42 events with integrated flare energies of 1.26 × 10{sup 30}–1.24 × 10{sup 33} erg. Approximately 12% of the flares were complex, multi-peaked eruptions. The flaring and the possible rotational modulation shows no obvious correlation. The flaring activity of TRAPPIST-1 probably continuously alters the atmospheres of the orbiting exoplanets, which makes these less favorable for hosting life.

  12. Transport and containment of plasma, particles and energy within flares

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acton, L. W.; Brown, W. A.; Bruner, M. E. C.; Haisch, B. M.; Strong, K. T.

    1983-01-01

    Results from the analysis of flares observed by the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) and a recent rocket experiment are discussed. Evidence for primary energy release in the corona through the interaction of magnetic structures, particle and plasma transport into more than a single magnetic structure at the time of a flare and a complex and changing magnetic topology during the course of a flare is found. The rocket data are examined for constraints on flare cooling, within the context of simple loop models. These results form a basis for comments on the limitations of simple loop models for flares.

  13. New Results from the Flare Genesis Experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rust, D. M.; Bernasconi, P. N.; Eaton, H. A.; Keller, C.; Murphy, G. A.; Schmieder, B.

    2000-05-01

    From January 10 to 27, 2000, the Flare Genesis solar telescope observed the Sun while suspended from a balloon in the stratosphere above Antarctica. The goal of the mission was to acquire long time series of high-resolution images and vector magnetograms of the solar photosphere and chromosphere. Images were obtained in the magnetically sensitive Ca I line at 6122 Angstroms and at H-alpha (6563 Angstroms). The FGE data were obtained in the context of Max Millennium Observing Campaign #004, the objective of which was to study the ``Genesis of Solar Flares and Active Filaments/Sigmoids." Flare Genesis obtained about 26,000 usable images on the 8 targeted active regions. A preliminary examination reveals a good sequence on an emerging flux region and data on the M1 flare on January 22, as well as a number of sequences on active filaments. We will present the results of our first analysis efforts. Flare Genesis was supported by NASA grants NAG5-4955, NAG5-5139, and NAG5-8331 and by NSF grant OPP-9615073. The Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization supported early development of the Flare Genesis Experiment.

  14. Analysis of ultraviolet and X-ray observations of three homologous solar flares from SMM

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Chung-Chieh; Pallavicini, Roberto

    1987-01-01

    Three homologous flares observed in the UV lines of Fe XXI and O V and in X-rays from the SMM were studied. It was found that: (1) the homology of the flares was most noticeable in Fe XXI and soft X-ray emissions; (2) the three flares shared many of the same loop footprints which were located in O V bright kernals associated with hard X-ray bursts; and (3) in spite of the strong spatial homology, the temporal evolution in UV and X-ray emissions varied from flare to flare. A comparison between the UV observations and photospheric magnetograms revealed that the basic flare configuration was a complex loop system consisting of many loops or bundles of loops.

  15. Magnetic transients in flares

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zirin, H.; Tanaka, K.

    1981-01-01

    We present data on magnetic transients (mgtr's) observed in flares on 1980 July 1 and 5 with Big Bear videomagnetograph (VMG). The 1980 July 1 event was a white light flare in which a strong bipolar mgtr was observed, and a definite change in the sunspots occurred at the time of the flare. In the 1980 July 5 flare, a mgtr was observed in only one polarity, and, although no sunspot changes occurred simultaneous with the flare, major spot changes occurred in a period of hours

  16. An unorthodox X-Class Long-Duration Confined Flare

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Rui; Gou, Tingyu; Wang, Yuming; Liu, Kai [CAS Key Laboratory of Geospace Environment, Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026 (China); Titov, Viacheslav S. [Predictive Science, Inc., 9990 Mesa Rim Road, Suite 170, San Diego, CA 92121 (United States); Wang, Haimin, E-mail: rliu@ustc.edu.cn [Space Weather Research Laboratory, Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research, NJIT, Newark, NJ 07102 (United States)

    2014-07-20

    We report the observation of an X-class long-duration flare which is clearly confined. It appears as a compact-loop flare in the traditional EUV passbands (171 and 195 Å), but in the passbands sensitive to flare plasmas (94 and 131 Å), it exhibits a cusp-shaped structure above an arcade of loops like other long-duration events. Inspecting images in a running difference approach, we find that the seemingly diffuse, quasi-static cusp-shaped structure consists of multiple nested loops that repeatedly rise upward and disappear approaching the cusp edge. Over the gradual phase, we detect numerous episodes of loop rising, each lasting minutes. A differential emission measure analysis reveals that the temperature is highest at the top of the arcade and becomes cooler at higher altitudes within the cusp-shaped structure, contrary to typical long-duration flares. With a nonlinear force-free model, our analysis shows that the event mainly involves two adjacent sheared arcades separated by a T-type hyperbolic flux tube (HFT). One of the arcades harbors a magnetic flux rope, which is identified with a filament that survives the flare owing to the strong confining field. We conclude that a new emergence of magnetic flux in the other arcade triggers the flare, while the preexisting HFT and flux rope dictate the structure and dynamics of the flare loops and ribbons during the long-lasting decay phase, and that a quasi-separatrix layer high above the HFT could account for the cusp-shaped structure.

  17. Do Long-cadence Data of the Kepler Spacecraft Capture Basic Properties of Flares?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Huiqin; Liu, Jifeng; Qiao, Erlin; Zhang, Haotong; Gao, Qing; Cui, Kaiming; Han, Henggeng

    2018-06-01

    Flare research is becoming a burgeoning realm of interest in the study of stellar activity due to the launch of Kepler in 2009. Kepler provides data with two time resolutions, i.e., the long-cadence (LC) data with a time resolution of 30 minutes and the short-cadence (SC) data with a time resolution of 1 minute, both of which can be used to study stellar flares. In this paper, we search flares in light curves with both LC data and SC data, and compare them in aspects of the true-flare rate, the flare energy, the flare amplitude, and the flare duration. It is found that LC data systematically underestimated the energies of flares by 25%, and underestimated the amplitudes of flares by 60% compared with SC flares. The durations are systematically overestimated by 50% compared with SC flares. However, the above percentages are poorly constrained and there is a lot of scatter. About 60% of SC flares have not been detected by LC data. We investigate the limitation of LC data, and suggest that although LC data cannot reflect the detailed profiles of flares, they can also capture the basic properties of stellar flares.

  18. Some evidence on the evolution of the flare mechanism in dwarf stars

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Skumanich, A.

    1986-10-01

    White-light flare parameters are estimated for the sun as a star. It is found that these parameters fall in the same domain as those for the dMe flare stars. In particular, it is found that the time-averaged flare power loss and quiescent coronal soft X-ray power loss at solar maximum satisfies the recently proposed flare power-coronal X-ray relation for dMe stars (Doyle and Butler; Skumanich). In addition, one finds that dM stars, which are believed to be magnetically evolved dMe stars, also satisfy the same relation. On this basis, an evolutionary scenario is suggested for the flare mechanism in which the total flare rate remains, more or less, constant but the mean flare yield decreases linearly with coronal X-ray strength. It is also suggested that the flare mechanism is universal in all magnetically active dwarfs. 48 references.

  19. Solar flares

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, J.C.; Smith, D.F.

    1980-01-01

    The current observational and theoretical status of solar flares as a typical astrophysical problem is reviewed with especial reference to the intense and complex energy release in large flares. Observations and their diagnostic applications are discussed in three broad areas: thermal radiation at temperatures T 5 K; thermal radiation at T > approximately 10 5 K; and non-thermal radiation and particles. Particular emphasis is given to the most recent observational discoveries such as flare γ-rays, interplanetary Langmuir waves, and the ubiquitous association of soft x-ray loops with flares, and also the progress in particle diagnostics of hard x-ray and radio bursts. The theoretical problems of primary energy release are considered in terms of both possible magnetic configuration and in plasma instabilities and the question of achieving the necessary flash power discussed. The credibility of models for the secondary redistribution through the atmosphere of the primary magnetic energy released in terms of conduction, convection, radiation and particle transport is examined. Progress made in the flare problem in the past decade is assessed and some possible reasons why no convincing solution has yet been found are considered. 296 references. (U.K.)

  20. Relationship of intracanal medicaments to endodontic flare-ups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trope, M

    1990-10-01

    The purpose of the study was to compare the effect of three intracanal medicaments on the incidence of post-instrumentation flare-ups. All teeth were instrumented to a predetermined minimum size using a 0.5% solution of sodium hypochlorite as the irrigant. Formocresol, Ledermix, and calcium hydroxide were placed in strict sequence irrespective of the presence or absence of symptoms or radiographic signs of apical periodontitis. The patients were given written post-operative instructions and a prescription for 600 mg ibuprofen to be taken if mild to moderate pain developed. If severe pain and/or swelling developed the patient was instructed to call the office immediately and was considered to have had a flare-up. Twelve flare-ups occurred in teeth with radiographic signs of apical periodontitis; none in teeth without periapical radiolucencies. Six of the twelve flare-ups occurred in retreatment cases and the other six occurred in teeth without previous endodontic treatment. No significant difference was found in the flare-up rate among the three intracanal medicaments.

  1. Generation Mechanisms of Quasi-parallel and Quasi-circular Flare Ribbons in a Confined Flare

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hernandez-Perez, Aaron; Thalmann, Julia K.; Veronig, Astrid M.; Dickson, Ewan C. [IGAM/Institute of Physics, University of Graz, A-8010 Graz (Austria); Su, Yang [Key Laboratory of Dark Matter and Space Astronomy, Purple Mountain Observatory Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2 West Beijing Road, 210008 Nanjing (China); Gömöry, Peter, E-mail: aaron.hernandez-perez@uni-graz.at [Astronomical Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 05960 Tatranská Lomnica (Slovakia)

    2017-10-01

    We analyze a confined multiple-ribbon M2.1 flare (SOL2015-01-29T11:42) that originated from a fan-spine coronal magnetic field configuration, within active region NOAA 12268. The observed ribbons form in two steps. First, two primary ribbons form at the main flare site, followed by the formation of secondary ribbons at remote locations. We observe a number of plasma flows at extreme-ultraviolet temperatures during the early phase of the flare (as early as 15 minutes before the onset) propagating toward the formation site of the secondary ribbons. The secondary ribbon formation is co-temporal with the arrival of the pre-flare generated plasma flows. The primary ribbons are co-spatial with Ramaty High Energy Spectroscopic Imager ( RHESSI ) hard X-ray sources, whereas no enhanced X-ray emission is detected at the secondary ribbon sites. The (E)UV emission, associated with the secondary ribbons, peaks ∼1 minute after the last RHESSI hard X-ray enhancement. A nonlinear force-free model of the coronal magnetic field reveals that the secondary flare ribbons are not directly connected to the primary ribbons, but to regions nearby. Detailed analysis suggests that the secondary brightenings are produced due to dissipation of kinetic energy of the plasma flows (heating due to compression), and not due to non-thermal particles accelerated by magnetic reconnection, as is the case for the primary ribbons.

  2. XSST/TRC rocket observations of July 13, 1982 flare

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Foing, B.H.; Bonnet, R.M.; Dame, L.; Bruner, M.; Acton, L.W.

    1986-01-01

    The present analysis of UV filtergrams of the July 13, 1982 solar flare obtained by the XSST/TRC rocket experiments has used calibrated intensities of the flare components to directly estimate the Lyman-alpha line flux, C IV line flux, and excess 160-nm continuum temperature brighness over the underlying plage. The values obtained are small by comparison with other observed or calculated equivalent quantities from the Machado (1980) model of flare F1. The corresponding power required to heat up to the temperature minimum over the 1200 sq Mm area is found to be 3.6 x 10 to the 25th erg/sec for this small X-ray C6 flare, 7 min after the ground-based observed flare maximum. 13 references

  3. Recent big flare

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moriyama, Fumio; Miyazawa, Masahide; Yamaguchi, Yoshisuke

    1978-01-01

    The features of three big solar flares observed at Tokyo Observatory are described in this paper. The active region, McMath 14943, caused a big flare on September 16, 1977. The flare appeared on both sides of a long dark line which runs along the boundary of the magnetic field. Two-ribbon structure was seen. The electron density of the flare observed at Norikura Corona Observatory was 3 x 10 12 /cc. Several arc lines which connect both bright regions of different magnetic polarity were seen in H-α monochrome image. The active region, McMath 15056, caused a big flare on December 10, 1977. At the beginning, several bright spots were observed in the region between two main solar spots. Then, the area and the brightness increased, and the bright spots became two ribbon-shaped bands. A solar flare was observed on April 8, 1978. At first, several bright spots were seen around the solar spot in the active region, McMath 15221. Then, these bright spots developed to a large bright region. On both sides of a dark line along the magnetic neutral line, bright regions were generated. These developed to a two-ribbon flare. The time required for growth was more than one hour. A bright arc which connects two ribbons was seen, and this arc may be a loop prominence system. (Kato, T.)

  4. Discovery of 1-5 Hz flaring at high luminosity in SAX J1808.4-3658

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bult, Peter; Van der Klis, Michiel, E-mail: p.m.bult@uva.nl [Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, Postbus 94249, 1090 GE Amsterdam (Netherlands)

    2014-07-10

    We report the discovery of a 1-5 Hz X-ray flaring phenomenon observed at >30 mCrab near peak luminosity in the 2008 and 2011 outbursts of the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658 in observations with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. In each of the two outbursts this high luminosity flaring is seen for ∼3 continuous days and switches on and off on a timescale of 1-2 hr. The flaring can be seen directly in the light curve, where it shows sharp spikes of emission at quasi-regular separation. In the power spectrum it produces a broad noise component, which peaks at 1-5 Hz. The total 0.05-10 Hz variability has a fractional rms amplitude of 20%-45%, well in excess of the 8%-12% rms broadband noise usually seen in power spectra of SAX J1808.4-3658. We perform a detailed timing analysis of the flaring and study its relation to the 401 Hz pulsations. We find that the pulse amplitude varies proportionally with source flux through all phases of the flaring, indicating that the flaring is likely due to mass density variations created at or outside the magnetospheric boundary. We suggest that this 1-5 Hz flaring is a high mass accretion rate version of the 0.5-2 Hz flaring which is known to occur at low luminosity (<13 mCrab), late in the tail of outbursts of SAX J1808.4-3658. We propose the dead-disk instability, previously suggested as the mechanism for the 0.5-2 Hz flaring, as a likely mechanism for the high luminosity flaring reported here.

  5. An Interactive Multi-instrument Database of Solar Flares

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sadykov, Viacheslav M; Kosovichev, Alexander G; Oria, Vincent; Nita, Gelu M [Center for Computational Heliophysics, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ 07102 (United States)

    2017-07-01

    Solar flares are complicated physical phenomena that are observable in a broad range of the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to γ -rays. For a more comprehensive understanding of flares, it is necessary to perform a combined multi-wavelength analysis using observations from many satellites and ground-based observatories. For an efficient data search, integration of different flare lists, and representation of observational data, we have developed the Interactive Multi-Instrument Database of Solar Flares (IMIDSF, https://solarflare.njit.edu/). The web-accessible database is fully functional and allows the user to search for uniquely identified flare events based on their physical descriptors and the availability of observations by a particular set of instruments. Currently, the data from three primary flare lists ( Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites , RHESSI , and HEK) and a variety of other event catalogs ( Hinode , Fermi GBM, Konus- W IND, the OVSA flare catalogs, the CACTus CME catalog, the Filament eruption catalog) and observing logs ( IRIS and Nobeyama coverage) are integrated, and an additional set of physical descriptors (temperature and emission measure) is provided along with an observing summary, data links, and multi-wavelength light curves for each flare event since 2002 January. We envision that this new tool will allow researchers to significantly speed up the search of events of interest for statistical and case studies.

  6. Flare up rate related to root canal treatment of asymptomatic pulpally necrotic central incisor teeth in patients attending a military hospital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Negrish, Abdul Rohman Salem; Habahbeh, Riyad

    2006-10-01

    This prospective study was conducted to determine the flare up rate related to root canal treatment of asymptomatic non vital maxillary central incisor teeth performed in one and two appointments and the relationship, if any between pain and number of treatment visits. The frequency of postobturation pain and swelling was recorded and evaluated over an observation period of 1 week in a 120 consecutive patients undergoing root canal treatment. The patients were assigned randomly into one of two groups of 60 patients each. The canals of all teeth were prepared and filled using the step-back preparation and lateral condensation filling techniques. The data were analyzed statistically using Mann-Whitney test. Eight of the 120 patients were excluded from the analysis as they failed to attend for postoperative reviews. Out of the 112 patients involved in the study 90 patients had no pain, 9 patients had slight pain, 8 patients had moderate pain, and 5 patients had severe pain after 2 days. After 7 days 104 patients had no pain, 4 patients had slight pain, 3 patients had moderate pain and 1 patient had severe pain. No statistically significant difference in the incidence and degree of postoperative pain was found between one and two visit Endodontic procedures. The rate of post obturation flare up in asymptomatic Endodontically treated non vital maxillary centarl incisors was 11.6 and 3.6% after 2 and 7 days, respectively.

  7. Identifying flares in rheumatoid arthritis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bykerk, Vivian P; Bingham, Clifton O; Choy, Ernest H

    2016-01-01

    to flare, with escalation planned in 61%. CONCLUSIONS: Flares are common in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and are often preceded by treatment reductions. Patient/MD/DAS agreement of flare status is highest in patients worsening from R/LDA. OMERACT RA flare questions can discriminate between patients with...... Set. METHODS: Candidate flare questions and legacy measures were administered at consecutive visits to Canadian Early Arthritis Cohort (CATCH) patients between November 2011 and November 2014. The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) core set indicators were recorded. Concordance to identify flares...

  8. OBSERVATION AND ANALYSIS OF BALLISTIC DOWNFLOWS IN AN M-CLASS FLARE WITH THE INTERFACE REGION IMAGING SPECTROGRAPH

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brannon, Sean R. [Department of Physics, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717 (United States)

    2016-12-10

    Despite significant advances in instrumentation, there remain no studies that analyze observations of on-disk flare loop plasma flows covering the entire evolution from chromospheric evaporation, through plasma cooling, to draining downflows. We present results from an imaging and spectroscopic observation from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph ( IRIS ) of the SOL2015–03–12T11:50:00 M-class flare, at high spatial resolution and time cadence. Our analysis of this event reveals initial plasma evaporation at flare temperatures indicated by 100–200 km s{sup −1} blueshifts in the Fe xxi line. We subsequently observe plasma cooling into chromospheric lines (Si iv and O iv) with ∼11 minute delay, followed by loop draining at ∼40 km s{sup −1} as indicated by a “C”-shaped redshift structure and significant (∼60 km s{sup −1}) non-thermal broadening. We use density-sensitive lines to calculate a plasma density for the flare loops, and estimate a theoretical cooling time approximately equal to the observed delay. Finally, we use a simple elliptical free-fall draining model to construct synthetic spectra, and perform what we believe to be the first direct comparison of such synthetic spectra to observations of draining downflows in flare loops.

  9. Solar flare impulsivity and its relationship with white-light flares and with CMEs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watanabe, K.; Masuda, S.

    2017-12-01

    There are many types of classification in solar flares. One of them is a classification by flare duration in soft X-rays; so-called impulsive flare and long duration event (LDE). Typically, the duration of an impulsive flare is shorter than 1 hour, and that of an LDE is longer than 1 hour. These two types of flare show different characteristics. In soft X-rays, impulsive flares usually have a compact loop structure. On the other hand, LDEs show a large-scale loop, sometimes a large arcade structure. In hard X-rays (HXRs), the difference appears clear, too. The former shows a strong and short-time (10 minutes) emissions and show a large coronal source. These facts suggest that HXR observation becomes one of a good indicator to classify solar flares, especially for the study on the particle acceleration and the related phenomena. However, HXR data do not always exist due to the satellite orbit and the small sensitivity of HXR instruments. So, in this study, based on the concept of the Neupert effect (Neupert, 1968), we use soft X-ray derivative data as the proxy of HXR. From this data, we define impulsivity (IP) for each flare. Then we investigate solar flares using this new index. First we apply IP index to white-light flare (WLF) research. We investigate how WL enhancement depends on IP, then it is found that WLF tend to have large IP values. So the flare impulsivity (IP) is one of the important factors if WL enhancement appears or not in a solar flare. Next we investigate how CME itself and/or its physical parameters depend on IP index. It has been believed that most of CMEs are associated with LDEs, but we found that there is only a weak correlation between the existence of CME and IP index. Finally, we also search for the relationship between WLF and CME as a function of IP and discuss the physical condition of WLF.

  10. Comparison of plasma/serum levels of procalcitonin between infection and febrile disease flare in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Li-Na; Wang, Peng; Guan, Shi-Yang; Li, Xiao-Mei; Li, Bao-Zhu; Leng, Rui-Xue; Pan, Hai-Feng

    2017-12-01

    Currently published data regarding the potential role of procalcitonin (PCT) for the discrimination between systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) flare and infection are contradictory. To derive a more precise evaluation, a meta-analysis was performed. Published literatures from PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were obtained. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess the study quality. Pooled standard mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated by random-effect model analysis. Heterogeneity test was performed by the Q statistic and quantified using I 2 . Eight studies including 205 SLE flare patients and 198 SLE patients with infection were finally incorporated in the meta-analysis after examining title, type, abstracts, and full text. No significant differences in plasma/serum PCT levels were found between SLE patients with flare and SLE patients with infection when all studies were pooled into the meta-analysis (pooled SMD = - 0.45, 95% CI = - 0.96 to 0.06). However, subgroup analysis showed that Asian SLE patients with infection had higher plasma/serum PCT levels when compared with SLE patients with flare (p infection. However, plasma/serum PCT levels are significantly higher in Asian SLE patients with infection.

  11. Periodic Recurrence Patterns In X-Ray Solar Flare Appearances

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gyenge, N.; Erdélyi, R.

    2018-06-01

    The temporal recurrence of micro-flare events is studied for a time interval before and after of major solar flares. Our sample is based on the X-ray flare observations by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) and Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI). The analyzed data contain 1330/301 M-class and X-class GOES/RHESSI energetic solar flares and 4062/4119 GOES/RHESSI micro-flares covering the period elapse since 2002. The temporal analysis of recurrence, by Fast Fourier Transform, of the micro-flares, shows multiple significant periods. Based on the GOES and RHESSI data, the temporal analysis also demonstrates that multiple periods manifest simultaneously in both statistical samples without any significant shift over time. In the GOES sample, the detected significant periods are: 11.33, 5.61, 3.75, 2.80, and 2.24 minutes. The RHESSI data show similar significant periods at 8.54, 5.28, 3.66, 2.88, and 2.19 minutes. The periods are interpreted as signatures of standing oscillations, with the longest period (P 1) being the fundamental and others being higher harmonic modes. The period ratio of the fundamental and higher harmonics (P 1/P N ) is also analyzed. The standing modes may be signatures of global oscillations of the entire solar atmosphere encompassing magnetized plasma from the photosphere to the corona in active regions.

  12. Flares of Orion population variables in the association Taurus T3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khodzhaev, A.S.; AN Armyanskoj SSR, Byurakan. Astrofizicheskaya Observatoriya)

    1987-01-01

    Thirteen new flare stars, proved to be irregular variables of Orion Population, were discovered from a study of the Taurus Dark Cloud region by the homogeneous photographic multipose method on the wide angle Schmidt telescopes of the Byurakan Astorphysical Observatory. Seventeen flares on these stars were detected for about 750 hours of the effective observing time. The analysis of the complicated light curves of these flares shows a great variety and multiplicity of this phenomenon and various dynamics of flare energy release processes. The existence of flare stars with some properties typical for both of the T Tauri and UV Ceti stars simulteneously indicates nonstable stars. The population of flare stars in the Taurus Dark Cloud region is apparently as young as in Orion and Monoceros

  13. HEATING OF FLARE LOOPS WITH OBSERVATIONALLY CONSTRAINED HEATING FUNCTIONS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qiu Jiong; Liu Wenjuan; Longcope, Dana W. [Department of Physics, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717-3840 (United States)

    2012-06-20

    We analyze high-cadence high-resolution observations of a C3.2 flare obtained by AIA/SDO on 2010 August 1. The flare is a long-duration event with soft X-ray and EUV radiation lasting for over 4 hr. Analysis suggests that magnetic reconnection and formation of new loops continue for more than 2 hr. Furthermore, the UV 1600 Angstrom-Sign observations show that each of the individual pixels at the feet of flare loops is brightened instantaneously with a timescale of a few minutes, and decays over a much longer timescale of more than 30 minutes. We use these spatially resolved UV light curves during the rise phase to construct empirical heating functions for individual flare loops, and model heating of coronal plasmas in these loops. The total coronal radiation of these flare loops are compared with soft X-ray and EUV radiation fluxes measured by GOES and AIA. This study presents a method to observationally infer heating functions in numerous flare loops that are formed and heated sequentially by reconnection throughout the flare, and provides a very useful constraint to coronal heating models.

  14. Center-to-Limb Variability of Hot Coronal EUV Emissions During Solar Flares

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thiemann, E. M. B.; Chamberlin, P. C.; Eparvier, F. G.; Epp, L.

    2018-02-01

    It is generally accepted that densities of quiet-Sun and active region plasma are sufficiently low to justify the optically thin approximation, and this is commonly used in the analysis of line emissions from plasma in the solar corona. However, the densities of solar flare loops are substantially higher, compromising the optically thin approximation. This study begins with a radiative transfer model that uses typical solar flare densities and geometries to show that hot coronal emission lines are not generally optically thin. Furthermore, the model demonstrates that the observed line intensity should exhibit center-to-limb variability (CTLV), with flares observed near the limb being dimmer than those occurring near disk center. The model predictions are validated with an analysis of over 200 flares observed by the EUV Variability Experiment (EVE) on the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), which uses six lines, with peak formation temperatures between 8.9 and 15.8 MK, to show that limb flares are systematically dimmer than disk-center flares. The data are then used to show that the electron column density along the line of sight typically increases by 1.76 × 10^{19} cm^{-2} for limb flares over the disk-center flare value. It is shown that the CTLV of hot coronal emissions reduces the amount of ionizing radiation propagating into the solar system, and it changes the relative intensities of lines and bands commonly used for spectral analysis.

  15. The classification of flaring states of blazars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Resconi, E.; Franco, D.; Gross, A.; Costamante, L.; Flaccomio, E.

    2009-08-01

    Aims: The time evolution of the electromagnetic emission from blazars, in particular high-frequency peaked sources (HBLs), displays irregular activity that has not yet been understood. In this work we report a methodology capable of characterizing the time behavior of these variable objects. Methods: The maximum likelihood blocks (MLBs) is a model-independent estimator that subdivides the light curve into time blocks, whose length and amplitude are compatible with states of constant emission rate of the observed source. The MLBs yield the statistical significance in the rate variations and strongly suppresses the noise fluctuations in the light curves. We applied the MLBs for the first time on the long term X-ray light curves (RXTE/ASM) of Mkn 421, Mkn 501, 1ES 1959+650, and 1ES 2155-304, more than 10 years of observational data (1996-2007). Using the MLBs interpretation of RXTE/ASM data, the integrated time flux distribution is determined for each single source considered. We identify in these distributions the characteristic level, as well as the flaring states of the blazars. Results: All the distributions show a significant component at negative flux values, most probably caused by an uncertainty in the background subtraction and by intrinsic fluctuations of RXTE/ASM. This effect concerns in particular short time observations. To quantify the probability that the intrinsic fluctuations give rise to a false identification of a flare, we study a population of very faint sources and their integrated time-flux distribution. We determine duty cycle or fraction of time a source spent in the flaring state of the source Mkn 421, Mkn 501, 1ES 1959+650 and 1ES 2155-304. Moreover, we study the random coincidences between flares and generic sporadic events such as high-energy neutrinos or flares in other wavelengths.

  16. The Crab Nebula flaring activity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Montani, G., E-mail: giovanni.montani@frascati.enea.it [ENEA – C.R, UTFUS-MAG, via Enrico Fermi 45, I-00044 Frascati (RM) (Italy); Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Roma “Sapienza”, p.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Roma (Italy); Bernardini, M.G. [INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, via Bianchi 46, I-23807 Merate (Italy)

    2014-12-12

    The discovery made by AGILE and Fermi of a short time scale flaring activity in the gamma-ray energy emission of the Crab Nebula is a puzzling and unexpected feature, challenging particle acceleration theory. In the present work we propose the shock-induced magnetic reconnection as a viable mechanism to explain the Crab flares. We postulate that the emitting region is located at ∼10{sup 15} cm from the central pulsar, well inside the termination shock, which is exactly the emitting region size as estimated by the overall duration of the phenomenon ∼1 day. We find that this location corresponds to the radial distance at which the shock-induced magnetic reconnection process is able to accelerate the electrons up to a Lorentz factor ∼10{sup 9}, as required by the spectral fit of the observed Crab flare spectrum. The main merit of the present analysis is to highlight the relation between the observational constraints to the flare emission and the radius at which the reconnection can trigger the required Lorentz factor. We also discuss different scenarios that can induce the reconnection. We conclude that the existence of a plasma instability affecting the wind itself as the Weibel instability is the privileged scenario in our framework.

  17. Multiwavelength analysis of a well observed flare from SMM. [Solar Maximum Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macneice, P.; Pallavicini, R.; Mason, H. E.; Simnett, G. M.; Antonucci, E.; Shine, R. A.; Dennis, B. R.

    1985-01-01

    Observations of an M 1.4 flare which began at 17:00 UT on November 12, 1980, are presented and analyzed. Ground based H-alpha and magnetogram data have been combined with EUV, soft and hard X-ray observations made with instruments on-board the Solar Maximum Mission satellite. The preflare phase was marked by a gradual brightening of the flare site in O v and the disappearance of an H-alpha filament. Filament ejecta were seen in O v moving southward at a speed of about 60 km/s, before the impulsive phase. The flare loop footpoints brightened in H-alpha and the Ca XIX resonance line broadened dramatically 2 min before the impulsive phase. Nonthermal hard X-ray emission was detected from the loop footpoints during the impulsive phase, while during the same period blue-shifts corresponding to upflows of 200-250 km/s were seen in Ca XIX. Evidence was found for energy deposition in both the chromosphere and corona at a number of stages during the flare. Two widely studied mechanisms for the production of the high temperature soft X-ray flare plasma in the corona are considered, i.e. chromospheric evaporation, and a model in which the heating and transfer of material occurs between flux tubes during reconnection.

  18. Solar Flares and Their Prediction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adams, Mitzi L.

    1999-01-01

    Solar flares and coronal mass ejection's (CMES) can strongly affect the local environment at the Earth. A major challenge for solar physics is to understand the physical mechanisms responsible for the onset of solar flares. Flares, characterized by a sudden release of energy (approx. 10(exp 32) ergs for the largest events) within the solar atmosphere, result in the acceleration of electrons, protons, and heavier ions as well as the production of electromagnetic radiation from hard X-rays to km radio waves (wavelengths approx. = 10(exp -9) cm to 10(exp 6) cm). Observations suggest that solar flares and sunspots are strongly linked. For example, a study of data from 1956-1969, reveals that approx. 93 percent of major flares originate in active regions with spots. Furthermore, the global structure of the sunspot magnetic field can be correlated with flare activity. This talk will review what we know about flare causes and effects and will discuss techniques for quantifying parameters, which may lead to a prediction of solar flares.

  19. How flares can be understood

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Severny, A.B.

    1977-01-01

    Specific features of the flare phenomenon which are important for understanding of flares are the following: (1) Fine structure of visible emission of flares, especially at the very beginning and in the pre-flare active region. This structure can be seen also in later stages of development as bright points, some of which exist from the flare beginning (Babin's observations at Crimea, 1972-1976). (2) Turbulent motion with velocities up to 250-300 km s -1 as can be estimated from broadening of emission lines. (3) Predominantly red asymmetry of emission lines in the explosive phase and during further development of flares. (4) 'Supersonic' velocities and supergravitational accelerations of separate moving masses of the flare plasma. (5) The appearance of flares in areas with high grad H, exceeding 0.1 G km -1 which is equivalent to regions of electric currents > approximately 10 11 A. (6) Strong variations of net magnetic flux through the active region, as it follows from Meudon, Crimean, and Sacramento Peak (Rust's) observations. (Auth.)

  20. Incidence of Endodontic Flare-ups and Its Related Factors: A Retrospective Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nair, Manuja; Rahul, J; Devadathan, A; Mathew, Josey

    2017-01-01

    The aim and objective of the study were to determine the incidence of flare-ups during endodontic treatment and to identify the risk factors associated with flare-ups. A total of 1725 patients who were treated during the time period of 2009-2014 by the same endodontist were reviewed. Incidence of flare-up, patients' age, gender, status of pulp, tooth position, number of roots, and treatment provided were taken from their dental records. Relationship between these factors and flare-ups was examined. Statistical analysis was done using Pearson Chi-square test and Fisher's exact test. A total of 2% incidence of endodontic flare-ups was seen out of 1725 cases. Patient's age, gender, and diagnosis had a significant effect on the development of flare-ups ( P flare-up incidence. Diagnosis plays an important role in predicting the incidence of flare-ups. Patients in the age group of 40-60 years had a higher risk of developing flare-ups. Women compared to men are more prone to flare-ups.

  1. MULTI-WAVELENGTH CHARACTERIZATION OF STELLAR FLARES ON LOW-MASS STARS USING SDSS AND 2MASS TIME-DOMAIN SURVEYS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Davenport, James R. A.; Becker, Andrew C.; Kowalski, Adam F.; Hawley, Suzanne L.; Schmidt, Sarah J.; Hilton, Eric J. [Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Sesar, Branimir [Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy, Caltech, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Cutri, Roc, E-mail: jrad@astro.washington.edu [Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)

    2012-03-20

    We present the first rates of flares from M dwarf stars in both red optical and near-infrared (NIR) filters. We have studied {approx}50,000 M dwarfs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Stripe 82 area and 1321 M dwarfs from the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) Calibration Scan Point Source Working Database that overlap SDSS imaging fields. We assign photometric spectral types from M0 to M6 using (r - i) and (i - z) colors for every star in our sample. Stripe 82 stars each have 50-100 epochs of data, while 2MASS Calibration stars have {approx}1900 epochs. From these data we estimate the observed rates and theoretical detection thresholds for flares in eight photometric bands as a function of spectral type. Optical flare rates are found to be in agreement with previous studies, while the frequency per hour of NIR flare detections is found to be more than two orders of magnitude lower. An excess of small-amplitude flux increases in all bands exhibits a power-law distribution, which we interpret as the result of flares below our detection thresholds. In order to investigate the recovery efficiency for flares in each filter, we extend a two-component flare model into the NIR. Quiescent M0-M6 spectral templates were used with the model to predict the photometric response of flares from u to K{sub s} . We determine that red optical filters are sensitive to flares with u-band amplitudes {approx}>2 mag, and NIR filters to flares with {Delta}u {approx}> 4.5 mag. Our model predicts that M0 stars have the best color contrast for J-band detections, but M4-M6 stars should yield the highest rate of NIR flares with amplitudes of {Delta}J {>=} 0.01 mag. Characterizing flare rates and photometric variations at longer wavelengths is important for predicting the signatures of M dwarf variability in next-generation surveys, and we discuss their impact on surveys such as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope.

  2. MULTI-WAVELENGTH CHARACTERIZATION OF STELLAR FLARES ON LOW-MASS STARS USING SDSS AND 2MASS TIME-DOMAIN SURVEYS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davenport, James R. A.; Becker, Andrew C.; Kowalski, Adam F.; Hawley, Suzanne L.; Schmidt, Sarah J.; Hilton, Eric J.; Sesar, Branimir; Cutri, Roc

    2012-01-01

    We present the first rates of flares from M dwarf stars in both red optical and near-infrared (NIR) filters. We have studied ∼50,000 M dwarfs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Stripe 82 area and 1321 M dwarfs from the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) Calibration Scan Point Source Working Database that overlap SDSS imaging fields. We assign photometric spectral types from M0 to M6 using (r – i) and (i – z) colors for every star in our sample. Stripe 82 stars each have 50-100 epochs of data, while 2MASS Calibration stars have ∼1900 epochs. From these data we estimate the observed rates and theoretical detection thresholds for flares in eight photometric bands as a function of spectral type. Optical flare rates are found to be in agreement with previous studies, while the frequency per hour of NIR flare detections is found to be more than two orders of magnitude lower. An excess of small-amplitude flux increases in all bands exhibits a power-law distribution, which we interpret as the result of flares below our detection thresholds. In order to investigate the recovery efficiency for flares in each filter, we extend a two-component flare model into the NIR. Quiescent M0-M6 spectral templates were used with the model to predict the photometric response of flares from u to K s . We determine that red optical filters are sensitive to flares with u-band amplitudes ∼>2 mag, and NIR filters to flares with Δu ∼> 4.5 mag. Our model predicts that M0 stars have the best color contrast for J-band detections, but M4-M6 stars should yield the highest rate of NIR flares with amplitudes of ΔJ ≥ 0.01 mag. Characterizing flare rates and photometric variations at longer wavelengths is important for predicting the signatures of M dwarf variability in next-generation surveys, and we discuss their impact on surveys such as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope.

  3. X-ray observations of solar flares with the Einstein Observatory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmitt, J.H.M.M.; Fink, H.; Harnden, F.R. Jr.; Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA)

    1987-01-01

    The first Einstein Observatory Imaging Proportional Counter (IPC) observations of solar flares are presented. These flares were detected in scattered X-ray light when the X-ray telescope was pointed at the sunlit earth. The propagation and scattering of solar X-rays in the earth's atmosphere are discussed in order to be able to deduce the solar X-ray flux incident on top of the atmosphere from scattered X-ray intensity measurements. After this correction, the scattered X-ray data are interpreted as full-disk observations of the sun obtained with the same instrumentation used for observations of flares on other stars. Employing the same data analysis and interpretation techniques, extremely good agreement is found between the physical flare parameters deduced from IPC observations and known properties of compact loop flares. This agreement demonstrates that flare observations with the IPC can reveal physical parameters such as temperature and density quite accurately in the solar case and therefore suggests that the interpretations of stellar X-ray flare observations are on a physically sound basis. 26 references

  4. Solar neighbourhood flare stars - a review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kunkel, W.E.

    1975-01-01

    The review concentrates on 'astronomical' aspects of flare activity, such as where, and under what circumstances flare activity is found in the solar vicinity. Non-classical activity is briefly described (without regard for completeness) and the influence of detection effects on flare observations is treated. Flare stars discovered during the last four years are described and flare activity of local dMe stars is compared. The BY Draconis syndrome is discussed followed by some remarks about rotation. Pleiades flare activity is compared to that of the solar neighbourhood and evidence for the evolution of flare activity in stars is examined. (Auth.)

  5. Flare colours and luminosities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cristaldi, S.; Rodono, M.

    1975-01-01

    Flare colours determined from simultaneous UBV observations made at Catania Observatory and from sequential UBV observations made at McDonald Observatory are presented. They fit fairly well with the theoretical colours computed according to the Gurzadian's (1970) non-thermal model. Only part of the observed flare colours are consistent with the solar type models by Gershberg (1967) and Kunkel (1970). From a B-band patrol of UV Cet-type stars carried out from 1967 to 1972, some quantitative estimates of flare frequencies and luminosities and their average contributions to the stellar radiation are given. The corresponding parameters for the Sun, which were estimated from 'white light' flare activity, are also given for comparison. The Sun and V 1216 Sgr can be regarded as low-activity flare stars of the type found by Kunkel (1973). (Auth.)

  6. Studies of solar flares: Homology and X-ray line broadening

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ranns, Neale David Raymond

    This thesis starts with an introduction to the solar atmosphere and the physics that governs its behaviour. The formation processes of spectral lines are presented followed by an explanation of employed plasma diagnostic techniques and line broadening mechanisms. The current understanding on some principle concepts of flare physics are reviewed and the topics of flare homology and non-thermal line broadening are introduced. The many solar satellites and instrumentation that were utilised during this thesis are described. Analysis techniques for some instruments are also presented. A series of solar flares that conform to the literature definition for homologous flares are examined. The apparent homology is shown to be caused by emerging flux rather than continual stressing of a single, or group of, magnetic structure's. The implications for flare homology are discussed. The analysis of a solar flare with a rise and peak in the observed non-thermal X-ray line broadening (Vnt) is then performed. The location of the hot plasma within the flare area is determined and consequently the source of Vnt is located to be within and above the flare loops. The flare footpoints are therefore discarded as a possible source location. Viable source locations are discussed with a view to determining the dominant mechanism for the generation of line broadening. The timing relationships between the hard X-ray (HXR) flux and Vnt in many solar flares are then examined. I show that there is a causal relationship between these two parameters and that the HXR rise time is related to the time delay between the maxima of HXR flux and Vnt. The temporal evolution of Vnt is shown to be dependent upon the shape of the HXR burst. The implications of these results are discussed in terms of determining the line broadening mechanism and the limitations of the data. A summary of the results in this thesis is then presented together with suggestions for future research.

  7. MAGNETIC AND DYNAMICAL PHOTOSPHERIC DISTURBANCES OBSERVED DURING AN M3.2 SOLAR FLARE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kuckein, C. [Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP), An der Sternwarte 16, D-14482, Potsdam (Germany); Collados, M.; Sainz, R. Manso, E-mail: ckuckein@aip.de [Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), Vía Láctea s/n, E-38205, La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain)

    2015-02-01

    This Letter reports on a set of full-Stokes spectropolarimetric observations in the near-infrared He i 10830 Å spectral region covering the pre-flare, flare, and post-flare phases of an M3.2 class solar flare. The flare originated on 2013 May 17 and belonged to active region NOAA 11748. We detected strong He i 10830 Å emission in the flare. The red component of the He i triplet peaks at an intensity ratio to the continuum of about 1.86. During the flare, He i Stokes V is substantially larger and appears reversed compared to the usually larger Si i Stokes V profile. The photospheric Si i inversions of the four Stokes profiles reveal the following: (1) the magnetic field strength in the photosphere decreases or is even absent during the flare phase, as compared to the pre-flare phase. However, this decrease is not permanent. After the flare, the magnetic field recovers its pre-flare configuration in a short time (i.e., 30 minutes after the flare). (2) In the photosphere, the line of sight velocities show a regular granular up- and downflow pattern before the flare erupts. During the flare, upflows (blueshifts) dominate the area where the flare is produced. Evaporation rates of ∼10{sup −3} and ∼10{sup −4} g cm{sup −2} s{sup −1} have been derived in the deep and high photosphere, respectively, capable of increasing the chromospheric density by a factor of two in about 400 s.

  8. Flares on a Bp Star

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mullan, D. J.

    2009-09-01

    Two large X-ray flares have been reported from the direction of a magnetic B2p star (σ Ori E). Sanz-Forcada et al. have suggested that the flares did not occur on the B2p star but on a companion of late spectral type. A star which is a candidate for a late-type flare star near σ Ori E has recently been identified by Bouy et al. However, based on the properties of the flares, and based on a recent model of rotating magnetospheres, we argue that, rather than attributing the two flares to a late-type dwarf, it is a viable hypothesis that the flares were magnetic phenomena associated with the rotating magnetosphere of the B2p star itself.

  9. FLARES ON A Bp STAR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mullan, D. J.

    2009-01-01

    Two large X-ray flares have been reported from the direction of a magnetic B2p star (σ Ori E). Sanz-Forcada et al. have suggested that the flares did not occur on the B2p star but on a companion of late spectral type. A star which is a candidate for a late-type flare star near σ Ori E has recently been identified by Bouy et al. However, based on the properties of the flares, and based on a recent model of rotating magnetospheres, we argue that, rather than attributing the two flares to a late-type dwarf, it is a viable hypothesis that the flares were magnetic phenomena associated with the rotating magnetosphere of the B2p star itself.

  10. Dynamics of flare sprays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tandberg-Hanssen, E.; Hansen, R.T.

    1980-01-01

    During solar cycle No. 20 new insight into the flare-spray phenomenon has been attained due to several innovations in solar optical-observing techniques (higher spatial resolution cinema-photography, tunable pass-band filters, multi-slit spectroscopy and extended angular field coronographs). From combined analysis of 13 well-observed sprays which occured between 1969-1974 we conclude that (i) the spray material originates from a preexisting active region filament which undergoes increased absorption some tens of minutes prior to the abrupt chromospheric brightening at the 'flare-start', and (ii) the spray material is confined within a steadily expanding, loop-shaped (presumably magnetically controlled) envelope with part of the material draining back down along one or both legs of the loop. (orig.)

  11. SIGN SINGULARITY AND FLARES IN SOLAR ACTIVE REGION NOAA 11158

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sorriso-Valvo, L.; De Vita, G. [IMIP-CNR, U.O.S. LICRYL di Cosenza, Ponte P. Bucci, Cubo 31C, I-87036 Rende (Italy); Kazachenko, M. D.; Krucker, S.; Welsch, B. T.; Fisher, G. H. [Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, 7 Gauss Way, Berkeley 94720, California (United States); Primavera, L.; Servidio, S.; Lepreti, F.; Carbone, V. [Dipartimento di Fisica, Università della Calabria, Ponte P. Bucci, Cubo 31C, I-87036 Rende (Italy); Vecchio, A., E-mail: sorriso@fis.unical.it [INGV, Sede di Cosenza, Ponte P. Bucci, Cubo 30C, I-87036 Rende (Italy)

    2015-03-01

    Solar Active Region NOAA 11158 has hosted a number of strong flares, including one X2.2 event. The complexity of current density and current helicity are studied through cancellation analysis of their sign-singular measure, which features power-law scaling. Spectral analysis is also performed, revealing the presence of two separate scaling ranges with different spectral index. The time evolution of parameters is discussed. Sudden changes of the cancellation exponents at the time of large flares and the presence of correlation with Extreme-Ultra-Violet and X-ray flux suggest that eruption of large flares can be linked to the small-scale properties of the current structures.

  12. Investigation of solar flares in X-ray and optical spectral region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kurt, V.; Kurochka, L.N.; Zenchenko, V.M.

    1989-01-01

    Measurements of hard X h radiation of 180 solar flares carried out on board of the space probes Venera-13,-14, were compared with measurements of optical and thermal X t radiation. Values of total energy release during a flare in these regions are calculated, and correlation analysis is carried out. The bond correlations found have shown that total energy of fast electrons, caused X h -flare in the flare pulse phase, and thermal energy at the end of a pulse phase are practically connected with each othesr functionally. Quantitative connection between a flare ball in H α -line and the most probable energy values, being in different radiation regions calculated in the scope of generally accepted models, is established. The total energy of an optical (cold) part of the flare, radiation energy in X-ray region and the energy introduced to the flare volume by energy particles are shown to be compared between each other

  13. Design alternatives, components key to optimum flares

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cunha-Leite, O.

    1992-01-01

    A properly designed flare works as an emissions control system with greater than 98% combustion efficiency. The appropriate use of steam, natural gas, and air-assisted flare tips can result in smokeless combustion. Ground flare, otherwise the elevated flare is commonly chosen because it handles larger flow releases more economically. Flaring has become more complicated than just lighting up waste gas. Companies are increasingly concerned about efficiency. In addition, U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have become more active, resulting in tighter regulations on both safety and emissions control. These regulations have resulted in higher levels of concern and involvement in safety and emissions matters, not to mention smoke, noise, glare, and odor. This first to two articles on flare design and components looks at elevated flares, flare tips, incinerator-type flares, flare pilots, and gas seals. Part 2 will examine knockout drums, liquid-seal drums, ignition systems, ground flares, vapor recovery systems, and flare noise

  14. Search for relation between flares and photometric variability outside of flares in EV Lac

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rojzman, G.Sh.

    1984-01-01

    The observations of the flare star EV Lac in July-September 1981 have confirmed the existence of photometric variability outside the flares during the night. It was found that, as a rule, a slow increase of brightness in U and B bands during 1-2 hours preceded the flares. It is suggested that the variability outside the flares is the result of the variability of chpomospheric emission lines and continuum that are emitted by the chromospheric preflare formations

  15. The energetic relationship among geoeffective solar flares, associated CMEs and SEPs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bhatt Nipa J; Jain Rajmal; Awasthi Arun Kumar

    2013-01-01

    Major solar eruptions (flares, coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and solar energetic particles (SEPs)) strongly influence geospace and space weather. Currently, the mechanism of their influence on space weather is not well understood and requires a detailed study of the energetic relationship among these eruptive phenomena. From this perspective, we investigate 30 flares (observed by RHESSI), followed by weak to strong geomagnetic storms. Spectral analysis of these flares suggests a new power-law relationship (r ∼ 0.79) between the hard X-ray (HXR) spectral index (before flare-peak) and linear speed of the associated CME observed by LASCO/SOHO. For 12 flares which were followed by SEP enhancement near Earth, HXR and SEP spectral analysis reveals a new scaling law (r ∼ 0.9) between the hardest X-ray flare spectrum and the hardest SEP spectrum. Furthermore, a strong correlation is obtained between the linear speed of the CME and the hardest spectrum of the corresponding SEP event (r ∼ 0.96). We propose that the potentially geoeffective flare and associated CME and SEP are well-connected through a possible feedback mechanism, and should be regarded within the framework of a solar eruption. Owing to their space weather effects, these new results will help improve our current understanding of the Sun-Earth relationship, which is a major goal of research programs in heliophysics

  16. Proton solar flares

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shaposhnikova, E.F.

    1979-01-01

    The observations of proton solar flares have been carried out in 1950-1958 using the extrablackout coronograph of the Crimea astrophysical observatory. The experiments permit to determine two characteristic features of flares: the directed motion of plasma injection flux from the solar depths and the appearance of a shock wave moving from the place of the injection along the solar surface. The appearance of the shock wave is accompanied by some phenomena occuring both in the sunspot zone and out of it. The consistent flash of proton flares in the other groups of spots, the disappearance of fibres and the appearance of eruptive prominences is accomplished in the sunspot zone. Beyond the sunspot zone the flares occur above spots, the fibres disintegrate partially or completely and the eruptive prominences appear in the regions close to the pole

  17. Improved flare tip design

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gogolek, P. [Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, ON (Canada). CANMET Energy Technology Centre

    2004-07-01

    This paper discusses the testing procedures and development of an improved flare tip design. Design objectives included performance equal to or better than utility flares at low wind speed; conversion efficiency; fuel slip; smoking; significant improvement at high wind speed; and no increase in trace emissions. A description of the testing facility of the flare tip was provided, with reference to the fact that the facility allowed for realistic near full scale gas flares in a single-pass flare test facility. Other details of the facility included: an adjustable ceiling; high capacity variable speed fan; sampling ports along working section in stack; windows along working section; and air cooled walls, floor, and ceiling. The fuels used in the flare tip included natural gas, propane, gasoline and inert gases. Details of wind speed, appurtenances and turbulence generating grids were presented, with reference to continuous gas emission measurements. A list of design constraints was provided. Flare performance included wind speed, turbulence and fuel composition. A chart of conversion inefficiencies with a correlation of wind speed and turbulence, fuel flow and pipe size was also presented. Several new tip designs were fabricated for testing, with screening tests for comparison to basic pipe and ranking designs. Significant improvements were found in one of the new designs, including results with 30 per cent propane in fuel. Emissions reduction from 10 to 35 per cent were noted. It was concluded that future work should focus on evaluating improved tip for stability at low wind speeds. Fuel slips are the primary source of emissions, and it was recommended that further research is necessary to improve existing flare tips. tabs, figs.

  18. Flare-up rate in pulpally necrotic molars in one-visit versus two-visit endodontic treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eleazer, P D; Eleazer, K R

    1998-09-01

    This retrospective study compared one-visit versus two-visit endodontic treatment. The same technique and materials were used before and after making the sole change to one-visit endodontic treatment in 1991. Treatment records of 402 consecutive patients with pulpally necrotic first and second molars were compared. In 201 patients, treatment was provided by debridement and instrumentation, followed by obturation at a second visit; whereas the second group received single visit therapy. Flare-ups were defined as either patient reports of pain not controlled with over-the-counter medication or as increasing swelling. Sixteen flare-ups (8%) occurred in the two-visit group versus six flare-ups (3%) for the one-visit group. This showed an advantage for one-visit treatment at a 95% confidence level. In a second comparison, one-visit patients who had previously received two-visit treatment for a different pulpally necrotic molar served as their own control. No significant differences were present in this subgroup of 17 patients.

  19. ON THE NON-KOLMOGOROV NATURE OF FLARE-PRODUCTIVE SOLAR ACTIVE REGIONS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mandage, Revati S. [Physics and Astronomy Department, Rice University, 6100 Main MS-61, Houston, TX 77005-1827 (United States); McAteer, R. T. James, E-mail: mcateer@nmsu.edu [Department of Astronomy, New Mexico State University, MSC 4500, Las Cruces, NM 88001 (United States)

    2016-12-20

    A magnetic power spectral analysis is performed on 53 solar active regions, observed from 2011 August to 2012 July. Magnetic field data obtained from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager, inverted as Active Region Patches, are used to study the evolution of the magnetic power index as each region rotates across the solar disk. Active regions are classified based on the numbers and sizes of solar flares they produce in order to study the relationship between flare productivity and the magnetic power index. The choice of window size and inertial range plays a key role in determining the correct magnetic power index. The overall distribution of magnetic power indices has a range of 1.0–2.5. Flare-quiet regions peak at a value of 1.6. However, flare-productive regions peak at a value of 2.2. Overall, the histogram of the distribution of power indices of flare-productive active regions is well separated from flare-quiet active regions. Only 12% of flare-quiet regions exhibit an index greater than 2, whereas 90% of flare-productive regions exhibit an index greater than 2. Flare-quiet regions exhibit a high temporal variance (i.e., the index fluctuates between high and low values), whereas flare-productive regions maintain an index greater than 2 for several days. This shows the importance of including the temporal evolution of active regions in flare prediction studies, and highlights the potential of a 2–3 day prediction window for space weather applications.

  20. Statistical analysis of tiny SXR flares observed by SphinX

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gryciuk, Magdalena; Siarkowski, Marek; Sylwester, Janusz; Kepa, Anna; Gburek, Szymon; Mrozek, Tomasz; Podgórski, Piotr

    2015-08-01

    The Solar Photometer in X-rays (SphinX) was designed to observe soft X-ray solar emission in the energy range between ~1 keV and 15 keV with the resolution better than 0.5 keV. The instrument operated from February until November 2009 aboard CORONAS-Photon satellite, during the phase of exceptionally low minimum of solar activity. Here we use SphinX data for analysis of micro-flares and brightenings. Despite a very low activity more than a thousand small X-ray events have been recognized by semi-automatic inspection of SphinX light curves. A catalogue of temporal and physical characteristics of these events is shown and discussed and results of the statistical analysis of the catalogue data are presented.

  1. Contribution of Tula Refinery flaring emissions to the Mexico megacity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almanza, Victor; Molina, Luisa; Sosa, Gustavo

    2013-04-01

    Flaring is an important source of greenhouse gases, particulate matter and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in both upstream and downstream operations in the oil and gas industry. In 2010 Mexico was the eleventh emitting country with 2.5 billion cubic meters of gas flared (World Bank, 2012). Black carbon (a component of soot) emissions from flaring facilities are of particular interest because soot is considered a short-lived climate forcer (SLCF) (UNEP, 2011). In 2011 there were 23 megacities of at least 10 million inhabitants. It is expected that this number increase to 37 by 2025, which will include one more in Northern America (NA) and two more in Latin America (UN, 2012). International collaborative projects like MILAGRO in NA and MEGAPOLI/CityZen in Europe, have been conducted to assess the impact of megacities air pollution at several scales. The former focused on the air pollution plume of Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA), the largest megacity in NA. This work studies the contribution of flaring emissions from Tula Refinery to regional air quality. This is accomplished in two steps. First, the flame of a representative sour gas flare is modeled with a CFD combustion code in order to estimate emission rates of combustion by-products of interest for air quality. Mass flow rates of acetylene, ethylene, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, soot and sulfur dioxide are obtained. The emission rates of NO2 and SO2 are compared with measurements obtained at Tula as part of MILAGRO field campaign. The rates of soot, VOCs and CO emissions are compared with estimates obtained by Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo (IMP). The second stage takes the flaring emission rates of the aforementioned species as inputs to WRF-Chem in order to simulate the chemical transport of the plume from 22 March to 27 March of 2006. The air quality model presented reliable performance of the resolved meteorology, with respect to the Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE

  2. Transient magnetic field changes in flares

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Patterson, A.; Zirin, H.

    1981-01-01

    Magnetic changes have been detected with the videomagnetograph (VMG) at Big Bear during two large flares on 1979 November 5. Two kinds of changes were detected in both flares: a decrease in satellite field strength near the locus of the flare and the appearance of strong transient fields during the peak of the flare. We explain why we believe that the observed effects are real and not instrumental and discuss their significance for flare studies

  3. Radio imaging of solar flares using the very large array - New insights into flare process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kundu, M. R.; Schmahl, E. J.; Vlahos, L.; Velusamy, T.

    1982-01-01

    An interpretation of VLA observations of microwave bursts is presented in an attempt to distinguish between certain models of flares. The VLA observations provide information about the pre-flare magnetic field topology and the existence of mildly relativistic electrons accelerated during flares. Examples are shown of changes in magnetic field topology in the hour before flares. In one case, new bipolar loops appear to emerge, which is an essential component of the model developed by Heyvaerts et al. (1977). In another case, a quadrupole structure, suggestive of two juxtaposed bipolar loops, appears to trigger the flare. Because of the observed diversity of magnetic field topologies in microwave bursts, it is believed that the magnetic energy must be dissipated in more than one way. The VLA observations are clearly providing means for sorting out the diverse flare models.

  4. Modelling blazar flaring using a time-dependent fluid jet emission model - an explanation for orphan flares and radio lags

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potter, William J.

    2018-01-01

    Blazar jets are renowned for their rapid violent variability and multiwavelength flares, however, the physical processes responsible for these flares are not well understood. In this paper, we develop a time-dependent inhomogeneous fluid jet emission model for blazars. We model optically thick radio flares for the first time and show that they are delayed with respect to the prompt optically thin emission by ∼months to decades, with a lag that increases with the jet power and observed wavelength. This lag is caused by a combination of the travel time of the flaring plasma to the optically thin radio emitting sections of the jet and the slow rise time of the radio flare. We predict two types of flares: symmetric flares - with the same rise and decay time, which occur for flares whose duration is shorter than both the radiative lifetime and the geometric path-length delay time-scale; extended flares - whose luminosity tracks the power of particle acceleration in the flare, which occur for flares with a duration longer than both the radiative lifetime and geometric delay. Our model naturally produces orphan X-ray and γ-ray flares. These are caused by flares that are only observable above the quiescent jet emission in a narrow band of frequencies. Our model is able to successfully fit to the observed multiwavelength flaring spectra and light curves of PKS1502+106 across all wavelengths, using a transient flaring front located within the broad-line region.

  5. What's an Asthma Flare-Up?

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Staying Safe Videos for Educators Search English Español Asthma Flare-Ups KidsHealth / For Parents / Asthma Flare-Ups ... español ¿Qué es una crisis asmática? What Are Asthma Flare-Ups? Keeping asthma under control helps kids ...

  6. A method for untriggered time-dependent searches for multiple flares from neutrino point sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gora, D.; Bernardini, E.; Cruz Silva, A.H.

    2011-04-01

    A method for a time-dependent search for flaring astrophysical sources which can be potentially detected by large neutrino experiments is presented. The method uses a time-clustering algorithm combined with an unbinned likelihood procedure. By including in the likelihood function a signal term which describes the contribution of many small clusters of signal-like events, this method provides an effective way for looking for weak neutrino flares over different time-scales. The method is sensitive to an overall excess of events distributed over several flares which are not individually detectable. For standard cases (one flare) the discovery potential of the method is worse than a standard time-dependent point source analysis with unknown duration of the flare by a factor depending on the signal-to-background level. However, for flares sufficiently shorter than the total observation period, the method is more sensitive than a time-integrated analysis. (orig.)

  7. A method for untriggered time-dependent searches for multiple flares from neutrino point sources

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gora, D. [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Zeuthen (Germany); Institute of Nuclear Physics PAN, Cracow (Poland); Bernardini, E.; Cruz Silva, A.H. [Institute of Nuclear Physics PAN, Cracow (Poland)

    2011-04-15

    A method for a time-dependent search for flaring astrophysical sources which can be potentially detected by large neutrino experiments is presented. The method uses a time-clustering algorithm combined with an unbinned likelihood procedure. By including in the likelihood function a signal term which describes the contribution of many small clusters of signal-like events, this method provides an effective way for looking for weak neutrino flares over different time-scales. The method is sensitive to an overall excess of events distributed over several flares which are not individually detectable. For standard cases (one flare) the discovery potential of the method is worse than a standard time-dependent point source analysis with unknown duration of the flare by a factor depending on the signal-to-background level. However, for flares sufficiently shorter than the total observation period, the method is more sensitive than a time-integrated analysis. (orig.)

  8. FLARE STARS—A FAVORABLE OBJECT FOR STUDYING MECHANISMS OF NONTHERMAL ASTROPHYSICAL PHENOMENA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oks, E. [Physics Department, 206 Allison Lab., Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849 (United States); Gershberg, R. E. [Crimean Astrophysical Observatory, Nauchny, Bakhchisaray region, Crimea, 298409 (Russian Federation)

    2016-03-01

    We present a spectroscopic method for diagnosing a low-frequency electrostatic plasma turbulence (LEPT) in plasmas of flare stars. This method had been previously developed by one of us and successfully applied to diagnosing the LEPT in solar flares. In distinction to our previous applications of the method, here we use the latest advances in the theory of the Stark broadening of hydrogen spectral lines. By analyzing observed emission Balmer lines, we show that it is very likely that the LEPT was developed in several flares of AD Leo, as well as in one flare of EV Lac. We found the LEPT (though of different field strengths) both in the explosive/impulsive phase and at the phase of the maximum, as well as at the gradual phase of the stellar flares. While for solar flares our method allows diagnosing the LEPT only in the most powerful flares, for the flare stars it seems that the method allows revealing the LEPT practically in every flare. It should be important to obtain new and better spectrograms of stellar flares, allowing their analysis by the method outlined in the present paper. This can be the most favorable way to the detailed understanding of the nature of nonthermal astrophysical phenomena.

  9. Flaring research update

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reynen, B.A.

    1999-01-01

    Several studies regarding waste gas flaring have been conducted in an effort to determine the potential health and environmental impacts associated with flaring. Energy source conservation and greenhouse gas emissions reduction are other reasons for studying the issue. A brief outline for each of the following research priorities was given: (1) operating practices, (2) flare performance, focusing on improved combustion efficiency, (3) speciation, addressing the potential effects of incomplete combustion, (4) alternative technologies such as membrane technology, cryogenics and power generation to reduce flare gas volume, (5) improved liquid separation, concentrating on the removal of entrained liquids to improve performance and reduce emissions and (6) fate and transport, including plume modeling, ambient air monitoring, tracking of known toxins, primarily to address concerns of environmental groups.The expectation is that this broad and comprehensive research effort will yield substantive and credible scientific data, lead to cooperation in the research community, reduce emissions, beneficially impact on regulations and standards and gain the support of environmental organizations

  10. Upstream petroleum industry flaring guide : review draft

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1999-03-01

    The Alberta requirements and expectations for upstream petroleum flaring are presented. Flaring is associated with a wide range of energy activities including oil and gas well drilling and well completion operations. The guide incorporates the recommendations made to the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) in June 1998 by the multi-stakeholder Clean Air Strategic Alliance (CASA) on associated or solution gas flaring. Additional requirements which address flaring issues not covered in the CASA report are also included in this guide. The Guide requires a 15 per cent reduction in solution gas flare volume by the end of year 2000 from the 1996 baseline, and a 25 per cent reduction by the end of 2001. The Guide prescribes new flare performance requirements for all flares, within three years for existing solution gas flares, five years for flares at other existing permanent facilities. It sets personal consultation and public notification requirements for new and existing solution gas batteries, and new sulphur recovery requirements for facilities not covered by existing EUB regulations. The Guide also addresses the question of conflict resolution to deal with flaring concerns, the release of flaring and venting data, the proposed reduction of flare limits, progress towards minimizing requirements for electricity generators using otherwise flared gas, annual reporting to the EUB, and management framework review in 2001

  11. Discovery of decaHz flaring in SAX J1808.4-3658

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bult P.

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available We report on the discovery of strong decaHz flaring in the early decay of two out of five outbursts of the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658. The decaHz flaring switches on and, after ~3 days, off again, on a time scale of 1-2 hours. When the flaring is present, the total 0.05-10 Hz variability has a fractional rms amplitude of 20 to 30 percent, well in excess of the 8 to 12 percent rms broad-band noise usually seen in power spectra of SAX J1808 in this frequency range. Coherent 401 Hz pulsations are seen throughout the observations in which the decaHz flaring is detected. We find that the absolute amplitude of the pulsations varies with the flux modulation of the decaHz flaring, indicating that the flaring is caused by an accretion rate modulation already present in the accretion flow prior to matter entering the accretion funnel. We suggest that the decaHz flaring is the result of the Spruit-Taam instability [1]. This instability arises when the inner accretion disk approaches co-rotation. The rotation of the stellar magnetosphere then acts as a propeller, suppressing accretion onto the neutron star. A matter reservoir forms in the inner accretion disk, which episodically empties onto the neutron star, causing flares at a decaHz timescale. A similar explanation was proposed earlier for 1 Hz flaring occurring late in three of five outbursts, mutually exclusive with the decaHz flaring. The 1 Hz flaring was observed at luminosities a factor 5 to 10 below where we see the decaHz flaring. That a different branch of the Spruit-Taam instability could also act at the much higher luminosity levels of the decaHz flaring had recently been predicted by D’Angelo & Spruit [2, 3]. We discuss these findings in the context of the parameters of the Spruit-Taam-d’Angelo model of the instability. If confirmed, after millisecond pulsations, 1 Hz and decaHz flaring would be another diagnostic of the presence of a magnetosphere in accreting low

  12. TEMPORAL EVOLUTION OF CHROMOSPHERIC OSCILLATIONS IN FLARING REGIONS: A PILOT STUDY

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Monsue, T.; Stassun, K. G. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235 (United States); Hill, F., E-mail: teresa.monsue@vanderbilt.edu, E-mail: keivan.stassun@vanderbilt.edu, E-mail: hill@email.noao.edu [National Solar Observatory, Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States)

    2016-10-01

    We have analyzed H α intensity images obtained at a 1 minute cadence with the Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) system to investigate the properties of oscillations in the 0–8 mHz frequency band at the location and time of strong M- and X-class flares. For each of three subregions within two flaring active regions, we extracted time series from multiple distinct positions, including the flare core and quieter surrounding areas. The time series were analyzed with a moving power-map analysis to examine power as a function of frequency and time. We find that, in the flare core of all three subregions, the low-frequency power (∼1–2 mHz) is substantially enhanced immediately prior to and after the flare, and that power at all frequencies up to 8 mHz is depleted at flare maximum. This depletion is both frequency- and time-dependent, which probably reflects the changing depths visible during the flare in the bandpass of the filter. These variations are not observed outside the flare cores. The depletion may indicate that acoustic energy is being converted into thermal energy at flare maximum, while the low-frequency enhancement may arise from an instability in the chromosphere and provide an early warning of the flare onset. Dark lanes of reduced wave power are also visible in the power maps, which may arise from the interaction of the acoustic waves and the magnetic field.

  13. Background Conditions for the October 29, 2003 Solar Flare by the AVS-F Apparatus Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arkhangelskaja, I. V.; Arkhangelskiy, A. I.; Lyapin, A. R.; Troitskaya, E. V.

    The background model for AVS-F apparatus onboard CORONAS-F satellite for the October 29, 2003 X10-class solar flare is discussed in the presented work. This background model developed for AVS-F counts rate in the low- and high-energy spectral ranges in both individual channels and summarized. Count rate were approximated by polynomials of high order taking into account the mean count rate in the geomagnetic equatorial region at the different orbits parts and Kp-index averaged on 5 bins in time interval from -24 to -12 hours before the time of geomagnetic equator passing. The observed averaged counts rate on equator in the region of geomagnetic latitude ±5o and estimated minimum count rate values are in coincidence within statistical errors for all selected orbits parts used for background modeling. This model will used to refine the estimated energy of registered during the solar flare spectral features and detailed analysis of their temporal profiles behavior both in corresponding energy bands and in summarized energy range.

  14. Offshore production flares: a PETROBRAS review

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pagot, Paulo R.; Burmann, Clovis P.; Araujo, Paulo Bento de; Motomura, Tsukasa [PETROBRAS S.A., Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

    2008-07-01

    The purpose of the present work is to briefly present the offshore flare system technological evolution and the main design criteria for flare and its supporting structure. In order to perform the aimed task, this work was divided into two parts: the first part presents the technological evolution of the offshore production flares and the second one discusses the flare system designing criteria. The evolution of the technology associated to the offshore production flares is organized by the authors just dividing the history in four chronological phases. Each phase is defined by the predominant use of the, by the time, most up-to-date technological alternative and it will be described with the help of sketches, drawings, photographs, data and information about the platforms where such technologies were applied. The second part of the present work discusses the dimensional criteria, interesting aspects and flaws of the offshore flare systems in two different fields, which are: definition of the flare system capacity; and flow and thermal design of the flare system. (author)

  15. Fast electrons in small solar flares

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lin, R.P.

    1975-01-01

    Because approximately 5-100 keV electrons are frequently accelerated and emitted by the Sun in small flares, it is possible to define a detailed characteristic physical picture of these events. The review summarizes both the direct spacecraft observations of non-relativistic solar electrons, and observations of the X-ray and radio emission generated by these particles at the Sun and in the interplanetary medium. These observations bear on the basic astrophysical process of particle acceleration in tenuous plasmas. It is found that in many small solar flares the approximately 5-100 keV electrons accelerated during flash phase constitute the bulk of the total flare energy. Thus the basic flare mechanism in these flares essentially converts the available flare energy into fast electrons. These electrons may produce the other flare electromagnetic emissions through their interactions with the solar atmosphere. In large proton flares these electrons may provide the energy to eject material from the Sun and to create a shock wave which could then accelerate nuclei and electrons to much higher energies. (Auth.)

  16. Parameterization of solar flare dose

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lamarche, A.H.; Poston, J.W.

    1996-01-01

    A critical aspect of missions to the moon or Mars will be the safety and health of the crew. Radiation in space is a hazard for astronauts, especially high-energy radiation following certain types of solar flares. A solar flare event can be very dangerous if astronauts are not adequately shielded because flares can deliver a very high dose in a short period of time. The goal of this research was to parameterize solar flare dose as a function of time to see if it was possible to predict solar flare occurrence, thus providing a warning time. This would allow astronauts to take corrective action and avoid receiving a dose greater than the recommended limit set by the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP)

  17. Applying the Weighted Horizontal Magnetic Gradient Method to a Simulated Flaring Active Region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korsós, M. B.; Chatterjee, P.; Erdélyi, R.

    2018-04-01

    Here, we test the weighted horizontal magnetic gradient (WG M ) as a flare precursor, introduced by Korsós et al., by applying it to a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation of solar-like flares. The preflare evolution of the WG M and the behavior of the distance parameter between the area-weighted barycenters of opposite-polarity sunspots at various heights is investigated in the simulated δ-type sunspot. Four flares emanated from this sunspot. We found the optimum heights above the photosphere where the flare precursors of the WG M method are identifiable prior to each flare. These optimum heights agree reasonably well with the heights of the occurrence of flares identified from the analysis of their thermal and ohmic heating signatures in the simulation. We also estimated the expected time of the flare onsets from the duration of the approaching–receding motion of the barycenters of opposite polarities before each single flare. The estimated onset time and the actual time of occurrence of each flare are in good agreement at the corresponding optimum heights. This numerical experiment further supports the use of flare precursors based on the WG M method.

  18. Observations of white-light flares in NOAA active region 11515: high occurrence rate and relationship with magnetic transients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Y. L.; Tian, H.; Zhang, M.; Ding, M. D.

    2018-06-01

    Aims: There are two goals in this study. One is to investigate how frequently white-light flares (WLFs) occur in a flare-productive active region (NOAA active region 11515). The other is to investigate the relationship between WLFs and magnetic transients (MTs). Methods: We used the high-cadence (45 s) full-disk continuum filtergrams and line-of-sight magnetograms taken by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) to identify WLFs and MTs, respectively. Images taken by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on board SDO were also used to show the flare morphology in the upper atmosphere. Results: We found at least 20 WLFs out of a total of 70 flares above C class (28.6%) in NOAA active region 11515 during its passage across the solar disk (E45°-W45°). Each of these WLFs occurred in a small region, with a short duration of about 5 min. The enhancement of the white-light continuum intensity is usually small, with an average enhancement of 8.1%. The 20 WLFs we observed were found along an unusual configuration of the magnetic field that was characterized by a narrow ribbon of negative field. Furthermore, the WLFs were found to be accompanied by MTs, with radical changes in magnetic field strength (or even a sign reversal) observed during the flare. In contrast, there is no obvious signature of MTs in the 50 flares without white-light enhancements. Conclusions: Our results suggest that WLFs occur much more frequently than previously thought, with most WLFs being fairly weak enhancements. This may explain why WLFs are reported rarely. Our observations also suggest that MTs and WLFs are closely related and appear cospatial and cotemporal, when considering HMI data. A greater enhancement of WL emission is often accompanied by a greater change in the line-of-sight component of the unsigned magnetic field. Considering the close relationship between MTs and WLFs, many previously reported flares with MTs may be WLFs. The movie

  19. The thermal phase of solar flares

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hirayama, Tadashi

    1979-01-01

    This paper is described on the observation of the flares, and then the numerical simulation on the structural change in the corona and the chromosphere during the flare is briefly discussed. Most of the flares occur on the active region where the density and the electron temperature are higher than those in the quiet region. The temperature and density increase after the flare started. The temperature of the pre-flare chromosphere is about 6000 K, and it rises during the flare. The temperature of the transition region is about 10 5 K, and the gas pressure increases more than one order of magnitude during the flare. Sometimes, the flaring in the photosphere is observed. Large amount of mass ejected at the time of the flare is observed. Most probable energy source of the flare is the magnetic energy contained in the form of electric current. Liberation of this energy into the corona is discussed in this paper. It is assumed that a column of unit area is standing vertically in the corona, the top being closed. A hydrostatic model of the corona-chromosphere is constructed, in which the heat source is assumed to be in the corona. As the results of calculation, it can be said that the temperature of the flaring corona does not depend upon the liberated energy, the density in the corona increases proportionally to the energy, and particles are supplied from the chromosphere with the upward velocity of about 100 km/s. The gas pressure of the transition region can become up to three orders of magnitude larger. All these are consistent with the observation. Extension of this calculation is also performed. (Kato, T.)

  20. Detection of 3-Minute Oscillations in Full-Disk Lyman-alpha Emission During A Solar Flare

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milligan, R. O.; Ireland, J.; Fleck, B.; Hudson, H. S.; Fletcher, L.; Dennis, B. R.

    2017-12-01

    We report the detection of chromospheric 3-minute oscillations in disk-integrated EUV irradiance observations during a solar flare. A wavelet analysis of detrended Lyman-alpha (from GOES/EUVS) and Lyman continuum (from SDO/EVE) emission from the 2011 February 15 X-class flare revealed a 3-minute period present during the flare's main phase. The formation temperature of this emission locates this radiation to the flare's chromospheric footpoints, and similar behaviour is found in the SDO/AIA 1600A and 1700A channels, which are dominated by chromospheric continuum. The implication is that the chromosphere responds dynamically at its acoustic cutoff frequency to an impulsive injection of energy. Since the 3-minute period was not found at hard X-ray energies (50-100 keV) in RHESSI data we can state that this 3-minute oscillation does not depend on the rate of energization of, or energy deposition by, non-thermal electrons. However, a second period of 120 s found in both hard X-ray and chromospheric emission is consistent with episodic electron energization on 2-minute timescales. Our finding on the 3-minute oscillation suggests that chromospheric mechanical energy should be included in the flare energy budget, and the fluctuations in the Lyman-alpha line may influence the composition and dynamics of planetary atmospheres during periods of high activity.

  1. Foretelling Flares and Solar Energetic Particle Events: the FORSPEF tool

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anastasiadis, Anastasios; Papaioannou, Athanasios; Sandberg, Ingmar; Georgoulis, Manolis K.; Tziotziou, Kostas; Jiggens, Piers

    2017-04-01

    A novel integrated prediction system, for both solar flares (SFs) and solar energetic particle (SEP) events is being presented. The Forecasting Solar Particle Events and Flares (FORSPEF) provides forecasting of solar eruptive events, such as SFs with a projection to coronal mass ejections (CMEs) (occurrence and velocity) and the likelihood of occurrence of a SEP event. In addition, FORSPEF, also provides nowcasting of SEP events based on actual SF and CME near real-time data, as well as the complete SEP profile (peak flux, fluence, rise time, duration) per parent solar event. The prediction of SFs relies on a morphological method: the effective connected magnetic field strength (Beff); it is based on an assessment of potentially flaring active-region (AR) magnetic configurations and it utilizes sophisticated analysis of a large number of AR magnetograms. For the prediction of SEP events new methods have been developed for both the likelihood of SEP occurrence and the expected SEP characteristics. In particular, using the location of the flare (longitude) and the flare size (maximum soft X-ray intensity), a reductive statistical method has been implemented. Moreover, employing CME parameters (velocity and width), proper functions per width (i.e. halo, partial halo, non-halo) and integral energy (E>30, 60, 100 MeV) have been identified. In our technique warnings are issued for all > C1.0 soft X-ray flares. The prediction time in the forecasting scheme extends to 24 hours with a refresh rate of 3 hours while the respective prediction time for the nowcasting scheme depends on the availability of the near real-time data and falls between 15-20 minutes for solar flares and 6 hours for CMEs. We present the modules of the FORSPEF system, their interconnection and the operational set up. The dual approach in the development of FORPSEF (i.e. forecasting and nowcasting scheme) permits the refinement of predictions upon the availability of new data that characterize changes on

  2. Photospheric Spots and Flare on the Active Dwarf Star FR Cnc

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kozhevnikova, A. V.; Kozhevnikov, V. P.; Alekseev, I. Yu.

    2018-03-01

    We perform analysis of new BVRI photometry of young active dwarf star FR Cnc (K7V), obtained at Kourovka astronomical observatory of Ural Federal University with the help of multichannel electrophotometer in February 2010. The lightcurve displays sinusoidal rotation modulation with the amplitude of 0m.15 in V band. Reddening of the brightness at the photometric minimum confirms that this modulation is caused by cold photospheric spots. An analysis of the spottedness distribution in terms of a zonal model based on our own and published data shows that the spots are localized at lower and middle latitudes from 47° to 56°, occupy 10-21% of the star's area, and are colder than the photosphere by 1650 K. A flare was detected on February 3, 2010, at a time corresponding to HJD=2455231. 3136. A maximum amplitude of 0m.11 was observed in the B band, the amplitudes in the V, R, and I bands were 0m.04, 0m.03, and 0m.02, respectively, and the duration of the flare was 32.5 min. It was noted that the flare occurred near the maximum spottedness of the star. The calculated total energy of the flare was 2.4·1033 and 1.3·1033 erg in the B and V bands, respectively. The flare was found to have an afterglow, with an overall increase in the star's brightness by 0m.02 in the B band after the flare compared to the pre-flare level.

  3. LONG DURATION FLARE EMISSION: IMPULSIVE HEATING OR GRADUAL HEATING?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qiu, Jiong; Longcope, Dana W. [Department of Physics, Montana State University, Bozeman MT 59717-3840 (United States)

    2016-03-20

    Flare emissions in X-ray and EUV wavelengths have previously been modeled as the plasma response to impulsive heating from magnetic reconnection. Some flares exhibit gradually evolving X-ray and EUV light curves, which are believed to result from superposition of an extended sequence of impulsive heating events occurring in different adjacent loops or even unresolved threads within each loop. In this paper, we apply this approach to a long duration two-ribbon flare SOL2011-09-13T22 observed by the Atmosphere Imaging Assembly (AIA). We find that to reconcile with observed signatures of flare emission in multiple EUV wavelengths, each thread should be heated in two phases, an intense impulsive heating followed by a gradual, low-rate heating tail that is attenuated over 20–30 minutes. Each AIA resolved single loop may be composed of several such threads. The two-phase heating scenario is supported by modeling with both a zero-dimensional and a 1D hydrodynamic code. We discuss viable physical mechanisms for the two-phase heating in a post-reconnection thread.

  4. [Nasal flaring as a predictor of mortality in patients with severe dyspnea].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zorrilla Riveiro, José Gregorio; Arnau Bartés, Anna; García Pérez, Dolors; Rafat Sellarés, Ramón; Mas Serra, Arantxa; Fernández Fernández, Rafael

    2015-02-01

    To determine whether the presence of nasal flaring is a clinical sign of severity and a predictor of hospital mortality in emergency patients with dyspnea. Prospective, observational, single-center study. We enrolled patients older than 15 years of age who required attention for dyspnea categorized as level II or III emergencies according to the Andorran Medical Triage system. Two observers evaluated the presence of nasal flaring. We recorded demographic and clinical variables, including respiratory effort, vital signs, arterial blood gases, and clinical course (hospital admission and mortality). Bivariable analysis was performed and multivariable logistic regression models were constructed. We enrolled 246 patients with a mean (SD) age of 77 (13) years; 52% were female. Nasal flaring was present in 19.5%. Patients with nasal flaring had triage levels indicating greater severity and they had more severe tachypnea, worse oxygenation, and greater acidosis and hypercapnia. Bivariable analysis detected that the following variables were associated with mortality: age (odds ratio [OR], 1.05; 95% CI, 1.01-1.10), prehospital care from the emergency medical service (OR, 3.97; 95% CI, 1.39-11.39), triage level II (OR, 4.19; 95% CI, 1.63-10.78), signs of respiratory effort such as nasal flaring (OR, 3.79; 95% CI, 1.65-8.69), presence of acidosis (OR, 7.09; 95% CI, 2.97-16.94), and hypercapnia (OR, 2.67; 95% CI, 1,11-6,45). The factors that remained independent predictors of mortality in the multivariable analysis were age, severity (triage level), and nasal flaring. In patients requiring emergency care for dyspnea, nasal flaring is a clinical sign of severity and a predictor of mortality.

  5. SLIPPING MAGNETIC RECONNECTIONS WITH MULTIPLE FLARE RIBBONS DURING AN X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zheng, Ruisheng; Chen, Yao; Wang, Bing

    2016-01-01

    With the observations of the Solar Dynamics Observatory , we present the slipping magnetic reconnections with multiple flare ribbons (FRs) during an X1.2 eruptive flare on 2014 January 7. A center negative polarity was surrounded by several positive ones, and three FRs appeared. The three FRs showed apparent slipping motions, and hook structures formed at their ends. Due to the moving footpoints of the erupting structures, one tight semi-circular hook disappeared after the slippage along its inner and outer edges, and coronal dimmings formed within the hook. The east hook also faded as a result of the magnetic reconnection between the arcades of a remote filament and a hot loop that was impulsively heated by the under flare loops. Our results are accordant with the slipping magnetic reconnection regime in three-dimensional standard model for eruptive flares. We suggest that the complex structures of the flare are likely a consequence of the more complex flux distribution in the photosphere, and the eruption involves at least two magnetic reconnections.

  6. Solar flares through electric current interaction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    De Jager, C.

    1988-01-01

    The fundamental hypothesis by Alfven and Carlqvist (1967) that solar flares are related to electrical currents in the solar chromosphere and low corona is investigated in the light of modern observations. The authors confirm the important role of currents in solar flares. There must be tens of such current loops (flux threads) in any flare, and this explains the hierarchy of bursts in flares. The authors summarize quantitative data on energies, numbers of particles involved and characteristic times. A special case is the high-energy flare: this one may originate in the same way as less energetic ones, but it occurs in regions with higher magnetic field strength. Because of the high particle energies involved their emission seats live only very briefly; hence the area of emission coincides virtually with the seat of the instability. These flares are therefore the best examples for studying the primary instability leading to the flare. Finally, the authors compare the merits of the original Alfven-Carlqvist idea (that flares originate by current interruption) with the one that they are due to interaction (reconnection) between two or more fluxthreads. The authors conclude that a final decision cannot yet by made, although the observed extremely short time constants of flare bursts seem to demand a reconnection-type instability rather than interruption of a circuit

  7. Sun and solar flares

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McKenna-Lawlor, S. (Saint Patrick' s Coll., Maynooth (Ireland))

    1982-07-01

    The subject is discussed under the headings: the sun's core (thermonuclear reactions, energy transfer from core through radiation zone, convection zone, photosphere, chromosphere and corona); the photosphere (convection, granulation, sunspots, magnetic fields, solar cycle, rotation of the sun); solar variability and paleoclimatic records (correlation of low solar activity with increased /sup 14/C production in atmosphere); the chromosphere and corona (turbulence, temperature, coronal streamers, energy transfer); solar flares (cosmic rays, aurorae, spectra, velocity of flares, prominences, mechanisms of flares); the solar wind.

  8. Statistical investigation of flare stars. III. Flare stars in the general galactic star field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mirzoyan, L.V.; Ambaryan, V.V.; Garibdzhanyan, A.T.; Mirzoyan, A.L.

    1989-01-01

    Some questions relating to the existence of a large number of flare stars in the general star field of the Galaxy are discussed. It is shown that only a small proportion of them can be found by photographic observations, and the fraction of field flare stars among such stars found in the regions of star clusters and associations does not exceed 10%. The ratio of the numbers of flare stars of the foreground and the background for a particular system depends on its distance, reaching zero at a distance of about 500 pc. The spatial density of flare stars in the Pleiades is at least two orders of magnitude greater than in the general galactic field. A lower limit for the number of flare stars in the Galaxy is estimated at 4.2 ·10 9 , and the number of nonflare red dwarfs at 2.1·10 10 . There are grounds for believing that they were all formed in star clusters and associations

  9. Flare Seismology from SDO Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindsey, Charles; Martinez Oliveros, Juan Carlos; Hudson, Hugh

    2011-10-01

    Some flares release intense seismic transients into the solar interior. These transients are the sole instance we know of in which the Sun's corona exerts a conspicuous influence on the solar interior through flares. The desire to understand this phenomenon has led to ambitious efforts to model the mechanisms by which energy stored in coronal magnetic fields drives acoustic waves that penetrate deep into the Sun's interior. These mechanisms potentially involve the hydrodynamic response of the chromosphere to thick-target heating by high-energy particles, radiative exchange in the chromosphere and photosphere, and Lorentz-force transients to account for acoustic energies estimated up to at 5X10^27 erg and momenta of order 6X10^19 dyne sec. An understanding of these components of flare mechanics promises more than a powerful diagnostic for local helioseismology. It could give us fundamental new insight into flare mechanics themselves. The key is appropriate observations to match the models. Helioseismic observations have identified the compact sources of transient seismic emission at the foot points of flares. The Solar Dynamics Observatory is now giving us high quality continuum-brightness and Doppler observations of acoustically active flares from HMI concurrent with high-resolution EUV observations from AIA. Supported by HXR observations from RHESSI and a broad variety of other observational resources, the SDO promises a leading role in flare research in solar cycle 24.

  10. Synchronous photoelectrical observations of flare stars in the visible and near infrared ranges

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bruevich, V.V.; Kilyachkov, N.N.; Shevchenko, V.S.; Burnashov, V.I.; Grinin, V.P.; Koryshev, V.V.; Shakhovskaya, N.I.

    1980-01-01

    The results of synchronous photoelectrical observations of the AD Leo and EV Lac flare stars made in 1975 in the Crimea in B-filter and in the near infrared region (i-band, lambdasub(ef) approximately 0.85 μm) and the observations of the UV Cet and EV Lac stars made in 1976 in the Astronomical Institute Uzbek SSR in three passbands: U, isub(TiO)(lambdasub(ef)=0.71 μ) and isub(C)(lambdasub(ef)=0.80μm) are given. Practically all strong flares in the visible spectral range were followed by the IR-flares. In about 70% of the cases the predicted infrared negative preflares were observed. The amplitudes (in erg/s) of the negative flares are comparable with the amplitude of the optical flares. The analysis of the observed data shows that: a) the amplitudes and the energies of the positive IR flares are in average the larger the stronger is the optical flare; b) the amplitudes of the negative IR preflares are on the contrary the smaller the stronger is the optical flare; c) there are infrared flares the main energy out of which takes place in the infrared range of wavelengths; d) The U-i color shows a positive correlation with the amplitude of the flare in U: the stronger is the flare the bluer is its radiation

  11. Common SphinX and RHESSI observations of solar flares

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mrozek, T.; Gburek, S.; Siarkowski, M.; Sylwester, B.; Sylwester, J.; Gryciuk, M.

    The Polish X-ray spectrofotometer SphinX has observed a great number of solar flares in the year 2009 - during the most quiet solar minimum almost over the last 100 years. Hundreds of flares have been recorded due to excellent sensitivity of SphinX's detectors. The Si-PIN diodes are about 100 times more sensitive to X-rays than GOES X-ray Monitors. SphinX detectors were absolutely calibrated on Earth with a use of the BESSY synchrotron. In space observations were made in the range 1.2-15~keV with 480~eV energy resolution. SphinX data overlap with the low-energy end of the Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) data. RHESSI detectors are quite old (7 years in 2009), but still sensitive enough to provide us with observations of extremely weak solar flares such as those which occurred in 2009. We have selected a group of flares simultaneously observed by RHESSI and SphinX and performed a spectroscopic analysis of the data. Moreover, we compared the physical parameters of these flares plasma. Preliminary results of the comparison show very good agreement between both instruments.

  12. Predictors of Flare Following Etanercept Withdrawal in Patients with Rheumatoid Factor-negative Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Who Reached Remission while Taking Medication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aquilani, Angela; Pires Marafon, Denise; Marasco, Emiliano; Nicolai, Rebecca; Messia, Virginia; Perfetti, Francesca; Magni-Manzoni, Silvia; De Benedetti, Fabrizio

    2018-05-01

    To evaluate the rate of flare after etanercept (ETN) withdrawal in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) who attained clinical remission while taking medication, and to identify predictors of flare. Patients were included with oligo- (oJIA) and rheumatoid factor-negative polyarticular JIA (pJIA) who received a first course of ETN for at least 18 months, maintained clinically inactive disease (CID) for at least 6 months during treatment, and were followed for 12 months after ETN withdrawal. Demographic and clinical features were collected at onset, at baseline (initiation of ETN), and at time of disease flare. After ETN withdrawal, 66 of the 110 patients enrolled (60%) flared with arthritis (of whom 7 flared with concurrent anterior uveitis; none with uveitis alone). The median time to flare was 4.3 months (interquartile range 2.5-6.4) with no evident differences between oJIA and pJIA. The number and type of joints involved at baseline and characteristics of ETN treatment/discontinuation were not associated with flare. Patients who flared were more frequently males (p = 0.034), positive for antinuclear antibody (ANA; p = 0.047), and had higher values of C-reactive protein (CRP; p = 0.012) at baseline. These variables remained significantly associated with flare in a multivariate logistic analysis, a model accounting for only 14% of the variability of the occurrence of the flare. Our results show that a significant proportion of patients with JIA who maintain CID for at least 6 months experience a relapse after ETN withdrawal. Male sex, presence of ANA, and elevated CRP at baseline were associated with higher risk of flare.

  13. Microwave emission from flaring magnetic loops

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vlahos, L.

    1980-01-01

    The microwave emission from a flaring loop is considered. In particular the author examines the question: What will be the characteristics of the radio emission at centimeter wavelengths from a small compact flaring loop when the mechanism which pumps magnetic energy into the plasma in the form of heating and/or electron acceleration satisfies the conditions: (a) the magnetic energy is released in a small volume compared to the volume of the loop, and the rate at which magnetic energy is transformed into plasma energy is faster than the energy losses from the same volume. This causes a local enhancement of the temperature by as much as one or two orders of magnitude above the coronal temperature; (b) The bulk of the energy released goes into heating the plasma and heats primarily the electrons. (Auth.)

  14. Midtreatment flare-ups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrington, G W; Natkin, E

    1992-04-01

    It should be apparent that the prompt and effective treatment of midtreatment flare-ups of all types is an essential and integral part of the overall endodontic treatment procedure. The expeditious management of these flare-ups will do much to enhance a positive attitude among patients toward endodontic treatment and to ensure the well-being and comfort of these patients.

  15. Extremely Energetic 4B/X17.2 Flare and Associated Phenomena ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Manora Peak,. Nainital 263 129 ... In this paper, we present the preliminary analysis of X17.2 flare, observed on. 28 October 2003. ... The Hα movie shows large scale .... we calculate the thermal energy (Eth) content of the flare applying the following formula:.

  16. Latitudinal distribution of soft X-ray flares and dispairty in butterfly diagram

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pandey, K. K.; Yellaiah, G.; Hiremath, K. M.

    2015-04-01

    We present statistical analysis of about 63000 soft X-ray flare (class≥C) observed by geostationary operational environmental satellite (GOES) during the period 1976-2008. Class wise occurrence of soft X-ray (SXR) flare is in declining trend since cycle 21. The distribution pattern of cycle 21 shows the transit of hemispheric dominance of flare activity from northern to southern hemisphere and remains there during cycle 22 and 23. During the three cycles, 0-100, 21-300 latitude belts in southern hemisphere (SH) and 31-400 latitude belt in northern hemisphere (NH) are mightier. The 11-200 latitude belt of both hemisphere is mightiest. Correlation coefficient between consecutive latitude appears to be increasing from equator to poleward in northern hemisphere whereas pole to equatorward in southern hemisphere. Slope of the regression line fitted with asymmetry time series of daily flare counts is negative in all three cycles for different classes of flares. The yearly asymmetry curve fitted by a sinusoidal function varies from 5.6 to 11 years period and depends upon the intensity of flare. Variation, of curve fitted with wings of butterfly diagram, from first to second order polynomial suggests that latitudinal migration of flare activity varies from cycle to cycle, northern to southern hemisphere. The variation in slope of the butterfly wing of different flare class indicates the non uniform migration of flare activity.

  17. On the Importance of the Flare's Late Phase for the Solar Extreme Ultraviolet Irradiance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woods, Thomas N.; Eparvier, Frank; Jones, Andrew R.; Hock, Rachel; Chamberlin, Phillip C.; Klimchuk, James A.; Didkovsky, Leonid; Judge, Darrell; Mariska, John; Bailey, Scott; hide

    2011-01-01

    The new solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) irradiance observations from NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) have revealed a new class of solar flares that are referred to as late phase flares. These flares are characterized by the hot 2-5 MK coronal emissions (e.g., Fe XVI 33.5 nm) showing large secondary peaks that appear many minutes to hours after an eruptive flare event. In contrast, the cool 0.7-1.5 MK coronal emissions (e.g., Fe IX 17.1 nm) usually dim immediately after the flare onset and do not recover until after the delayed second peak of the hot coronal emissions. We refer to this period of 1-5 hours after the fl amrea sin phase as the late phase, and this late phase is uniquely different than long duration flares associated with 2-ribbon flares or large filament eruptions. Our analysis of the late phase flare events indicates that the late phase involves hot coronal loops near the flaring region, not directly related to the original flaring loop system but rather with the higher post-eruption fields. Another finding is that space weather applications concerning Earth s ionosphere and thermosphere need to consider these late phase flares because they can enhance the total EUV irradiance flare variation by a factor of 2 when the late phase contribution is included.

  18. ELECTRON ACCELERATION IN CONTRACTING MAGNETIC ISLANDS DURING SOLAR FLARES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Borovikov, D.; Tenishev, V.; Gombosi, T. I. [University of Michigan, Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, 2455 Hayward Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2143 (United States); Guidoni, S. E. [The Catholic University of America, 620 Michigan Avenue Northeast, Washington, DC 20064 (United States); DeVore, C. R.; Karpen, J. T.; Antiochos, S. K. [Heliophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)

    2017-01-20

    Electron acceleration in solar flares is well known to be efficient at generating energetic particles that produce the observed bremsstrahlung X-ray spectra. One mechanism proposed to explain the observations is electron acceleration within contracting magnetic islands formed by magnetic reconnection in the flare current sheet. In a previous study, a numerical magnetohydrodynamic simulation of an eruptive solar flare was analyzed to estimate the associated electron acceleration due to island contraction. That analysis used a simple analytical model for the island structure and assumed conservation of the adiabatic invariants of particle motion. In this paper, we perform the first-ever rigorous integration of the guiding-center orbits of electrons in a modeled flare. An initially isotropic distribution of particles is seeded in a contracting island from the simulated eruption, and the subsequent evolution of these particles is followed using guiding-center theory. We find that the distribution function becomes increasingly anisotropic over time as the electrons’ energy increases by up to a factor of five, in general agreement with the previous study. In addition, we show that the energized particles are concentrated on the Sunward side of the island, adjacent to the reconnection X-point in the flare current sheet. Furthermore, our analysis demonstrates that the electron energy gain is dominated by betatron acceleration in the compressed, strengthened magnetic field of the contracting island. Fermi acceleration by the shortened field lines of the island also contributes to the energy gain, but it is less effective than the betatron process.

  19. THE CONFINED X-CLASS FLARES OF SOLAR ACTIVE REGION 2192

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thalmann, J. K.; Su, Y.; Temmer, M.; Veronig, A. M., E-mail: julia.thalmann@uni-graz.at [Institute of Physics/IGAM, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 5/II, 8010 Graz (Austria)

    2015-03-10

    The unusually large active region (AR) NOAA 2192, observed in 2014 October, was outstanding in its productivity of major two-ribbon flares without coronal mass ejections. On a large scale, a predominantly north–south oriented magnetic system of arcade fields served as a strong top and lateral confinement for a series of large two-ribbon flares originating from the core of the AR. The large initial separation of the flare ribbons, together with an almost absent growth in ribbon separation, suggests a confined reconnection site high up in the corona. Based on a detailed analysis of the confined X1.6 flare on October 22, we show how exceptional the flaring of this AR was. We provide evidence for repeated energy release, indicating that the same magnetic field structures were repeatedly involved in magnetic reconnection. We find that a large number of electrons was accelerated to non-thermal energies, revealing a steep power-law spectrum, but that only a small fraction was accelerated to high energies. The total non-thermal energy in electrons derived (on the order of 10{sup 25} J) is considerably higher than that in eruptive flares of class X1, and corresponds to about 10% of the excess magnetic energy present in the active-region corona.

  20. Detailed analysis of dynamic evolution of three Active Regions at the photospheric level before flare and CME occurrence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Yudong; Korsós, M. B.; Erdélyi, R.

    2018-01-01

    We present a combined analysis of the applications of the weighted horizontal magnetic gradient (denoted as WGM in Korsós et al. (2015)) method and the magnetic helicity tool (Berger and Field, 1984) employed for three active regions (ARs), namely NOAA AR 11261, AR 11283 and AR 11429. We analysed the time series of photospheric data from the Solar Dynamics Observatory taken between August 2011 and March 2012. During this period the three ARs produced a series of flares (eight M- and six X-class) and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). AR 11261 had four M-class flares and one of them was accompanied by a fast CME. AR 11283 had similar activities with two M- and two X-class flares, but only with a slow CME. Finally, AR 11429 was the most powerful of the three ARs as it hosted five compact and large solar flare and CME eruptions. For applying the WGM method we employed the Debrecen sunspot data catalogue, and, for estimating the magnetic helicity at photospheric level we used the Space-weather HMI Active Region Patches (SHARP's) vector magnetograms from SDO/HMI (Solar Dynamics Observatory/Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager). We followed the evolution of the components of the WGM and the magnetic helicity before the flare and CME occurrences. We found a unique and mutually shared behaviour, called the U-shaped pattern, of the weighted distance component of WGM and of the shearing component of the helicity flux before the flare and CME eruptions. This common pattern is associated with the decreasing-receding phases yet reported only known to be a necessary feature prior to solar flare eruption(s) but found now at the same time in the evolution of the shearing helicity flux. This result leads to the conclusions that (i) the shearing motion of photospheric magnetic field may be a key driver for solar eruption in addition to the flux emerging process, and that (ii) the found decreasing-approaching pattern in the evolution of shearing helicity flux may be another precursor

  1. THE SECOND ARECIBO SEARCH FOR 5 GHz RADIO FLARES FROM ULTRACOOL DWARFS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Route, Matthew; Wolszczan, Alexander, E-mail: alex@astro.psu.edu, E-mail: mroute@purdue.edu [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, the Pennsylvania State University, 525 Davey Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802 (United States)

    2016-10-20

    We describe our second installment of the 4.75 GHz survey of ultracool dwarfs (UCDs) conducted with the Arecibo radio telescope, which has observed 27 such objects and resulted in the detection of sporadic flaring from the T6 dwarf, WISEPC J112254.73+255021.5. We also present follow-up observations of the first radio-emitting T dwarf, 2MASS J10475385+2124234, a tentatively identified radio-emitting L1 dwarf, 2MASS J1439284+192915, and the known radio-flaring source, 2MASS J13142039+132011 AB. Our new data indicate that 2MASS J1439284+192915 is not a radio-flaring source. The overall detection rate of our unbiased survey for radio-flaring UCDs is ∼5% for new sources, with a detection rate for each spectral class of ∼5%–10%. Evidently, radio luminosity of the UCDs does not appear to monotonically decline with spectral type from M7 dwarfs to giant planets, contradictory to theories of the magnetic field generation and the internal structure of these objects. Along with other, recently published results, our data exemplify the unique value of using radio surveys to reveal and study properties of substellar magnetic activity.

  2. Active Longitude and Solar Flare Occurrences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gyenge, N.; Ludmány, A.; Baranyi, T.

    2016-02-01

    The aim of the present work is to specify the spatio-temporal characteristics of flare activity observed by the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) and the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) in connection with the behavior of the longitudinal domain of enhanced sunspot activity known as active longitude (AL). By using our method developed for this purpose, we identified the AL in every Carrington Rotation provided by the Debrecen Photoheliographic Data. The spatial probability of flare occurrence has been estimated depending on the longitudinal distance from AL in the northern and southern hemispheres separately. We have found that more than 60% of the RHESSI and GOES flares is located within +/- 36^\\circ from the AL. Hence, the most flare-productive active regions tend to be located in or close to the active longitudinal belt. This observed feature may allow for the prediction of the geo-effective position of the domain of enhanced flaring probability. Furthermore, we studied the temporal properties of flare occurrence near the AL and several significant fluctuations were found. More precisely, the results of the method are the following fluctuations: 0.8, 1.3, and 1.8 years. These temporal and spatial properties of the solar flare occurrence within the active longitudinal belts could provide us with an enhanced solar flare forecasting opportunity.

  3. Statistical and observational research of solar flare for total spectra and geometrical features

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nishimoto, S.; Watanabe, K.; Imada, S.; Kawate, T.; Lee, K. S.

    2017-12-01

    Impulsive energy release phenomena such as solar flares, sometimes affect to the solar-terrestrial environment. Usually, we use soft X-ray flux (GOES class) as the index of flare scale. However, the magnitude of effect to the solar-terrestrial environment is not proportional to that scale. To identify the relationship between solar flare phenomena and influence to the solar-terrestrial environment, we need to understand the full spectrum of solar flares. There is the solar flare irradiance model named the Flare Irradiance Spectral Model (FISM) (Chamberlin et al., 2006, 2007, 2008). The FISM can estimate solar flare spectra with high wavelength resolution. However, this model can not express the time evolution of emitted plasma during the solar flare, and has low accuracy on short wavelength that strongly effects and/or controls the total flare spectra. For the purpose of obtaining the time evolution of total solar flare spectra, we are performing statistical analysis of the electromagnetic data of solar flares. In this study, we select solar flare events larger than M-class from the Hinode flare catalogue (Watanabe et al., 2012). First, we focus on the EUV emission observed by the SDO/EVE. We examined the intensities and time evolutions of five EUV lines of 55 flare events. As a result, we found positive correlation between the "soft X-ray flux" and the "EUV peak flux" for all EVU lines. Moreover, we found that hot lines peaked earlier than cool lines of the EUV light curves. We also examined the hard X-ray data obtained by RHESSI. When we analyzed 163 events, we found good correlation between the "hard X-ray intensity" and the "soft X-ray flux". Because it seems that the geometrical features of solar flares effect to those time evolutions, we also looked into flare ribbons observed by SDO/AIA. We examined 21 flare events, and found positive correlation between the "GOES duration" and the "ribbon length". We also found positive correlation between the "ribbon

  4. Statistical Distributions of Optical Flares from Gamma-Ray Bursts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yi, Shuang-Xi; Yu, Hai; Wang, F. Y.; Dai, Zi-Gao

    2017-01-01

    We statistically study gamma-ray burst (GRB) optical flares from the Swift /UVOT catalog. We compile 119 optical flares, including 77 flares with redshift measurements. Some tight correlations among the timescales of optical flares are found. For example, the rise time is correlated with the decay time, and the duration time is correlated with the peak time of optical flares. These two tight correlations indicate that longer rise times are associated with longer decay times of optical flares and also suggest that broader optical flares peak at later times, which are consistent with the corresponding correlations of X-ray flares. We also study the frequency distributions of optical flare parameters, including the duration time, rise time, decay time, peak time, and waiting time. Similar power-law distributions for optical and X-ray flares are found. Our statistic results imply that GRB optical flares and X-ray flares may share the similar physical origin, and both of them are possibly related to central engine activities.

  5. Statistical Distributions of Optical Flares from Gamma-Ray Bursts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yi, Shuang-Xi [College of Physics and Engineering, Qufu Normal University, Qufu 273165 (China); Yu, Hai; Wang, F. Y.; Dai, Zi-Gao, E-mail: fayinwang@nju.edu.cn [School of Astronomy and Space Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China)

    2017-07-20

    We statistically study gamma-ray burst (GRB) optical flares from the Swift /UVOT catalog. We compile 119 optical flares, including 77 flares with redshift measurements. Some tight correlations among the timescales of optical flares are found. For example, the rise time is correlated with the decay time, and the duration time is correlated with the peak time of optical flares. These two tight correlations indicate that longer rise times are associated with longer decay times of optical flares and also suggest that broader optical flares peak at later times, which are consistent with the corresponding correlations of X-ray flares. We also study the frequency distributions of optical flare parameters, including the duration time, rise time, decay time, peak time, and waiting time. Similar power-law distributions for optical and X-ray flares are found. Our statistic results imply that GRB optical flares and X-ray flares may share the similar physical origin, and both of them are possibly related to central engine activities.

  6. FLARE RIBBON ENERGETICS IN THE EARLY PHASE OF AN SDO FLARE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fletcher, L.; Hannah, I. G.; Hudson, H. S. [School of Physics and Astronomy, SUPA, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ (United Kingdom); Innes, D. E. [Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Max-Planck-Strasse 2, D-37191 Katlenburg-Lindau (Germany)

    2013-07-10

    The sites of chromospheric excitation during solar flares are marked by extended extreme ultraviolet ribbons and hard X-ray (HXR) footpoints. The standard interpretation is that these are the result of heating and bremsstrahlung emission from non-thermal electrons precipitating from the corona. We examine this picture using multi-wavelength observations of the early phase of an M-class flare SOL2010-08-07T18:24. We aim to determine the properties of the heated plasma in the flare ribbons, and to understand the partition of the power input into radiative and conductive losses. Using GOES, SDO/EVE, SDO/AIA, and RHESSI, we measure the temperature, emission measure (EM), and differential emission measure of the flare ribbons, and deduce approximate density values. The non-thermal EM, and the collisional thick target energy input to the ribbons are obtained from RHESSI using standard methods. We deduce the existence of a substantial amount of plasma at 10 MK in the flare ribbons, during the pre-impulsive and early-impulsive phase of the flare. The average column EM of this hot component is a few times 10{sup 28} cm{sup -5}, and we can calculate that its predicted conductive losses dominate its measured radiative losses. If the power input to the hot ribbon plasma is due to collisional energy deposition by an electron beam from the corona then a low-energy cutoff of {approx}5 keV is necessary to balance the conductive losses, implying a very large electron energy content. Independent of the standard collisional thick-target electron beam interpretation, the observed non-thermal X-rays can be provided if one electron in 10{sup 3}-10{sup 4} in the 10 MK (1 keV) ribbon plasma has an energy above 10 keV. We speculate that this could arise if a non-thermal tail is generated in the ribbon plasma which is being heated by other means, for example, by waves or turbulence.

  7. The regulatory context of gas flaring in Alberta

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gilmour, B.S.; Cook, C.

    1999-01-01

    The legislative and regulatory regime regarding gas flaring in Alberta was reviewed. The issue of gas flaring has received much attention from petroleum industry regulators in Alberta. Residents living in the vicinity of flares have identified them as sources of odour, smoke, noise and air quality-related health concerns. Sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide emissions from the flare stacks may contribute to acid rain and the greenhouse effect. The Strosher Report, released by the Alberta Research Council in 1996, has also identified about 250 different compounds in flare emissions, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and other products of incomplete combustion. The public opposition to solution gas flaring has caused regulators to consider new options designed to reduce the adverse economic and environmental impacts that may be associated with gas flaring. This paper discusses the roles of the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) and Alberta Environmental Protection in administering legislation that impacts on gas flaring. In March 1999, the EUB released a guide containing the following five major points regarding gas flaring: (1) implementation of the Clean Air Strategic Alliance's (CASA's) recommendations to eventually eliminate flaring, by starting immediately to reduce flaring, and improve the efficiency of flares, (2) adoption of the CASA schedule of reduction targets for solution gas flaring, (3) conducting a review of the current approval process for small-scale electrical generation systems to encourage co-generation as a productive use of solution gas that is being flared, (4) creating better public notification requirements for new and existing facilities, and (5) discussing conflict resolution between operators and landowners. 26 refs

  8. Flare parameters inferred from a 3D loop model data base

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuambe, Valente A.; Costa, J. E. R.; Simões, P. J. A.

    2018-06-01

    We developed a data base of pre-calculated flare images and spectra exploring a set of parameters which describe the physical characteristics of coronal loops and accelerated electron distribution. Due to the large number of parameters involved in describing the geometry and the flaring atmosphere in the model used, we built a large data base of models (˜250 000) to facilitate the flare analysis. The geometry and characteristics of non-thermal electrons are defined on a discrete grid with spatial resolution greater than 4 arcsec. The data base was constructed based on general properties of known solar flares and convolved with instrumental resolution to replicate the observations from the Nobeyama radio polarimeter spectra and Nobeyama radioheliograph (NoRH) brightness maps. Observed spectra and brightness distribution maps are easily compared with the modelled spectra and images in the data base, indicating a possible range of solutions. The parameter search efficiency in this finite data base is discussed. 8 out of 10 parameters analysed for 1000 simulated flare searches were recovered with a relative error of less than 20 per cent on average. In addition, from the analysis of the observed correlation between NoRH flare sizes and intensities at 17 GHz, some statistical properties were derived. From these statistics, the energy spectral index was found to be δ ˜ 3, with non-thermal electron densities showing a peak distribution ⪅107 cm-3, and Bphotosphere ⪆ 2000 G. Some bias for larger loops with heights as great as ˜2.6 × 109 cm, and looptop events were noted. An excellent match of the spectrum and the brightness distribution at 17 and 34 GHz of the 2002 May 31 flare is presented as well.

  9. Brief Report: Validation of a Definition of Flare in Patients With Established Gout.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaffo, Angelo L; Dalbeth, Nicola; Saag, Kenneth G; Singh, Jasvinder A; Rahn, Elizabeth J; Mudano, Amy S; Chen, Yi-Hsing; Lin, Ching-Tsai; Bourke, Sandra; Louthrenoo, Worawit; Vazquez-Mellado, Janitzia; Hernández-Llinas, Hansel; Neogi, Tuhina; Vargas-Santos, Ana Beatriz; da Rocha Castelar-Pinheiro, Geraldo; Amorim, Rodrigo B C; Uhlig, Till; Hammer, Hilde B; Eliseev, Maxim; Perez-Ruiz, Fernando; Cavagna, Lorenzo; McCarthy, Geraldine M; Stamp, Lisa K; Gerritsen, Martijn; Fana, Viktoria; Sivera, Francisca; Taylor, William

    2018-03-01

    To perform external validation of a provisional definition of disease flare in patients with gout. Five hundred nine patients with gout were enrolled in a cross-sectional study during a routine clinical care visit at 17 international sites. Data were collected to classify patients as experiencing or not experiencing a gout flare, according to a provisional definition. A local expert rheumatologist performed the final independent adjudication of gout flare status. Sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to determine the diagnostic performance of gout flare definitions. The mean ± SD age of the patients was 57.5 ± 13.9 years, and 89% were male. The definition requiring fulfillment of at least 3 of 4 criteria (patient-defined gout flare, pain at rest score of >3 on a 0-10-point numerical rating scale, presence of at least 1 swollen joint, and presence of at least 1 warm joint) was 85% sensitive and 95% specific in confirming the presence of a gout flare, with an accuracy of 92%. The ROC area under the curve was 0.97. The definition based on a classification and regression tree algorithm (entry point, pain at rest score >3, followed by patient-defined flare "yes") was 73% sensitive and 96% specific. The definition of gout flare that requires fulfillment of at least 3 of 4 patient-reported criteria is now validated to be sensitive, specific, and accurate for gout flares, as demonstrated using an independent large international patient sample. The availability of a validated gout flare definition will improve the ascertainment of an important clinical outcome in studies of gout. © 2017, American College of Rheumatology.

  10. Thermodynamics of supra-arcade downflows in solar flares

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xin; Liu, Rui; Deng, Na; Wang, Haimin

    2017-10-01

    Context. Supra-arcade downflows (SADs) have been frequently observed during the gradual phase of solar flares near the limb. In coronal emission lines sensitive to flaring plasmas, they appear as tadpole-like dark voids against the diffuse fan-shaped "haze" above, flowing toward the well-defined flare arcade. Aims: We aim to investigate the evolution of SADs' thermal properties, and to shed light on the formation mechanism and physical processes of SADs. Methods: We carefully studied several selected SADs from two flare events and calculated their differential emission measures (DEMs) as well as DEM-weighted temperatures using data obtained by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) onboard the Solar Dynamic Observatory. Results: Our analysis shows that SADs are associated with a substantial decrease in DEM above 4 MK, which is 1-3 orders of magnitude smaller than the surrounding haze as well as the region before or after the passage of SADs, but comparable to the quiet corona. There is no evidence for the presence of the SAD-associated hot plasma (>20 MK) in the AIA data, and this decrease in DEM does not cause any significant change in the DEM distribution as well as the DEM-weighted temperature, which supports this idea that SADs are density depletion. This depression in DEM rapidly recovers in the wake of the SADs studied, generally within a few minutes, suggesting that they are discrete features. In addition, we found that SADs in one event are spatio-temporally associated with the successive formation of post-flare loops along the flare arcade. Movies associated to Figs. A.1 and A.2 are available at http://www.aanda.org

  11. FLARES AND THEIR UNDERLYING MAGNETIC COMPLEXITY

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Engell, Alexander J.; Golub, Leon; Korreck, Kelly; Siarkowski, Marek; Gryciuk, Magda; Sylwester, Janusz; Sylwester, Barbara; Cirtain, Jonathan

    2011-01-01

    SphinX (Solar PHotometer IN X-rays), a full-disk-integrated spectrometer, observed 137 flare-like/transient events with active region (AR) 11024 being the only AR on disk. The Hinode X-Ray Telescope (XRT) and Solar Optical Telescope observe 67 of these events and identified their location from 12:00 UT on July 3 through 24:00 UT 2009 July 7. We find that the predominant mechanisms for flares observed by XRT are (1) flux cancellation and (2) the shearing of underlying magnetic elements. Point- and cusp-like flare morphologies seen by XRT all occur in a magnetic environment where one polarity is impeded by the opposite polarity and vice versa, forcing the flux cancellation process. The shearing is either caused by flux emergence at the center of the AR and separation of polarities along a neutral line or by individual magnetic elements having a rotational motion. Both mechanisms are observed to contribute to single- and multiple-loop flares. We observe that most loop flares occur along a large portion of a polarity inversion line. Point- and cusp-like flares become more infrequent as the AR becomes organized with separation of the positive and negative polarities. SphinX, which allows us to identify when these flares occur, provides us with a statistically significant temperature and emission scaling law for A and B class flares: EM = 6.1 x 10 33 T 1.9±0.1 .

  12. Observations of vector magnetic fields in flaring active regions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jimin; Wang, Haimin; Zirin, Harold; Ai, Guoxiang

    1994-01-01

    We present vector magnetograph data of 6 active regions, all of which produced major flares. Of the 20 M-class (or above) flares, 7 satisfy the flare conditions prescribed by Hagyard (high shear and strong transverse fields). Strong photospheric shear, however, is not necessarily a condition for a flare. We find an increase in the shear for two flares, a 6-deg shear increase along the neutral line after a X-2 flare and a 13-deg increase after a M-1.9 flare. For other flares, we did not detect substantial shear changes.

  13. Reconnection Fluxes in Eruptive and Confined Flares and Implications for Superflares on the Sun

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tschernitz, Johannes; Veronig, Astrid M.; Thalmann, Julia K.; Hinterreiter, Jürgen; Pötzi, Werner

    2018-01-01

    We study the energy release process of a set of 51 flares (32 confined, 19 eruptive) ranging from GOES class B3 to X17. We use Hα filtergrams from Kanzelhöhe Observatory together with Solar Dynamics Observatory HMI and Solar and Heliospheric Observatory MDI magnetograms to derive magnetic reconnection fluxes and rates. The flare reconnection flux is strongly correlated with the peak of the GOES 1–8 Å soft X-ray flux (c = 0.92, in log–log space) for both confined and eruptive flares. Confined flares of a certain GOES class exhibit smaller ribbon areas but larger magnetic flux densities in the flare ribbons (by a factor of 2). In the largest events, up to ≈50% of the magnetic flux of the active region (AR) causing the flare is involved in the flare magnetic reconnection. These findings allow us to extrapolate toward the largest solar flares possible. A complex solar AR hosting a magnetic flux of 2 × 1023 Mx, which is in line with the largest AR fluxes directly measured, is capable of producing an X80 flare, which corresponds to a bolometric energy of about 7 × 1032 erg. Using a magnetic flux estimate of 6 × 1023 Mx for the largest solar AR observed, we find that flares of GOES class ≈X500 could be produced (E bol ≈ 3 × 1033 erg). These estimates suggest that the present day’s Sun is capable of producing flares and related space weather events that may be more than an order of magnitude stronger than have been observed to date.

  14. Lyman continuum observations of solar flares

    Science.gov (United States)

    Machado, M. E.; Noyes, R. W.

    1978-01-01

    A study is made of Lyman continuum observations of solar flares, using data obtained by the EUV spectroheliometer on the Apollo Telescope Mount. It is found that there are two main types of flare regions: an overall 'mean' flare coincident with the H-alpha flare region, and transient Lyman continuum kernels which can be identified with the H-alpha and X-ray kernels observed by other authors. It is found that the ground level hydrogen population in flares is closer to LTE than in the quiet sun and active regions, and that the level of Lyman continuum formation is lowered in the atmosphere from a mass column density .000005 g/sq cm in the quiet sun to .0003 g/sq cm in the mean flare, and to .001 g/sq cm in kernels. From these results the amount of chromospheric material 'evaporated' into the high temperature region is derived, which is found to be approximately 10 to the 15th g, in agreement with observations of X-ray emission measures.

  15. Incidence and factors related to flare-ups in a graduate endodontic programme.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iqbal, M; Kurtz, E; Kohli, M

    2009-02-01

    To investigate the incidence and factors related to endodontic flare-ups in nonsurgical root canal treatment (NSRCT) cases completed by graduate endodontic residents at University of Pennsylvania, USA. Residents at University of Pennsylvania enter all clinical patient records into an electronic database called PennEndo database. Analysis of records of 6580 patients treated from September 2000 to July 2005 revealed a total of 26 patients with flare-ups (0.39%). Patients were categorized to have undergone flare-up when they attended for an unscheduled visit and active treatment, and when they suffered from severe pain and or swelling after initiation or continuation of NSRCT. SAS software was used to develop a logistic regression model with flare-up as a dependent variable. Independent variables included in the model were: history of previous pain, one vs. two visit NSRCT, periapical diagnosis, tooth type, rotary versus hand instrumentation, and lateral versus vertical compaction of gutta-percha. The odds for developing a flare-up in teeth with a periapical radiolucency were 9.64 times greater than teeth without a periapical radiolucency (P = 0.0090). There was no statistically significant difference in flare-ups between one and two visits NSRCT. The odds of developing a flare-up increased 40 fold when NSRCT was completed in three or more visits. However, this result may have been confounded by addition of an unscheduled visit in patients suffering from flare-ups. Other independent variables did not have any statistically significant correlations. A low percentage of patients experienced flare-ups during NSRCT procedures. The presence of a periapical lesion was the single most important predictor of flare-ups during NSRCT.

  16. The sun and solar flares

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McKenna-Lawlor, S.

    1982-01-01

    The subject is discussed under the headings: the sun's core (thermonuclear reactions, energy transfer from core through radiation zone, convection zone, photosphere, chromosphere and corona); the photosphere (convection, granulation, sunspots, magnetic fields, solar cycle, rotation of the sun); solar variability and paleoclimatic records (correlation of low solar activity with increased 14 C production in atmosphere); the chromosphere and corona (turbulence, temperature, coronal streamers, energy transfer); solar flares (cosmic rays, aurorae, spectra, velocity of flares, prominences, mechanisms of flares); the solar wind. (U.K.)

  17. The evaluation of endodontic flare-ups and their relationship to various risk factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Onay, Emel Olga; Ungor, Mete; Yazici, A Canan

    2015-11-14

    To evaluate the incidence of flare-ups and identify the risk factors including age, gender, tooth type, number of root canals, initial diagnosis, the type of irrigation regimen, treatment modality and the number of visits, in patients who received root canal treatment from January 2002 to January 2008. Records of 1819 teeth belonging to 1410 patients treated by 1 endodontics specialist during 6-year period were kept. Patient, tooth, and treatment characteristics were evaluated and the relationships between these characteristics and flare-ups were studied. Statistical analysis was carried out by using Pearson Chi-square test, Fisher's Exact test, and Binary Logistic regression analyses. The incidence of flare-ups was 59 (3.2 %) out of 1819 teeth that received endodontic therapy. Pulpal necrosis without periapical pathosis was the most common indication for flare-up (6 %) (p flare-ups compared to those with single appointments (OR: 3.14, CI: 1.414-7.009, p flare-ups regarding to age, gender, tooth type, number of root canals, treatment modality, and the irrigation solutions that used during the treatment. The incidence of flare-up is minimal when teeth are treated in one visit. Absence of a periapical lesion in necrotic teeth is a significant risk factor for flare-ups.

  18. Quantifying Gas Flaring CH4 Consumption Using VIIRS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaodong Zhang

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available A method was developed to estimate the consumption of CH4 and the release of CO2 by gas flaring using VIIRS nighttime data. The results agreed with the field data collected at six stations in Bakken field, North Dakota, USA, within ±50%, as measured by mean relative errors and with a correlation coefficient of 0.75. This improved over the NOAA NightFire estimates, likely due to: (1 more stringent data selection using only the middle portion of cloud-free VIIRS nighttime imagery; (2 the use of a lower heating rate, which is more suitable for the field condition; and (3 more accurate efficiency factors in calculating completeness in combustion and conversion of total reaction energy into radiant energy that can be sensed by a satellite sensor. While using atmospherically-corrected data can further improve the estimate of CH4 consumption by ~10%, the major uncertainty remains as being the form factor of the flares, particularly the ratio of total surface area of a flare to the cross-section area that was seen by a satellite sensor.

  19. Electron and proton kinetics and dynamics in flaring atmospheres

    CERN Document Server

    Zharkova, Valentina

    2012-01-01

    This timely book presents new research results on high-energy particle physics related to solar flares, covering the theory and applications of the reconnection process in a clear and comprehensible way. It investigates particle kinetics and dynamics in flaring atmospheres and their diagnostics from spectral observations, while providing an analysis of the observation data and techniques and comparing various models. Written by an internationally acclaimed expert, this is vital reading for all solar, astro-, and plasma physicists working in the field.

  20. Factors associated with endodontic flare-ups: a prospective study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Imura, N; Zuolo, M L

    1995-09-01

    The purpose of this prospective study was to assess the incidence of flare-ups (a severe problem requiring an unscheduled visit and treatment) among patients who received endodontic treatment by the two authors in their respective practices during a period of one year, and also to examine the correlation with pre-operative and operative variables. The results showed an incidence of 1.58% for flare-ups from 1012 endodontically treated teeth. Statistical analysis using the chi-square test (Pflare-ups were found to be positively correlated with multiple appointments, retreatment cases, periradicular pain prior to treatment, presence of radiolucent lesions, and patients taking analgesic or anti-inflammatory drugs. In contrast, there was no correlation between flare-up, and age, sex, different arch/tooth groups and the status of the pulp.

  1. VERY LONG-PERIOD PULSATIONS BEFORE THE ONSET OF SOLAR FLARES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tan, Baolin; Huang, Jing; Tan, Chengming; Zhang, Yin [Key Laboratory of Solar Activity, National Astronomical Observatories of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100012 (China); Yu, Zhiqiang, E-mail: bltan@nao.cas.cn [School of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China)

    2016-12-20

    Solar flares are the most powerful explosions occurring in the solar system, which may lead to disastrous space weather events and impact various aspects of our Earth. It remains a big challenge in modern astrophysics to understand the origin of solar flares and predict their onset. Based on the analysis of soft X-ray emission observed by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite , this work reports a new discovery of very long-periodic pulsations occurring in the preflare phase before the onset of solar flares (preflare-VLPs). These pulsations typically have periods of 8–30 min and last for about 1–2 hr. They are possibly generated from LRC oscillations of plasma loops where electric current dominates the physical process during magnetic energy accumulation in the source region. Preflare-VLPs provide essential information for understanding the triggering mechanism and origin of solar flares, and may be a convenient precursory indicator to help us respond to solar explosions and the corresponding disastrous space weather events.

  2. Flares on dMe stars: IUE and optical observations of At Mic, and comparison of far-ultraviolet stellar and solar flares

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bromage, G.E.; Phillips, K.J.H.; Dufton, P.L.; Kingston, A.E.

    1986-01-01

    The paper concerns observations of a large flare event on the dMe star At Mic, detected by the International Ultraviolet Explorer. The far-ultraviolet spectra of the flare is compared with those of other stellar flares, and also with a large solar flare recorded by the Skylab mission in 1973. The quiescent-phase optical and ultraviolet spectrum of the same dMe flare star is discussed. (U.K.)

  3. IMPLOSION OF CORONAL LOOPS DURING THE IMPULSIVE PHASE OF A SOLAR FLARE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Simões, P. J. A.; Fletcher, L.; Hudson, H. S.; Russell, A. J. B., E-mail: paulo.simoes@glasgow.ac.uk, E-mail: lyndsay.fletcher@glasgow.ac.uk, E-mail: arussell@maths.dundee.ac.uk, E-mail: hhudson@ssl.berkeley.edu [SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ (United Kingdom)

    2013-11-10

    We study the relationship between implosive motions in a solar flare, and the energy redistribution in the form of oscillatory structures and particle acceleration. The flare SOL2012-03-09T03:53 (M6.4) shows clear evidence for an irreversible (stepwise) coronal implosion. Extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) images show at least four groups of coronal loops at different heights overlying the flaring core undergoing fast contraction during the impulsive phase of the flare. These contractions start around a minute after the flare onset, and the rate of contraction is closely associated with the intensity of the hard X-ray and microwave emissions. They also seem to have a close relationship with the dimming associated with the formation of the coronal mass ejection and a global EUV wave. Several studies now have detected contracting motions in the corona during solar flares that can be interpreted as the implosion necessary to release energy. Our results confirm this, and tighten the association with the flare impulsive phase. We add to the phenomenology by noting the presence of oscillatory variations revealed by Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite soft X-rays (SXR) and spatially integrated EUV emission at 94 and 335 Å. We identify pulsations of ≈60 s in SXR and EUV data, which we interpret as persistent, semi-regular compressions of the flaring core region which modulate the plasma temperature and emission measure. The loop oscillations, observed over a large region, also allow us to provide rough estimates of the energy temporarily stored in the eigenmodes of the active-region structure as it approaches its new equilibrium.

  4. Magnetic-Island Contraction and Particle Acceleration in Simulated Eruptive Solar Flares

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guidoni, S. E.; Devore, C. R.; Karpen, J. T.; Lynch, B. J.

    2016-01-01

    The mechanism that accelerates particles to the energies required to produce the observed high-energy impulsive emission in solar flares is not well understood. Drake et al. proposed a mechanism for accelerating electrons in contracting magnetic islands formed by kinetic reconnection in multi-layered current sheets (CSs). We apply these ideas to sunward-moving flux ropes (2.5D magnetic islands) formed during fast reconnection in a simulated eruptive flare. A simple analytic model is used to calculate the energy gain of particles orbiting the field lines of the contracting magnetic islands in our ultrahigh-resolution 2.5D numerical simulation. We find that the estimated energy gains in a single island range up to a factor of five. This is higher than that found by Drake et al. for islands in the terrestrial magnetosphere and at the heliopause, due to strong plasma compression that occurs at the flare CS. In order to increase their energy by two orders of magnitude and plausibly account for the observed high-energy flare emission, the electrons must visit multiple contracting islands. This mechanism should produce sporadic emission because island formation is intermittent. Moreover, a large number of particles could be accelerated in each magneto hydro dynamic-scale island, which may explain the inferred rates of energetic-electron production in flares. We conclude that island contraction in the flare CS is a promising candidate for electron acceleration in solar eruptions.

  5. Parameterizations of Chromospheric Condensations in dG and dMe Model Flare Atmospheres

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kowalski, Adam F.; Allred, Joel C.

    2018-01-01

    The origin of the near-ultraviolet and optical continuum radiation in flares is critical for understanding particle acceleration and impulsive heating in stellar atmospheres. Radiative-hydrodynamic (RHD) simulations in 1D have shown that high energy deposition rates from electron beams produce two flaring layers at T ∼ 104 K that develop in the chromosphere: a cooling condensation (downflowing compression) and heated non-moving (stationary) flare layers just below the condensation. These atmospheres reproduce several observed phenomena in flare spectra, such as the red-wing asymmetry of the emission lines in solar flares and a small Balmer jump ratio in M dwarf flares. The high beam flux simulations are computationally expensive in 1D, and the (human) timescales for completing NLTE models with adaptive grids in 3D will likely be unwieldy for some time to come. We have developed a prescription for predicting the approximate evolved states, continuum optical depth, and emergent continuum flux spectra of RHD model flare atmospheres. These approximate prescriptions are based on an important atmospheric parameter: the column mass ({m}{ref}) at which hydrogen becomes nearly completely ionized at the depths that are approximately in steady state with the electron beam heating. Using this new modeling approach, we find that high energy flux density (>F11) electron beams are needed to reproduce the brightest observed continuum intensity in IRIS data of the 2014 March 29 X1 solar flare, and that variation in {m}{ref} from 0.001 to 0.02 g cm‑2 reproduces most of the observed range of the optical continuum flux ratios at the peak of M dwarf flares.

  6. Diagnostics of solar flare reconnection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Karlický

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available We present new diagnostics of the solar flare reconnection, mainly based on the plasma radio emission. We propose that the high-frequency (600-2000 MHz slowly drifting pulsating structures map the flare magnetic field reconnection. These structures correspond to the radio emission from plasmoids which are formed in the extended current sheet due to tearing and coalescence processes. An increase of the frequency drift of the drifting structures is interpreted as an increase of the reconnection rate. Using this model, time scales of slowly drifting pulsating structure observed during the 12 April 2001 flare by the Trieste radiopolarimeter with high time resolution (1 ms are interpreted as a radio manifestation of electron beams accelerated in the multi-scale reconnection process. For short periods Fourier spectra of the observed structure have a power-law form with power-law indices in the 1.3-1.6 range. For comparison the 2-D MHD numerical modeling of the multi-scale reconnection is made and it is shown that Fourier spectrum of the reconnection dissipation power has also a power-law form, but with power-law index 2. Furthermore, we compute a time evolution of plasma parameters (density, magnetic field etc in the 2-D MHD model of the reconnection. Then assuming a plasma radio emission from locations, where the 'double-resonance' instability generates the upper-hybrid waves due to unstable distribution function of suprathermal electrons, we model radio spectra. Effects of the MHD turbulence are included. The resulting spectra are compared with those observed. It is found, that depending on model parameters the lace bursts and the decimetric spikes can be reproduced. Thus, it is shown that the model can be used for diagnostics of the flare reconnection process. We also point out possible radio signatures of reconnection outflow termination shocks. They are detected as type II-like herringbone structures in the 200-700 MHz frequency range. Finally

  7. A MODIS-based analysis of the Val d'Agri Oil Center (South of Italy) thermal emission: an independent gas flaring estimation strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pergola, Nicola; Faruolo, Mariapia; Irina, Coviello; Carolina, Filizzola; Teodosio, Lacava; Valerio, Tramutoli

    2014-05-01

    Different kinds of atmospheric pollution affect human health and the environment at local and global scale. The petroleum industry represents one of the most important environmental pollution sources, accounting for about 18% of well-to-wheels greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The main pollution source is represented by the flaring of gas, one of the most challenging energy and environmental problems facing the world today. The World Bank has estimated that 150 billion cubic meters of natural gas are being flared annually, that is equivalent to 30% of the European Union's gas consumption. Since 2002, satellite-based methodologies have shown their capability in providing independent and reliable estimation of gas flaring emissions, at both national and global scale. In this paper, for the first time, the potential of satellite data in estimating gas flaring volumes emitted from a single on-shore crude oil pre-treatment plant, i.e. the Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi (ENI) Val d'Agri Oil Center (COVA), located in the Basilicata Region (South of Italy), was assessed. Specifically, thirteen years of night-time Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data acquired in the medium and thermal infrared (MIR and TIR, respectively) bands were processed. The Robust Satellite Techniques (RST) approach was implemented for identifying anomalous values of the signals under investigation (i.e. the MIR-TIR difference one), associated to the COVA flares emergency discharges. Then, the Fire Radiative Power (FRP), computed for the thermal anomalies previously identified, was correlated to the emitted gas flaring volumes, available for the COVA in the period 2003 - 2009, defining a satellite based regression model for estimating COVA gas flaring emitted volumes. The used strategy and the preliminary results of this analysis will be described in detail in this work.

  8. Dependence of absolute magnitudes (energies) of flares on the cluster age containing flare stars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parsamyan, Eh.S.

    1976-01-01

    Dependences between Δmsub(u) and msub(u) are given for the Orion, NGC 7000, Pleiades and Praesepe aggregations. Maximum absolute values of flares have been calculated for stars with different luminosities. It has been shown that the values of flares can be limited by a straight line which gives the representation on the distribution of maximum values of amplitudes for the stars with different luminosities in an aggregation. Presented are k and m 0 parameters characterizing the lines fot the Orion, NGC 7000, Pleiades and Praesepe aggregation and their age T dependence. From the dependence between k (angular coefficient of straight lines) and lgT for the aggregation with known T the age of those aggregation involving a great amount of flaring stars can be found. The age of flaring stars in the neighbourhood of the Sun has been determined. The age of UV Ceti has been shown by an order to exceed that of the rest stars

  9. Comparison of high-temperature flare models with observations and implications for the low-temperature flare

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Machado, M.E.; Emslie, A.G.

    1979-01-01

    We analyze EUV data from the Harvard College Observatory and Naval Research Laboratory instruments on board the Skylab Apollo Telescope Mount, together with SOLRAD 9 X-ray data, in order to empirically deduce the variation of emission measure with temperature in the atmosphere of a number of solar flares. From these data we construct a ''mean'' differential emission measure profile Q (T) for a flare, which we find to be characterized by a low-lying plateau at temperatures of a few hundred thousand K, representative of a thin transition zone at these temperatures.We then compare this empirical profile with that predicted by a number of theoretical models, each of which represents a solution of the energy equation for the flare under various simplifying assumptions. In this way we not only deduce estimates of various flare parameters, such as gas pressure, but also gain insight into the validity of the various modeling assumptions employed.We find that realistic flare models must include both conductive and radiative terms in the energy equation, and that hydrodynamic terms may be important at low temperatures. Considering only models which neglect this hydrodynamic term, we compute conductive fluxes at various levels in the high-temperature plasma and compare them to the observed radiated power throughout the atmosphere, with particular reference to the 1973 September 5 event, which is rich in observations throughout most of the electromagnetic spectrum. This comparison yields results which reinforce our belief in the dominance of the conduction and radiation terms in the flare energy balance.The implications of this result for flare models in general is discussed; in particular, it is shown that the inclusion of the conductive term into models which have hitherto neglected it can perhaps resolve some of the observational difficulties with such models

  10. M DWARF FLARE CONTINUUM VARIATIONS ON ONE-SECOND TIMESCALES: CALIBRATING AND MODELING OF ULTRACAM FLARE COLOR INDICES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kowalski, Adam F. [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Mathioudakis, Mihalis [Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN (United Kingdom); Hawley, Suzanne L.; Hilton, Eric J. [Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Wisniewski, John P. [HL Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma, 440 W Brooks Street, Norman, OK 73019 (United States); Dhillon, Vik S. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S3 7RH (United Kingdom); Marsh, Tom R. [Department of Physics, Gibbet Hill Road, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL (United Kingdom); Brown, Benjamin P., E-mail: adam.f.kowalski@nasa.gov [Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics and Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309 (United States)

    2016-04-01

    We present a large data set of high-cadence dMe flare light curves obtained with custom continuum filters on the triple-beam, high-speed camera system ULTRACAM. The measurements provide constraints for models of the near-ultraviolet (NUV) and optical continuum spectral evolution on timescales of ≈1 s. We provide a robust interpretation of the flare emission in the ULTRACAM filters using simultaneously obtained low-resolution spectra during two moderate-sized flares in the dM4.5e star YZ CMi. By avoiding the spectral complexity within the broadband Johnson filters, the ULTRACAM filters are shown to characterize bona fide continuum emission in the NUV, blue, and red wavelength regimes. The NUV/blue flux ratio in flares is equivalent to a Balmer jump ratio, and the blue/red flux ratio provides an estimate for the color temperature of the optical continuum emission. We present a new “color–color” relationship for these continuum flux ratios at the peaks of the flares. Using the RADYN and RH codes, we interpret the ULTRACAM filter emission using the dominant emission processes from a radiative-hydrodynamic flare model with a high nonthermal electron beam flux, which explains a hot, T ≈ 10{sup 4} K, color temperature at blue-to-red optical wavelengths and a small Balmer jump ratio as observed in moderate-sized and large flares alike. We also discuss the high time resolution, high signal-to-noise continuum color variations observed in YZ CMi during a giant flare, which increased the NUV flux from this star by over a factor of 100.

  11. M DWARF FLARE CONTINUUM VARIATIONS ON ONE-SECOND TIMESCALES: CALIBRATING AND MODELING OF ULTRACAM FLARE COLOR INDICES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kowalski, Adam F.; Mathioudakis, Mihalis; Hawley, Suzanne L.; Hilton, Eric J.; Wisniewski, John P.; Dhillon, Vik S.; Marsh, Tom R.; Brown, Benjamin P.

    2016-01-01

    We present a large data set of high-cadence dMe flare light curves obtained with custom continuum filters on the triple-beam, high-speed camera system ULTRACAM. The measurements provide constraints for models of the near-ultraviolet (NUV) and optical continuum spectral evolution on timescales of ≈1 s. We provide a robust interpretation of the flare emission in the ULTRACAM filters using simultaneously obtained low-resolution spectra during two moderate-sized flares in the dM4.5e star YZ CMi. By avoiding the spectral complexity within the broadband Johnson filters, the ULTRACAM filters are shown to characterize bona fide continuum emission in the NUV, blue, and red wavelength regimes. The NUV/blue flux ratio in flares is equivalent to a Balmer jump ratio, and the blue/red flux ratio provides an estimate for the color temperature of the optical continuum emission. We present a new “color–color” relationship for these continuum flux ratios at the peaks of the flares. Using the RADYN and RH codes, we interpret the ULTRACAM filter emission using the dominant emission processes from a radiative-hydrodynamic flare model with a high nonthermal electron beam flux, which explains a hot, T ≈ 10 4 K, color temperature at blue-to-red optical wavelengths and a small Balmer jump ratio as observed in moderate-sized and large flares alike. We also discuss the high time resolution, high signal-to-noise continuum color variations observed in YZ CMi during a giant flare, which increased the NUV flux from this star by over a factor of 100

  12. Chromosphere flare models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Avrett, E.H.; Kurucz, R.L.; Machado, M.E.; NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL)

    1985-01-01

    Further calculated results based on the F1 and F2 chromospheric models of Machado et al. (1980) are presented in addition to results from a model with enhanced temperatures relative to the weak-flare model F1 in the upper photosphere and low chromosphere, and from a model with enhanced temperatures relative to the strong flare model F2 in the upper chromosphere. The coupled equations of statistical equilibrium and radiative transfer for H, H(-), He I-II, C I-IV, Si I-II, Mg I-II, Fe, Al, O I-II, Na, and Ca II are solved, and the overall absorption and emission of radiation by lines throughout the spectrum are determined by means of a reduced set of opacities taken from a compilation of over 10 million lines. Semiempirical models show that the white light flare continuum may arise by extreme chromospheric overheating, as well as by an enhancement of the minimum temperature region. 34 references

  13. A Bayesian method for detecting stellar flares

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pitkin, M.; Williams, D.; Fletcher, L.; Grant, S. D. T.

    2014-12-01

    We present a Bayesian-odds-ratio-based algorithm for detecting stellar flares in light-curve data. We assume flares are described by a model in which there is a rapid rise with a half-Gaussian profile, followed by an exponential decay. Our signal model also contains a polynomial background model required to fit underlying light-curve variations in the data, which could otherwise partially mimic a flare. We characterize the false alarm probability and efficiency of this method under the assumption that any unmodelled noise in the data is Gaussian, and compare it with a simpler thresholding method based on that used in Walkowicz et al. We find our method has a significant increase in detection efficiency for low signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) flares. For a conservative false alarm probability our method can detect 95 per cent of flares with S/N less than 20, as compared to S/N of 25 for the simpler method. We also test how well the assumption of Gaussian noise holds by applying the method to a selection of `quiet' Kepler stars. As an example we have applied our method to a selection of stars in Kepler Quarter 1 data. The method finds 687 flaring stars with a total of 1873 flares after vetos have been applied. For these flares we have made preliminary characterizations of their durations and and S/N.

  14. Solar and stellar flares and their impact on planets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shibata, Kazunari

    Recent observations of the Sun revealed that the solar atmosphere is full of flares and flare-like phenomena, which affect terrestrial environment and our civilization. It has been established that flares are caused by the release of magnetic energy through magnetic reconnection. Many stars show flares similar to solar flares, and such stellar flares especially in stars with fast rotation are much more energetic than solar flares. These are called superflares. The total energy of a solar flare is 1029 - 1032 erg, while that of a superflare is 1033 - 1038 erg. Recently, it was found that superflares (with 1034 - 1035 erg) occur on Sun-like stars with slow rotation with frequency once in 800 - 5000 years. This suggests the possibility of superflares on the Sun. We review recent development of solar and stellar flare research, and briefly discuss possible impacts of superflares on the Earth and exoplanets.

  15. ON THE FLARE INDUCED HIGH-FREQUENCY GLOBAL WAVES IN THE SUN

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, Brajesh; Venkatakrishnan, P.; Mathur, Savita; GarcIa, R. A.

    2010-01-01

    Recently, Karoff and Kjeldsen presented evidence of strong correlation between the energy in the high-frequency part (5.3 < ν < 8.3 mHz) of the acoustic spectrum of the Sun and the solar X-ray flux. They have used disk-integrated intensity observations of the Sun obtained from the Variability of solar IRradiance and Gravity Oscillations instrument on board Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft. Similar signature of flares in velocity observations has not been confirmed till now. The study of low-degree high-frequency waves in the Sun is important for our understanding of the dynamics of the deeper solar layers. In this Letter, we present the analysis of the velocity observations of the Sun obtained from the Michelson and Doppler Imager (MDI) and the Global Oscillations at Low Frequencies (GOLF) instruments on board SOHO for some major flare events of the solar cycle 23. Application of wavelet techniques to the time series of disk-integrated velocity signals from the solar surface using the full-disk Dopplergrams obtained from the MDI clearly indicates that there is enhancement of high-frequency global waves in the Sun during the flares. This signature of flares is also visible in the Fourier Power Spectrum of these velocity oscillations. On the other hand, the analysis of disk-integrated velocity observations obtained from the GOLF shows only marginal evidence of effects of flares on high-frequency oscillations.

  16. X-ray Flares Observed from Six Young Stars Located in the Region ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    2013-12-27

    Dec 27, 2013 ... of plasma confined in loops (Sweet 1958; Parker 1955; Petschek 1964; Yokoyama ... Therefore, analysis of the light curves during flares can ... erties o f stars with flare-like featu res. RA. J2000. DEC. J2000. V(B. −. V). (B. − ...... the financial support for this work through the INSPIRE faculty fellowship granted.

  17. A Double Candle-Flame-Shaped Solar Flare Observed by SDO and STEREO

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gou, T.; Liu, R.; Wang, Y.; Liu, K.; Zhuang, B.; Zhang, Q.; Liu, J.

    2015-12-01

    We investigate an M1.4 flare occurring on 2011 January 28 near the northwest solar limb. The flare loop system exhibits a double candle-flame configuration in SDO/AIA's hot passbands, sharing a much larger cusp-shaped structure. The results of DEM analysis show that each candle flame has a similar temperature distribution as the famous Tsuneta flare. STEREO-A provides us a view from directly above the flare, and in SECCHI/EUVI 195 Å the post-flare loops are observed to propagate eastward. We performed a 3D reconstruction of the pos-flare loops with AIA and EUVI data. With the aid of the squashing factor Q based on a potential extrapolation of the photospheric field, we recognized that the footpoints of the post-flare loops were slipping along high-Q lines on the photosphere, and the reconstructed loops share similarity with the filed lines that are traced starting from the high-Q lines. The heights of the loops increase as they slip horizontally eastward, giving the loop-top a velocity of about 10 km/s. An extremely large EUV late phase in Fe XVI 33.5 nm observed by SDO/EVE is suggested to be related to the slipping magnetic reconnection occurring in the quasi-separatrix layers (QSLs) whose photosheric footprints are featured by the high-Q lines.

  18. Clearing the air: Alberta a model of success in decreasing venting, flaring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harrison, L.

    2004-01-01

    An historical review of flaring and venting in the Alberta oilfields is presented. The story begins with gas production in the Turner Valley, Alberta in 1931, Western Canada's first, largest and most productive source of oil and naphtha until the discovery of Leduc in 1947. Gas production at Turner Valley reached 500 mmcf per day, of which about 486 mmcf was flared. Through the efforts of the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) and its predecessors venting and flaring was drastically cut, to the point where in 2003 the World Bank Group, an agency of the United Nations, approached the EUB to present the Alberta flaring and venting reduction model to developing countries. Accordingly, a Flaring Workshop was held at Calgary in October 2003, attended by delegates from Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Indonesia and Nigeria. The article also details the EUB's requirements for upstream flaring in Alberta, as laid down in 'Guide 60'. The draft Guide was released in January 2003, the final draft is targeted for February 2004. In brief, the Guide requires operators, by means of a 'decision tree analysis' method which is described in the Guide, to evaluate whether it is possible to reduce or eliminate flaring and venting; it also requires operators to evaluate economic feasibility, and to determine the feasibility of conserving as much gas as possible. New developments in the field of sensors, controls and optical flow meters are also reviewed. An appended statistical summary of gas flaring trends in selected countries, compiled by the World Bank in 2000 shows Nigeria, Iran, Russia, Algeria and Mexico as the countries with the highest volumes of flaring. To give an indication of the volume of gas wasted through flaring, it is reliably estimated that the amount of gas flared in 2000 by African countries alone, could have fuelled power plants to generate sufficient electric power to meet fully half of the continent's needs for electric power. 1 tab., 2 figs

  19. Simulation of GRIS spectrometer response to the solar gamma-ray flare of 23 July 2002

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trofimov, Yu A; Kotov, Yu D; Yurov, V N; Lupar, E E; Faradzhaev, R M; Glyanenko, A S

    2017-01-01

    GRIS is a prospective experiment designed to measure hard X-rays and γ-rays of solar flares in the energy range from 50 keV to 200 MeV as well as solar neutrons > 30 MeV. This study considers results of GEANT 4 simulation of GRIS detectors response to cosmic background radiation and to the solar flare SOL2002-07-23 (X4.8). It is shown that the GRIS spectrometers have enough sensitivity and energy resolution to measure redshifts of some narrow γ-rays in flare spectra, that the low energy thresholds of the detectors can be lowered considerably without a risk of counting rate saturation during high magnitude flares and that at a choice between LaBr 3 (Ce) and CeBr 3 the second one is a preferable scintillator for a hard X-ray and γ-ray spectrometer of solar flares. (paper)

  20. A Model of Solar Flares Based on Arcade Field Reconnection and Merging of Magnetic Islands

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choe, G.S.; Cheng, C.Z.

    2001-01-01

    Solar flares are intense, abrupt releases of energy in the solar corona. In the impulsive phase of a flare, the intensity of hard X-ray emission reaches a sharp peak indicating the highest reconnection rate. It is often observed that an X-ray emitting plasma ejecta (plasmoid) is launched before the impulsive phase and accelerated throughout the phase. Thus, the plasmoid ejection may not be an effect of fast magnetic reconnection as conventionally assumed, but a cause of fast reconnection. Based on resistive magnetohydrodynamic simulations, a solar flare model is presented, which can explain these observational characteristics of flares. In the model, merging of a newly generated magnetic island and a pre-existing island results in stretching and thinning of a current sheet, in which fast magnetic reconnection is induced. Recurrence of homologous flares naturally arises in this model. Mechanisms of magnetic island formation are also discussed

  1. Energetic Particle Estimates for Stellar Flares

    Science.gov (United States)

    Youngblood, Allison; Chamberlin, Phil; Woods, Tom

    2018-01-01

    In the heliosphere, energetic particles are accelerated away from the Sun during solar flares and/or coronal mass ejections where they frequently impact the Earth and other solar system bodies. Solar (or stellar) energetic particles (SEPs) not only affect technological assets, but also influence mass loss and chemistry in planetary atmospheres (e.g., depletion of ozone). SEPs are increasingly recognized as an important factor in assessing exoplanet habitability, but we do not yet have constraints on SEP emission from any stars other than the Sun. Until indirect measurements are available, we must assume solar-like particle production and apply correlations between solar flares and SEPs detected near Earth to stellar flares. We present improved scaling relations between solar far-UV flare flux and >10 MeV proton flux near Earth. We apply these solar scaling relations to far-UV flares from exoplanet host stars and discuss the implications for modeling chemistry and mass loss in exoplanet atmospheres.

  2. Early warning for VHE gamma-ray flares with the ARGO-YBJ detector

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bartoli, B. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita di Napoli ' Federico II' , Complesso Universitario di Monte Sant' Angelo, via Cinthia, 80126 Napoli (Italy); Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Napoli, Complesso Universitario di Monte Sant' Angelo, via Cinthia, 80126 Napoli (Italy); Bernardini, P. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita del Salento, via per Arnesano, 73100 Lecce (Italy); Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Lecce, via per Arnesano, 73100 Lecce (Italy); Bi, X.J. [Key Laboratory of Particle Astrophysics, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 918, 100049 Beijing (China); Bleve, C. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita del Salento, via per Arnesano, 73100 Lecce (Italy); Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Lecce, via per Arnesano, 73100 Lecce (Italy); Bolognino, I. [Dipartimento di Fisica Nucleare e Teorica dell' Universita di Pavia, via Bassi 6, 27100 Pavia (Italy); Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pavia, via Bassi 6, 27100 Pavia (Italy); Branchini, P.; Budano, A. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Roma Tre, via della Vasca Navale 84, 00146 Roma (Italy); Calabrese Melcarne, A.K. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare - CNAF, Viale Berti-Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna (Italy); Camarri, P. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita di Roma ' Tor Vergata' , via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Roma (Italy); Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Roma Tor Vergata, via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Roma (Italy); Cao, Z. [Key Laboratory of Particle Astrophysics, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 918, 100049 Beijing (China); and others

    2011-12-11

    Detecting and monitoring emissions from flaring gamma-ray sources in the very-high-energy (VHE, > 100 GeV) band is a very important topic in gamma-ray astronomy. The ARGO-YBJ detector is characterized by a high duty cycle and a wide field of view. Therefore, it is particularly capable of detecting flares from extragalactic objects. Based on fast reconstruction and analysis, real-time monitoring of 33 selected VHE extragalactic sources is implemented. Flares exceeding a specific threshold are reported timely, hence enabling the follow-up observation of these objects using more sensitive detectors, such as Cherenkov telescopes.

  3. Reconstruction of a Large-scale Pre-flare Coronal Current Sheet Associated with a Homologous X-shaped Flare

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Chaowei; Yan, Xiaoli; Feng, Xueshang; Duan, Aiying; Hu, Qiang; Zuo, Pingbing; Wang, Yi

    2017-11-01

    As a fundamental magnetic structure in the solar corona, electric current sheets (CSs) can form either prior to or during a solar flare, and they are essential for magnetic energy dissipation in the solar corona because they enable magnetic reconnection. However, the static reconstruction of a CS is rare, possibly due to limitations that are inherent in the available coronal field extrapolation codes. Here we present the reconstruction of a large-scale pre-flare CS in solar active region 11967 using an MHD-relaxation model constrained by the SDO/HMI vector magnetogram. The CS is associated with a set of peculiar homologous flares that exhibit unique X-shaped ribbons and loops occurring in a quadrupolar magnetic configuration.This is evidenced by an ’X’ shape, formed from the field lines traced from the CS to the photosphere. This nearly reproduces the shape of the observed flare ribbons, suggesting that the flare is a product of the dissipation of the CS via reconnection. The CS forms in a hyperbolic flux tube, which is an intersection of two quasi-separatrix layers. The recurrence of the X-shaped flares might be attributed to the repetitive formation and dissipation of the CS, as driven by the photospheric footpoint motions. These results demonstrate the power of a data-constrained MHD model in reproducing a CS in the corona as well as providing insight into the magnetic mechanism of solar flares.

  4. Gas flaring: Carbon dioxide contribution to global warming ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Journal Home > Vol 20, No 2 (2016) > ... The quantitative method of analysis showed that carbon dioxide from gas ... gas flaring cause environmental degradation, health risks and constitute financial loss to the local oil producing communities.

  5. An operational integrated short-term warning solution for solar radiation storms: introducing the Forecasting Solar Particle Events and Flares (FORSPEF) system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anastasiadis, Anastasios; Sandberg, Ingmar; Papaioannou, Athanasios; Georgoulis, Manolis; Tziotziou, Kostas; Jiggens, Piers; Hilgers, Alain

    2015-04-01

    We present a novel integrated prediction system, of both solar flares and solar energetic particle (SEP) events, which is in place to provide short-term warnings for hazardous solar radiation storms. FORSPEF system provides forecasting of solar eruptive events, such as solar flares with a projection to coronal mass ejections (CMEs) (occurrence and velocity) and the likelihood of occurrence of a SEP event. It also provides nowcasting of SEP events based on actual solar flare and CME near real-time alerts, as well as SEP characteristics (peak flux, fluence, rise time, duration) per parent solar event. The prediction of solar flares relies on a morphological method which is based on the sophisticated derivation of the effective connected magnetic field strength (Beff) of potentially flaring active-region (AR) magnetic configurations and it utilizes analysis of a large number of AR magnetograms. For the prediction of SEP events a new reductive statistical method has been implemented based on a newly constructed database of solar flares, CMEs and SEP events that covers a large time span from 1984-2013. The method is based on flare location (longitude), flare size (maximum soft X-ray intensity), and the occurrence (or not) of a CME. Warnings are issued for all > C1.0 soft X-ray flares. The warning time in the forecasting scheme extends to 24 hours with a refresh rate of 3 hours while the respective warning time for the nowcasting scheme depends on the availability of the near real-time data and falls between 15-20 minutes. We discuss the modules of the FORSPEF system, their interconnection and the operational set up. The dual approach in the development of FORPSEF (i.e. forecasting and nowcasting scheme) permits the refinement of predictions upon the availability of new data that characterize changes on the Sun and the interplanetary space, while the combined usage of solar flare and SEP forecasting methods upgrades FORSPEF to an integrated forecasting solution. This

  6. A magnetic bald-patch flare in solar active region 11117

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Chao-Wei; Feng, Xue-Shang; Wu, Shi-Tsan; Hu, Qiang

    2017-09-01

    With SDO observations and a data-constrained magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) model, we identify a confined multi-ribbon flare that occurred on 2010 October 25 in solar active region 11117 as a magnetic bald patch (BP) flare with strong evidence. From the photospheric magnetic field observed by SDO/HMI, we find there are indeed magnetic BPs on the polarity inversion lines (PILs) which match parts of the flare ribbons. From the 3D coronal magnetic field derived from an MHD relaxation model constrained by the vector magnetograms, we find strikingly good agreement of the BP separatrix surface (BPSS) footpoints with the flare ribbons, and the BPSS itself with the hot flaring loop system. Moreover, the triggering of the BP flare can be attributed to a small flux emergence under the lobe of the BPSS, and the relevant change of coronal magnetic field through the flare is reproduced well by the pre-flare and post-flare MHD solutions, which match the corresponding pre- and post-flare AIA observations, respectively. Our work contributes to the study of non-typical flares that constitute the majority of solar flares but which cannot be explained by the standard flare model.

  7. Underground Storage Alternative To Nigeria's Gas Flaring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Obi, A.I

    2004-01-01

    Energy demands are increasing as the world's population of energy users grows. At the same time many nations want to decommission nuclear plants in support of a cleaner environment. Clean burning natural gas is the fuel most likely to meet society's complex requirements. Demand for natural gas will rise more strongly than for any fossil fuel. The utilization of the huge gas resources form the petroleum deposit in the Niger Delta area is the major problem confronting the oil/gas industry in Nigeria and the disposal of associated gas has been a major challenge for the barrel of oil; hence with oil production of about 2.0 million barrels per day, some 2.0 billion standard cubic feet of AG is producing everyday. An alarming proportion of the gas is wasted by flaring, while very small proportion is used by oil-producing companies and other most alarming rate of flaring in the world compared with other oil/gas producing countries. This paper highlights the numerous benefits accruing from proper utilization of natural gas using SASOL of South Africa as an example and recommends underground storage of natural gas as an industry that will help check flaring, meet fluctuating demand and create wealth for the nation

  8. Detecting Solar Neutrino Flare in Megaton and km3 detectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fargion, Daniele; Di Giacomo, Paola

    2009-01-01

    To foresee a solar flare neutrino signal we infer its upper and lower bound. The upper bound was derived since a few years by general energy equipartition arguments on observed solar particle flare. The lower bound, the most compelling one for any guarantee neutrino signal, is derived by most recent records of hard Gamma bump due to solar flare on January 2005 (by neutral pion decay). Because neutral and charged pions (made by hadron scattering in the flare) are born on the same foot, their link is compelling: the observed gamma flux [Grechnev V.V. et al., (arXiv:0806.4424), Solar Physics, Vol. 1, October, (2008), 252] reflects into a corresponding one for the neutrinos, almost one to one. Moreover while gamma photons might be absorbed (in deep corona) or at least reduced inside the flaring plasma, the secondaries neutrino are not. So pion neutrinos should be even more abundant than gamma ones. Tens-hundred MeV neutrinos may cross undisturbed the whole Sun, doubling at least their rate respect a unique solar-side for gamma flare. Therefore we obtain minimal bounds opening a windows for neutrino astronomy, already at the edge of present but quite within near future Megaton neutrino detectors. Such detectors are considered mostly to reveal cosmic supernova background or rare Local Group (few Mpc) Supernovas events [Matthew D. Kistler et al. (0810.1959v1)]. However rarest (once a decade), brief (a few minutes) powerful solar neutrino 'flare' may shine and they may overcome by two to three order of magnitude the corresponding steady atmospheric neutrino noise on the Earth, leading in largest Neutrino detector at least to one or to meaning-full few events clustered signals. The voice of such a solar anti-neutrino flare component at a few tens MeVs may induce an inverse beta decay over a vanishing anti-neutrino solar background. Megaton or even inner ten Megaton Ice Cube detector at ten GeV threshold may also reveal traces in hardest energy of solar flares. Icecube

  9. Management of routine solution gas flaring in Alberta

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-01-01

    Alberta's Clean Air Strategic Alliance (CASA) shares decision-making responsibilities with the Government of Alberta for strategic aspects of air quality. In 1997, the Alliance established the Flaring Project Team to develop recommendations that address potential and observed impacts associated with flaring, with particular focus on 'upstream solution gas' flaring. The upstream industry explores for, acquires, develops, produces and markets crude oil and natural gas. Essentially, solution gas at upstream sites is 'co-produced' during crude oil production. The project team was established to collect and summarize information on flaring and its impacts and to develop recommendations for short-term actions to minimize the practice of routine flaring of solution gas. Another goal of the team is to develop a research strategy to better understand flaring emissions and their effects on human, animal and environmental health. The team is working on developing long-term strategies for actions to address the gas flaring issue. 5 refs., 1 tab., 7 figs

  10. Analysis of peculiar penumbral flows observed in the active region NOAA 10930 during a major solar flare

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, Brajesh; Venkatakrishnan, P; Tiwari, Sanjiv Kumar; Mathur, Savita; Garcia, R A

    2011-01-01

    It is believed that the high energetic particles and tremendous amount of energy released during the flares can induce velocity oscillations in the Sun. Using the Dopplergrams obtained by Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) telescope, we analyze the velocity flows in the active region NOAA 10930 during a major flare (of class X3.4) that occurred on 13 December 2006. We observe peculiar evolution of velocity flows in some localized portions of the penumbra of this active region during the flare. Application of Wavelet transform to these velocity flows reveals that there is major enhancement of velocity oscillations in the high-frequency regime (5-8 mHz), while there is feeble enhancement in the p mode oscillations (2-5 mHz) in the aforementioned location. It has been recently shown that flares can induce high-frequency global oscillations in the Sun. Therefore, it appears that during the flare process there might be a common origin for the excitation of local and global high-frequency oscillations in the Sun.

  11. Thermal Structure of Supra-Arcade Plasma in Two Solar Flares

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reeves, Katharine K.; Savage, Sabrina; McKenzie, David E.; Weber, Mark A.

    2012-01-01

    In this work, we use Hinode/XRT and SDO/AIA data to determine the thermal structure of supra-arcade plasma in two solar flares. The first flare is a Ml.2 flare that occurred on November 5, 2010 on the east limb. This flare was one of a series of flares from AR 11121, published in Reeves & Golub (2011). The second flare is an XI.7 flare that occurred on January 27, 2012 on the west limb. This flare exhibits visible supra-arcade downflows (SADs), where the November 2010 flare does not. For these two flares we combine XRT and AlA data to calculate DEMs of each pixel in the supra-arcade plasma, giving insight into the temperature and density structures in the fan of plasma above the post-flare arcade. We find in each case that the supra-arcade plasma is around 10 MK, and there is a marked decrease in the emission measure in the SADs. We also compare the DEMs calculated with the combined AIA/XRT dataset to those calculated using AIA alone.

  12. Flare research with the NASA/MSFC vector magnetograph - Observed characteristics of sheared magnetic fields that produce flares

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, R. L.; Hagyard, M. J.; Davis, J. M.

    1987-01-01

    The present MSFC Vector Magnetograph has sufficient spatial resolution (2.7 arcsec pixels) and sensitivity to the transverse field (the noise level is about 100 gauss) to map the transverse field in active regions accurately enough to reveal key aspects of the sheared magnetic fields commonly found at flare sites. From the measured shear angle along the polarity inversion line in sites that flared and in other shear sites that didn't flare, evidence is found that a sufficient condition for a flare to occur in 1000 gauss fields in and near sunspots is that both: (1) the maximum shear angle exceed 85 degrees; and (2) the extent of strong shear (shear angle of greater than 80 degrees) exceed 10,000 km.

  13. Assessment of respiratory disorders in relation to solution gas flaring activities in Alberta

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-02-01

    A study was conducted by Alberta Health to address the issue of whether or not flaring of solution gas has a negative impact on human health. The Flaring Working Group of the Clean Air Strategic Alliance initiated this study which focused on the assessment of the relationship between human health disorders (such as asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia and upper respiratory infections) and solution gas flaring activities in rural, urban and aboriginal populations. The personal exposure to flaring emissions was estimated by physical proximity to the source of emissions. A small area was studied in which geographical variations in human health disorders were compared to geographical variations of socioeconomic and environmental factors. Data was gathered from 1989 to 1996 to evaluate long term average conditions and changes over the time period investigated. Notwithstanding physicians' claims for increased rates of respiratory infections and hospitalization attributed to solution gas flaring, the study found no evidence linking respiratory infections and solution gas flaring. This was the conclusion regardless of the measure of health outcomes, the rural-urban status, ethnicity, or age. Nevertheless, the study recommended identification of bio-markers of exposure and effect reflective of the compounds of interest, and the development of a responsive and comprehensive geographic information database that would allow data linkage at all geographic levels for different periods of time. refs., 10 tabs., 15 figs., 1 appendix

  14. Identifying core domains to assess flare in rheumatoid arthritis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bartlett, Susan J; Hewlett, Sarah; Bingham, Clifton O

    2012-01-01

    For rheumatoid arthritis (RA), there is no consensus on how to define and assess flare. Variability in flare definitions impairs understanding of findings across studies and limits ability to pool results. The OMERACT RA Flare Group sought to identify domains to define RA flares from patient...

  15. Progress report on recommendations of the Flaring Project Team

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Macken, C.

    1999-01-01

    Part of the mandate of the Clean Air Strategic Alliance (CASA) is to share decision-making responsibility for air quality management with the government of Alberta, through the ministries of Environmental Protection, Energy, and Health, and the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB). CASA's vision for air quality in Alberta is that 'the air will be odourless, tasteless, look clear, and have no measurable short- or long-term adverse effects on people, animals, or the environment'. In 1997, CASA approved the establishment of the Flaring Project Team in response to public concern about potential and observed impacts associated with flaring of solution gas. Members of that team established a framework for the management of solution gas flaring. Their long-term goal is to eliminate routine flaring of solution gas. The Project Team assessed existing information on solution gas flaring, including technologies, efficiencies, emissions and impacts. Alternative technologies were also reviewed along with biological and health effects of solution gas flaring. A list of data gaps and research needs was compiled in order to help with the development of the Team's recommendations. The Team's final report was delivered in June 1998. It was recommended that the following policy objective hierarchy be used to guide decisions related to routine solution gas flaring: (1) eliminate routine solution gas flaring, (2) reduce volumes of gas flared, and (3) improve the efficiency of flares. By way of progress the Project Team was able to report that in March, 1999, the EUB issued a draft interim directive to address upstream petroleum industry flaring. The draft Directive incorporates the recommendations from the CASA Flaring Project Team with respect to management of solution gas flaring. In December 1998, changes to the royalty structure to encourage the productive use of flare gas have been announced by the Alberta Department of Energy and Alberta Environmental protection, thus

  16. Frequency distribution function of stellar flares in the Orion association

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parsamian, E.S.

    1981-01-01

    The temporal distributions of flare stars in the Orion association and the numbers of stars with different flare frequencies are determined by means of Ambartsumian's (1978) method, which uses the chronology of discovery of 'first' flares and the chronology of confirmations, i.e., the temporal distributions of 'repeated' flares. It is shown that flare stars with high flare frequency (not greater than 1000 hours) in the Pleiades are basically stars of low luminosity with M(U) not less than 13m. Two independent methods of determining the number of flare stars in the aggregates confirm that there are about 1.5 times more flare stars in the Orion association than in the Pleiades

  17. Completeness and Bias Tests of Small Flares in gPhoton M Dwarfs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleming, Scott W.; Million, Chase; Brasseur, Clara; Osten, Rachel A.; Shiao, Bernie; Bianchi, Luciana

    2018-01-01

    gPhoton is a time-tagged database of more than one trillion calibrated ultraviolet photon events from the ten-year GALEX mission. With the open-source gPhoton software, users can construct images and light curves at user-defined temporal and spatial scales. We have been working on a project to detect stellar flares on M dwarfs observed in GALEX data, with particular focus on smaller flares that have durations between 30 seconds and 30 minutes, and energies between 10^27 and 10^29 ergs. This parameter space is still largely unconstrained in the UV/optical, even with Kepler/K2 data, due to their short durations. We present completeness and reliability tests we are conducting to be able to account for selection and detection bias in our sample, including stellar type, instrument artifacts, sampling bias, and signal-to-noise. The bias-corrected occurrence rate of such flares, which are exponentially more frequent than larger flares already characterized by Kepler and ground-based studies, can be included in future calculations of exoplanet habitability.

  18. The Dependence of Solar Flare Limb Darkening on Emission Peak Formation Temperature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thiemann, Edward; Epp, Luke; Eparvier, Francis; Chamberlin, Phillip C.

    2017-08-01

    Solar limb effects are local brightening or darkening of an emission that depend on where in the Sun's atmosphere it forms. Near the solar limb, optically thick (thin) emissions will darken (brighten) as the column of absorbers (emitters) along the line-of-sight increases. Note that in limb brightening, emission sources are re-arranged whereas in limb darkening they are obscured. Thus, only limb darkening is expected to occur in disk integrated observations. Limb darkening also results in center-to-limb variations of disk-integrated solar flare spectra, with important consequences for how planetary atmospheres are affected by flares. Flares are typically characterized by their flux in the optically thin 0.1-0.8 nm band measured by the X-ray Sensor (XRS) on board the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES). On the other hand, Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) line emissions can limb darken because they are sensitive to resonant scattering, resulting in a flare's location on the solar disk controlling the amount of ionizing radiation that reaches a planet. For example, an X-class flare originating from disk center may significantly heat a planet's thermosphere, whereas the same flare originating near the limb may have no effect because much of the effective emissions are scattered in the solar corona.To advance the relatively poor understanding of flare limb darkening, we use over 300 M-class or larger flares observed by the EUV Variability Experiment (EVE) onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) to characterize limb darkening as a function of emission peak formation temperature, Tf. For hot coronal emissions (Tf>2 MK), these results show a linear relationship between the degree of limb darkening and Tf where lines with Tf=2 MK darken approximately 7 times more than lines with Tf=16 MK. Because the extent of limb darkening is dependent on the height of the source plasma, we use simple Beer-Lambert radiative transfer analysis to interpret these results

  19. THE TIDAL DISRUPTION OF GIANT STARS AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE FLARING SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE POPULATION

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    MacLeod, Morgan; Guillochon, James; Ramirez-Ruiz, Enrico

    2012-01-01

    Sun-like stars are thought to be regularly disrupted by supermassive black holes (SMBHs) within galactic nuclei. Yet, as stars evolve off the main sequence their vulnerability to tidal disruption increases drastically as they develop a bifurcated structure consisting of a dense core and a tenuous envelope. Here we present the first hydrodynamic simulations of the tidal disruption of giant stars and show that the core has a substantial influence on the star's ability to survive the encounter. Stars with more massive cores retain large fractions of their envelope mass, even in deep encounters. Accretion flares resulting from the disruption of giant stars should last for tens to hundreds of years. Their characteristic signature in transient searches would not be the t –5/3 decay typically associated with tidal disruption events, but a correlated rise over many orders of magnitude in brightness on timescales of months to years. We calculate the relative disruption rates of stars of varying evolutionary stages in typical galactic centers, then use our results to produce Monte Carlo realizations of the expected flaring event populations. We find that the demographics of tidal disruption flares are strongly dependent on both stellar and black hole mass, especially near the limiting SMBH mass scale of ∼10 8 M ☉ . At this black hole mass, we predict a sharp transition in the SMBH flaring diet beyond which all observable disruptions arise from evolved stars, accompanied by a dramatic cutoff in the overall tidal disruption flaring rate. Black holes less massive than this limiting mass scale will show observable flares from both main-sequence and evolved stars, with giants contributing up to 10% of the event rate. The relative fractions of stars disrupted at different evolutionary states can constrain the properties and distributions of stars in galactic nuclei other than our own.

  20. TIME-RESOLVED PROPERTIES AND GLOBAL TRENDS IN dMe FLARES FROM SIMULTANEOUS PHOTOMETRY AND SPECTRA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kowalski, Adam F.; Hawley, Suzanne L.; Davenport, James R. A. [Astronomy Department, University of Washington, Box 351580, U.W. Seattle, WA 98195-1580 (United States); Wisniewski, John P. [HL Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma, 440 W Brooks Street, Norman, OK 73019 (United States); Osten, Rachel A. [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Hilton, Eric J. [Universe Sandbox, Seattle, WA (United States); Holtzman, Jon A. [Department of Astronomy, New Mexico State University, Box 30001, Las Cruces, NM 88003 (United States); Schmidt, Sarah J., E-mail: adam.f.kowalski@nasa.gov [Department of Astronomy, Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States)

    2013-07-15

    We present a homogeneous analysis of line and continuum emission from simultaneous high-cadence spectra and photometry covering near-ultraviolet and optical wavelengths for 20 M dwarf flares. These data were obtained to study the white-light continuum components at bluer and redder wavelengths than the Balmer jump. Our goals were to break the degeneracy between emission mechanisms that have been fit to broadband colors of flares and to provide constraints for radiative-hydrodynamic (RHD) flare models that seek to reproduce the white-light flare emission. The main results from the analysis are the following: (1) the detection of Balmer continuum (in emission) that is present during all flares and with a wide range of relative contributions to the continuum flux at bluer wavelengths than the Balmer jump; (2) a blue continuum at flare maximum that is linearly decreasing with wavelength from {lambda} = 4000-4800 A, indicative of hot, blackbody emission with typical temperatures of T{sub BB} {approx} 9000-14, 000 K; (3) a redder continuum apparent at wavelengths longer than H{beta} ({lambda} {approx}> 4900 A) which becomes relatively more important to the energy budget during the late gradual phase. The hot blackbody component and redder continuum component have been detected in previous studies of flares. However, we have found that although the hot blackbody emission component is relatively well-represented by a featureless, single-temperature Planck function, this component includes absorption features and has a continuum shape strikingly similar to the spectrum of an A-type star as directly observed in our flare spectra. New model constraints are presented for the time evolution among the hydrogen Balmer lines and between Ca II K and the blackbody continuum emission. We calculate Balmer jump flux ratios and compare to the solar-type flare heating predictions from RHD models. The model ratios are too large and the blue-optical ({lambda} = 4000-4800 A) slopes are too

  1. TIME-RESOLVED PROPERTIES AND GLOBAL TRENDS IN dMe FLARES FROM SIMULTANEOUS PHOTOMETRY AND SPECTRA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kowalski, Adam F.; Hawley, Suzanne L.; Davenport, James R. A.; Wisniewski, John P.; Osten, Rachel A.; Hilton, Eric J.; Holtzman, Jon A.; Schmidt, Sarah J.

    2013-01-01

    We present a homogeneous analysis of line and continuum emission from simultaneous high-cadence spectra and photometry covering near-ultraviolet and optical wavelengths for 20 M dwarf flares. These data were obtained to study the white-light continuum components at bluer and redder wavelengths than the Balmer jump. Our goals were to break the degeneracy between emission mechanisms that have been fit to broadband colors of flares and to provide constraints for radiative-hydrodynamic (RHD) flare models that seek to reproduce the white-light flare emission. The main results from the analysis are the following: (1) the detection of Balmer continuum (in emission) that is present during all flares and with a wide range of relative contributions to the continuum flux at bluer wavelengths than the Balmer jump; (2) a blue continuum at flare maximum that is linearly decreasing with wavelength from λ = 4000-4800 Å, indicative of hot, blackbody emission with typical temperatures of T BB ∼ 9000-14, 000 K; (3) a redder continuum apparent at wavelengths longer than Hβ (λ ∼> 4900 Å) which becomes relatively more important to the energy budget during the late gradual phase. The hot blackbody component and redder continuum component have been detected in previous studies of flares. However, we have found that although the hot blackbody emission component is relatively well-represented by a featureless, single-temperature Planck function, this component includes absorption features and has a continuum shape strikingly similar to the spectrum of an A-type star as directly observed in our flare spectra. New model constraints are presented for the time evolution among the hydrogen Balmer lines and between Ca II K and the blackbody continuum emission. We calculate Balmer jump flux ratios and compare to the solar-type flare heating predictions from RHD models. The model ratios are too large and the blue-optical (λ = 4000-4800 Å) slopes are too red in both the impulsive and

  2. Chandra Captures Flare From Brown Dwarf

    Science.gov (United States)

    2000-07-01

    The first flare ever seen from a brown dwarf, or failed star, was detected by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. The bright X-ray flare has implications for understanding the explosive activity and origin of magnetic fields of extremely low mass stars. Chandra detected no X-rays at all from LP 944-20 for the first nine hours of a twelve hour observation, then the source flared dramatically before it faded away over the next two hours. "We were shocked," said Dr. Robert Rutledge of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, the lead author on the discovery paper to appear in the July 20 issue of Astrophysical Journal Letters. "We didn't expect to see flaring from such a lightweight object. This is really the 'mouse that roared.'" Chandra LP 944-20 X-ray Image Press Image and Caption The energy emitted in the brown dwarf flare was comparable to a small solar flare, and was a billion times greater than observed X-ray flares from Jupiter. The flaring energy is believed to come from a twisted magnetic field. "This is the strongest evidence yet that brown dwarfs and possibly young giant planets have magnetic fields, and that a large amount of energy can be released in a flare," said Dr. Eduardo Martin, also of Caltech and a member of the team. Professor Gibor Basri of the University of California, Berkeley, the principal investigator for this observation, speculated that the flare "could have its origin in the turbulent magnetized hot material beneath the surface of the brown dwarf. A sub-surface flare could heat the atmosphere, allowing currents to flow and give rise to the X-ray flare -- like a stroke of lightning." LP 944-20 is about 500 million years old and has a mass that is about 60 times that of Jupiter, or 6 percent that of the Sun. Its diameter is about one-tenth that of the Sun and it has a rotation period of less than five hours. Located in the constellation Fornax in the southern skies, LP 944-20 is one of the best studied brown dwarfs because it is

  3. Acceleration of runaway electrons and Joule heating in solar flares

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holman, G. D.

    1985-01-01

    The electric field acceleration of electrons out of a thermal plasma and the simultaneous Joule heating of the plasma are studied. Acceleration and heating timescales are derived and compared, and upper limits are obtained on the acceleration volume and the rate at which electrons can be accelerated. These upper limits, determined by the maximum magnetic field strength observed in flaring regions, place stringent restrictions upon the acceleration process. The role of the plasma resistivity in these processes is examined, and possible sources of anomalous resistivity are summarized. The implications of these results for the microwave and hard X-ray emission from solar flares are examined.

  4. Endodontic interappointment flare-ups: a prospective study of incidence and related factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walton, R; Fouad, A

    1992-04-01

    Severe pain and/or swelling following a root canal treatment appointment are serious sequelae. Information varies or is incomplete as to the incidence of these conditions and related factors. In this study, data were collected at root canal treatment appointments on demographics, pulp/periapical diagnoses, presenting symptoms, treatment procedures, and number of appointments. Patients that then experienced a flare-up (a severe problem requiring an unscheduled visit and treatment) had the correlating factors examined. Statistical determinations were by chi-square analysis with significance at 0.05 or less. Nine hundred forty-six visits resulted in an incidence of 3.17% flare-ups. Flare-ups were positively correlated with more severe presenting symptoms, pulp necrosis with painful apical pathosis, and patients on analgesics. Fewer flare-ups occurred in undergraduate patients and following obturation procedures. There was no correlation between patient demographics or systemic conditions, number of appointments, treatment procedures, or taking antibiotics.

  5. A flare for decommissioning : a push to close flare pits in B.C. earns Petro-Canada an industry award for environmental stewardship

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mahoney, J.

    2009-01-15

    Flaring is widely used to dispose of natural gas liberated during oil production and processing in remote areas where there is no pipeline on site to make use of the gas. Sources of flaring include well testing, solution gas from oil wells, underbalanced drilling, gas gathering systems and gas processing plants. Flaring is a source of pollution and a waste of energy. This article described Petro-Canada's efforts to eliminate flaring. In the late 1990s, the company began environmental assessments of its flare pits in British Columbia (BC). Since 2005, the producer has decommissioned 106 of its 108 pits in the province and ring-fenced the other 2. As the staff advanced the task of decommissioning, it often consolidated flaring hardware, installing a single, vertical flare stack to serve where 3 or 4 flare pits had previously served as many well sites. Before decommissioning began, Petro-Canada carried out its own environmental protocol and assessed its pits for the presence of contaminants and for their potential to leach into local waterways. Monitoring of groundwater through wells drilled on the company's BC flare pit sites will continue for some time, particularly on sites with bodies of water. BC's Oil and Gas Commission estimated that between 1996 and 2006, conservation of solution gas rose from 87 to 97 per cent among the province's producers. Petro-Canada was commended for being among the first to secure all flare pits under its control in BC. It was estimated that 49 per cent of all flare pits decommission in BC by 2007 were completed by Petro-Canada. 2 refs., 2 figs.

  6. Comparison of microdose flare-up and antagonist multiple-dose protocols for poor-responder patients: a randomized study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demirol, Aygul; Gurgan, Timur

    2009-08-01

    To compare the efficacy of the microdose flare-up and multiple-dose antagonist protocols for poor-responder patients in intracytoplasmic sperm injection-ET cycles. A randomized, prospective study. Center for assisted reproductive technology in Turkey. Ninety patients with poor ovarian response in a minimum of two previous IVF cycles. All women were prospectively randomized into two groups by computer-assisted randomization. The patients in group 1 were stimulated according to the microdose flare-up protocol (n = 45), while the patients in group 2 were stimulated according to antagonist multiple-dose protocol (n = 45). The mean number of mature oocytes retrieved was the primary outcome measure, and fertilization rate, implantation rate per embryo, and clinical pregnancy rates were secondary outcome measures. The mean age of the women, the mean duration of infertility, basal FSH level, and the number of previous IVF cycles were similar in both groups. The total gonadotropin dose used was significantly higher in group 2, while the number of oocytes retrieved was significantly greater in group 1. Although the fertilization and clinical pregnancy rates were nonsignificantly higher in group 1 compared with group 2, the implantation rate was significantly higher in the microdose flare-up group than in the multiple-dose antagonist group (22% vs. 11%). The microdose flare-up protocol seems to have a better outcome in poor-responder patients, with a significantly higher mean number of mature oocytes retrieved and higher implantation rate.

  7. Solar and Stellar Flares and Their Effects on Planets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shibata, Kazunari

    2015-08-01

    Recent space observations of the Sun revealed that the solar atmosphere is full of explosions, such as flares and flare-like phenomena. These flares generate not only strong electromagnetic emissions but also nonthermal particles and bulk plasma ejections, which sometimes lead to geomagnetic storms and affect terrestrial environment and our civilization, damaging satellite, power-grids, radio communication etc. Solar flares are prototype of various explosions in our universe, and hence are important not only for geophysics and environmental science but also for astrophysics. The energy source of solar flares is now established to be magnetic energy stored near sunspots. There is now increasing observational evidence that solar flares are caused by magnetic reconnection, merging of anti-parallel magnetic field lines and associated magneto-plasma dynamics (Shibata and Magara 2011, Living Review). It has also been known that many stars show flares similar to solar flares, and often such stellar flares are much more energetic than solar flares. The total energy of a solar flare is typically 10^29 - 10^32 erg. On the other hand, there are much more energetic flares (10^33 - 10^38 erg) in stars, especially in young stars. These are called superflares. We argue that these superflares on stars can also be understood in a unified way based on the reconnection mechanism. Finally we show evidence of occurrence of superflares on Sun-like stars according to recent stellar observations (Maehara et al. 2012, Nature, Shibayama et al. 2013), which revealed that superflares with energy of 10^34 - 10^35 erg (100 - 1000 times of the largest solar flares) occur with frequency of once in 800 - 5000 years on Sun-like stars which are very similar to our Sun. Against the previous belief, these new observations as well as theory (Shibata et al. 2013) suggest that we cannot deny the possibility of superflares on the present Sun. Finally, we shall discuss possible impacts of these superflares

  8. RADIO EMISSION FROM ACCELERATION SITES OF SOLAR FLARES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Yixuan; Fleishman, Gregory D.

    2009-01-01

    This Letter takes up the question of what radio emission is produced by electrons at the very acceleration site of a solar flare. Specifically, we calculate incoherent radio emission produced within two competing acceleration models-stochastic acceleration by cascading MHD turbulence and regular acceleration in collapsing magnetic traps. Our analysis clearly demonstrates that radio emission from acceleration sites (1) has sufficiently strong intensity to be observed by currently available radio instruments, and (2) has spectra and light curves that are distinctly different in these two competing models, which makes them observationally distinguishable. In particular, we suggest that some of the narrowband microwave and decimeter continuum bursts may be a signature of the stochastic acceleration in solar flares.

  9. Periodic Accretion-powered Flares from Colliding EMRIs as TDE Imposters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Metzger, Brian D.; Stone, Nicholas C.

    2017-07-01

    When a main-sequence star undergoes Roche lobe overflow onto a supermassive black hole (SMBH) in a circular extreme mass ratio inspiral (EMRI), a phase of steady mass transfer ensues. Over millions of years, the binary evolves to a period minimum before reversing course and migrating outward as a brown dwarf. Because the time interval between consecutive EMRIs is comparable to the mass-transfer timescale, the semimajor axes of two consecutive mass-transferring EMRIs will cross on a radial scale of less than a few au. We show that such EMRI crossing events are inevitably accompanied by a series of mildly relativistic, grazing physical collisions between the stars. Each collision strips a small quantity of mass, primarily from the more massive star, which generally increases their radial separation to set up the next collision after a delay of decades to centuries (or longer) set by further gravitational radiation. Depending on the mass of the SMBH, this interaction can result in {N}{{c}}˜ 1{--}{10}4 gas production events of mass ˜ {M}⊙ /{N}{{c}}, thus powering a quasi-periodic sequence of SMBH accretion-powered flares over a total duration of thousands of years or longer. Although the EMRI rate is 2-3 orders of magnitude lower than the rate of tidal disruption events (TDEs), the ability of a single interacting EMRI pair to produce a large number of luminous flares—and to make more judicious use of the available stellar fuel—could make their observed rate competitive with the TDE rate, enabling them to masquerade as “TDE imposters.” Gas produced by EMRI collisions is easier to circularize than the highly eccentric debris streams produced in TDEs. We predict flares with bolometric luminosities that decay both as power laws shallower than {t}-5/3 and as decaying exponentials in time. Viscous spreading of the gaseous disks produced by the accumulation of previous mass-stripping events will place a substantial mass of gas on radial scales ≳ 10{--}100 {au

  10. Automated Solar Flare Detection and Feature Extraction in High-Resolution and Full-Disk Hα Images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Meng; Tian, Yu; Liu, Yangyi; Rao, Changhui

    2018-05-01

    In this article, an automated solar flare detection method applied to both full-disk and local high-resolution Hα images is proposed. An adaptive gray threshold and an area threshold are used to segment the flare region. Features of each detected flare event are extracted, e.g. the start, peak, and end time, the importance class, and the brightness class. Experimental results have verified that the proposed method can obtain more stable and accurate segmentation results than previous works on full-disk images from Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO) and Kanzelhöhe Observatory for Solar and Environmental Research (KSO), and satisfying segmentation results on high-resolution images from the Goode Solar Telescope (GST). Moreover, the extracted flare features correlate well with the data given by KSO. The method may be able to implement a more complicated statistical analysis of Hα solar flares.

  11. Narrow-band radio flares from red dwarf stars

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Stephen M.; Kundu, Mukul R.; Jackson, Peter D.

    1986-01-01

    VLA observations of narrow-band behavior in 20 cm flares from two red dwarf stars, L726 - 8A and AD Leo, are reported. The flare on L726 - 8A was observed at 1415 and 1515 MHz; the flux and the evolution differed significantly at the two frequencies. The flare on AD Leo lasted for 2 hr at 1415 MHz but did not appear at 1515 MHz. The AD Leo flare appears to rule out a source drifting through the stellar corona and is unlikely to be due to plasma emission. In the cyclotron maser model the narrow-band behavior reflects the range of magnetic fields present within the source. The apparent constancy of this field for 2 hr is difficult to understand if magnetic reconnection is the source of energy for the flare. The consistent polarization exhibited by red dwarf flares at 20 cm may be related to stellar activity cycles, and changes in this polarization will permit measuring the length of these cycles.

  12. A search for radio emission from flare stars in the Pleiades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bastian, T. S.; Dulk, G. A.; Slee, O. B.

    1988-01-01

    The VLA has been used to search for radio emission from flare stars in the Pleiades. Two observational strategies were employed. First, about 1/2 sq deg of cluster, containing about 40 known flare stars, was mapped at 1.4 GHz at two epochs. More than 120 sources with flux densities greater than 0.3 mJy exist on the maps. Detailed analysis shows that all but two of these sources are probably extragalactic. The two sources identified as stellar are probably not Pleiades members as judged by their proper motions; rather, based on their colors and magnitudes, they seem to be foreground G stars. One is a known X-ray source. The second observational strategy, where five rapidly rotating flare stars were observed at three frequencies, yielded no detections. The 0.3 mJy flux-density limit of this survey is such that only the most intense outbursts of flare stars in the solar neighborhood could have been detected if those stars were at the distance of the Pleiades.

  13. Interactive Multi-Instrument Database of Solar Flares

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ranjan, Shubha S.; Spaulding, Ryan; Deardorff, Donald G.

    2018-01-01

    The fundamental motivation of the project is that the scientific output of solar research can be greatly enhanced by better exploitation of the existing solar/heliosphere space-data products jointly with ground-based observations. Our primary focus is on developing a specific innovative methodology based on recent advances in "big data" intelligent databases applied to the growing amount of high-spatial and multi-wavelength resolution, high-cadence data from NASA's missions and supporting ground-based observatories. Our flare database is not simply a manually searchable time-based catalog of events or list of web links pointing to data. It is a preprocessed metadata repository enabling fast search and automatic identification of all recorded flares sharing a specifiable set of characteristics, features, and parameters. The result is a new and unique database of solar flares and data search and classification tools for the Heliophysics community, enabling multi-instrument/multi-wavelength investigations of flare physics and supporting further development of flare-prediction methodologies.

  14. Anti-neutrino imprint in solar neutrino flare

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fargion, D.

    2006-10-01

    A future neutrino detector at megaton mass might enlarge the neutrino telescope thresholds revealing cosmic supernova background and largest solar flares (SFs) neutrinos. Indeed the solar energetic (Ep>100 MeV) flare particles (protons, α), while scattering among themselves on solar corona atmosphere must produce prompt charged pions, whose chain decays are source of a solar (electron muon) neutrino 'flare' (at tens or hundreds MeV energy). These brief (minutes) neutrino 'bursts' at largest flare peak may overcome by three to five orders of magnitude the steady atmospheric neutrino noise on the Earth, possibly leading to their detection above detection thresholds (in a full mixed three flavour state). Moreover the birth of anti-neutrinos at a few tens of MeV very clearly flares above a null thermal 'hep' anti-neutrino solar background and also above a tiny supernova relic and atmospheric noise. The largest prompt solar anti-neutrino 'burst' may be well detected in future Super Kamikande (gadolinium implemented) anti-neutrino \\bar\

  15. PARTICLE ACCELERATION AND THE ORIGIN OF X-RAY FLARES IN GRMHD SIMULATIONS OF SGR A*

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ball, David; Özel, Feryal; Psaltis, Dimitrios; Chan, Chi-kwan [Steward Observatory and Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona (United States)

    2016-07-20

    Significant X-ray variability and flaring has been observed from Sgr A* but is poorly understood from a theoretical standpoint. We perform general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations that take into account a population of non-thermal electrons with energy distributions and injection rates that are motivated by PIC simulations of magnetic reconnection. We explore the effects of including these non-thermal electrons on the predicted broadband variability of Sgr A* and find that X-ray variability is a generic result of localizing non-thermal electrons to highly magnetized regions, where particles are likely to be accelerated via magnetic reconnection. The proximity of these high-field regions to the event horizon forms a natural connection between IR and X-ray variability and accounts for the rapid timescales associated with the X-ray flares. The qualitative nature of this variability is consistent with observations, producing X-ray flares that are always coincident with IR flares, but not vice versa, i.e., there are a number of IR flares without X-ray counterparts.

  16. Motion of matter in flare loops of the solar disc

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu Ao-ao

    1987-01-01

    By using the optical observation data of a Class 3B double-ribbon flare obtained on July 14, 1980 at the Yunan Observatory, and the x-ray result from the SMM satellite for the same flare, the law of motion of matter in the flare loops of the solar disc is discussed. First, the solar disc positions from the Hα and x-ray images for the flare were compared, and the altitude of the flare loop was determined according to projection effects. Second, the line-of-sight velocity distribution in the region of flare activity due to the falling of matter in the flare loop was estimated theoretically. The result agreed with the observed data

  17. Toward an Efficient Prediction of Solar Flares: Which Parameters, and How?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manolis K. Georgoulis

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Solar flare prediction has become a forefront topic in contemporary solar physics, with numerous published methods relying on numerous predictive parameters, that can even be divided into parameter classes. Attempting further insight, we focus on two popular classes of flare-predictive parameters, namely multiscale (i.e., fractal and multifractal and proxy (i.e., morphological parameters, and we complement our analysis with a study of the predictive capability of fundamental physical parameters (i.e., magnetic free energy and relative magnetic helicity. Rather than applying the studied parameters to a comprehensive statistical sample of flaring and non-flaring active regions, that was the subject of our previous studies, the novelty of this work is their application to an exceptionally long and high-cadence time series of the intensely eruptive National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA active region (AR 11158, observed by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory. Aiming for a detailed study of the temporal evolution of each parameter, we seek distinctive patterns that could be associated with the four largest flares in the AR in the course of its five-day observing interval. We find that proxy parameters only tend to show preflare impulses that are practical enough to warrant subsequent investigation with sufficient statistics. Combining these findings with previous results, we conclude that: (i carefully constructed, physically intuitive proxy parameters may be our best asset toward an efficient future flare-forecasting; and (ii the time series of promising parameters may be as important as their instantaneous values. Value-based prediction is the only approach followed so far. Our results call for novel signal and/or image processing techniques to efficiently utilize combined amplitude and temporal-profile information to optimize the inferred solar-flare probabilities.

  18. TEMPERATURE AND ELECTRON DENSITY DIAGNOSTICS OF A CANDLE-FLAME-SHAPED FLARE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guidoni, S. E. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/CUA, Code 674, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); McKenzie, D. E.; Longcope, D. W.; Yoshimura, K. [Department of Physics, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717-3840 (United States); Plowman, J. E., E-mail: silvina.e.guidoni@nasa.gov [High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307-3000 (United States)

    2015-02-10

    Candle-flame-shaped flares are archetypical structures that provide indirect evidence of magnetic reconnection. A flare resembling Tsuneta's famous 1992 candle-flame flare occurred on 2011 January 28; we present its temperature and electron density diagnostics. This flare was observed with Solar Dynamics Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (SDO/AIA), Hinode/X-Ray Telescope (XRT), and Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory Ahead (STEREO-A)/Extreme Ultraviolet Imager, resulting in high-resolution, broad temperature coverage, and stereoscopic views of this iconic structure. The high-temperature images reveal a brightening that grows in size to form a tower-like structure at the top of the posteruption flare arcade, a feature that has been observed in other long-duration events. Despite the extensive work on the standard reconnection scenario, there is no complete agreement among models regarding the nature of this high-intensity elongated structure. Electron density maps reveal that reconnected loops that are successively connected at their tops to the tower develop a density asymmetry of about a factor of two between the two legs, giving the appearance of ''half-loops''. We calculate average temperatures with a new fast differential emission measure (DEM) method that uses SDO/AIA data and analyze the heating and cooling of salient features of the flare. Using STEREO observations, we show that the tower and the half-loop brightenings are not a line-of-sight projection effect of the type studied by Forbes and Acton. This conclusion opens the door for physics-based explanations of these puzzling, recurrent solar flare features, previously attributed to projection effects. We corroborate the results of our DEM analysis by comparing them with temperature analyses from Hinode/XRT.

  19. Nasal flaring as a clinical sign of respiratory acidosis in patients with dyspnea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zorrilla-Riveiro, José Gregorio; Arnau-Bartés, Anna; Rafat-Sellarés, Ramón; García-Pérez, Dolors; Mas-Serra, Arantxa; Fernández-Fernández, Rafael

    2017-04-01

    To determine whether the presence of nasal flaring is a clinical sign of respiratory acidosis in patients attending emergency departments for acute dyspnea. Single-center, prospective, observational study of patients aged over 15 requiring urgent attention for dyspnea, classified as level II or III according to the Andorran Triage Program and who underwent arterial blood gas test on arrival at the emergency department. The presence of nasal flaring was evaluated by two observers. Demographic and clinical variables, signs of respiratory difficulty, vital signs, arterial blood gases and clinical outcome (hospitalization and mortality) were recorded. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed using logistic regression models. The sample comprised 212 patients, mean age 78years (SD=12.8), of whom 49.5% were women. Acidosis was recorded in 21.2%. Factors significantly associated with the presence of acidosis in the bivariate analysis were the need for pre-hospital medical care, triage level II, signs of respiratory distress, presence of nasal flaring, poor oxygenation, hypercapnia, low bicarbonates and greater need for noninvasive ventilation. Nasal flaring had a positive likelihood ratio for acidosis of 4.6 (95% CI 2.9-7.4). In the multivariate analysis, triage level II (aOR 5.16; 95% CI: 1.91 to 13.98), the need for oxygen therapy (aOR 2.60; 95% CI: 1.13-5.96) and presence of nasal flaring (aOR 6.32; 95% CI: 2.78-14.41) were maintained as factors independently associated with acidosis. Nasal flaring is a clinical sign of severity in patients requiring urgent care for acute dyspnea, which has a strong association with acidosis and hypercapnia. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Energetic electron propagation in the decay phase of non-thermal flare emission

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huang, Jing; Yan, Yihua [Key Laboratory of Solar Activities, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100012 (China); Tsap, Yuri T., E-mail: huangj@nao.cas.cn [Crimean Astrophysical Observatory of Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University, 98409 Crimea, Nauchny (Ukraine)

    2014-06-01

    On the basis of the trap-plus-precipitation model, the peculiarities of non-thermal emission in the decay phase of solar flares have been considered. The calculation formulas for the escape rate of trapped electrons into the loss cone in terms of time profiles of hard X-ray (HXR) and microwave (MW) emission have been obtained. It has been found that the evolution of the spectral indices of non-thermal emission depend on the regimes of the pitch angle diffusion of trapped particles into the loss cone. The properties of non-thermal electrons related to the HXR and MW emission of the solar flare on 2004 November 3 are studied with Nobeyama Radioheliograph, Nobeyama Radio Polarimeters, RHESSI, and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite observations. The spectral indices of non-thermal electrons related to MW and HXR emission remained constant or decreased, while the MW escape rate as distinguished from that of the HXRs increased. This may be associated with different diffusion regimes of trapped electrons into the loss cone. New arguments in favor of an important role of the superstrong diffusion for high-energy electrons in flare coronal loops have been obtained.

  1. MAG4 versus alternative techniques for forecasting active region flare productivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Falconer, David A; Moore, Ronald L; Barghouty, Abdulnasser F; Khazanov, Igor

    2014-01-01

    MAG4 is a technique of forecasting an active region's rate of production of major flares in the coming few days from a free magnetic energy proxy. We present a statistical method of measuring the difference in performance between MAG4 and comparable alternative techniques that forecast an active region's major-flare productivity from alternative observed aspects of the active region. We demonstrate the method by measuring the difference in performance between the “Present MAG4” technique and each of three alternative techniques, called “McIntosh Active-Region Class,” “Total Magnetic Flux,” and “Next MAG4.” We do this by using (1) the MAG4 database of magnetograms and major flare histories of sunspot active regions, (2) the NOAA table of the major-flare productivity of each of 60 McIntosh active-region classes of sunspot active regions, and (3) five technique performance metrics (Heidke Skill Score, True Skill Score, Percent Correct, Probability of Detection, and False Alarm Rate) evaluated from 2000 random two-by-two contingency tables obtained from the databases. We find that (1) Present MAG4 far outperforms both McIntosh Active-Region Class and Total Magnetic Flux, (2) Next MAG4 significantly outperforms Present MAG4, (3) the performance of Next MAG4 is insensitive to the forward and backward temporal windows used, in the range of one to a few days, and (4) forecasting from the free-energy proxy in combination with either any broad category of McIntosh active-region classes or any Mount Wilson active-region class gives no significant performance improvement over forecasting from the free-energy proxy alone (Present MAG4). Key Points Quantitative comparison of performance of pairs of forecasting techniques Next MAG4 forecasts major flares more accurately than Present MAG4 Present MAG4 forecast outperforms McIntosh AR Class and total magnetic flux PMID:26213517

  2. Morphology and velocity field of the large flare on the solar disc on July 14, 1980

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xuan, J.; Li, Z.

    1982-01-01

    The active region morphology and the features of solar radio bursts and the sight-line velocity distribution of a flare of importance 3B on the solar disk (AR 2562) on July 14, 1980, are discussed. The preliminary analysis made here suggests that measurement of the velocity fields of active regions is important in treating flare mechanisms. It is noted that a few hours before the eruption of the flare, the penumbral fibers of the sunspots on the corresponding photospheric part under the flare rapidly attenuated. It is thought that the instability of the flare may derive from the rapid changes occurring in the magnetic boundary conditions of the photosphere. These in turn denote the rapid emergence, subsidence, or dissipation of the magnetic flux. The spectra of the active filament in the later period of the flare are seen as indicating that most of the ejection matter was rolling, in addition to ascending or descending

  3. A study of flare-ups following single-visit root canal treatment in endodontic patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalhoro, Feroze Ali; Mirza, Assad Javed

    2009-07-01

    To determine the frequency of flare-ups in single-visit endodontic treatment and the associated factors. Observational. Baqai Dental College Hospital, Karachi, from November 2005 to May 2006. One hundred patients were assigned for single-visit root canal treatment. Patients that defaulted after the first appointment (incomplete treatment) were excluded from the study. For each tooth treated, the clinical factors and conditions existing before and after the completion of treatment were recorded. This data included patient's age, gender, type of tooth, pre-operative status of pulp and periapical tissues and recording pain and swelling (flare-ups) postoperatively after 1 day, 7 days and 1 month. The significance of results was obtained by applying paired-sample t-test and Pearson X2 test. Three of one hundred cases showed flare-ups after treated in single appointment. On the other hand, a marked number (n=97) of cases did not show flare-ups during the study period. None of the studied variables showed any statistically significant bearing on rate of flare-ups in single appointment root canal treatment. The single-visit root canal treatment was safe in terms of endodontic flare-ups as far as results of this study are concerned. It was safer in both vital and non-vital teeth, and even in teeth with periapical pathosis.

  4. Statistical properties of solar flares and coronal mass ejections through the solar cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Telloni, Daniele; Antonucci, Ester; Carbone, Vincenzo; Lepreti, Fabio

    2016-01-01

    Waiting Time Distributions (WTDs) of solar flares are investigated all through the solar cycle. The same approach applied to Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) in a previous work is considered here for flare occurrence. Our analysis reveals that flares and CMEs share some common statistical properties, which result dependent on the level of solar activity. Both flares and CMEs seem to independently occur during minimum solar activity phases, whilst their WTDs significantly deviate from a Poisson function at solar maximum, thus suggesting that these events are correlated. The characteristics of WTDs are constrained by the physical processes generating those eruptions associated with flares and CMEs. A scenario may be drawn in which different mechanisms are actively at work during different phases of the solar cycle. Stochastic processes, most likely related to random magnetic reconnections of the field lines, seem to play a key role during solar minimum periods. On the other hand, persistent processes, like sympathetic eruptions associated to the variability of the photospheric magnetism, are suggested to dominate during periods of high solar activity. Moreover, despite the similar statistical properties shown by flares and CMEs, as it was mentioned above, their WTDs appear different in some aspects. During solar minimum periods, the flare occurrence randomness seems to be more evident than for CMEs. Those persistent mechanisms generating interdependent events during maximum periods of solar activity can be suggested to play a more important role for CMEs than for flares, thus mitigating the competitive action of the random processes, which seem instead strong enough to weaken the correlations among flare event occurrence during solar minimum periods. However, it cannot be excluded that the physical processes at the basis of the origin of the temporal correlation between solar events are different for flares and CMEs, or that, more likely, more sophisticated effects are

  5. Long-term hemispheric variation of the flare index

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feng Song; Deng Lin-Hua; Xu Shi-Chun

    2013-01-01

    The long-term hemispheric variation of the flare index is investigated. It is found that, (1) the phase difference of the flare index between the northern and southern hemispheres is about 6–7 months, which is near the time delay between flare activity and sunspot activity; (2) both the dominant and phase-leading hemisphere of the flare index is the northern hemisphere in the considered time interval, implying that the hemispheric asynchrony of solar activity has a close connection with the N-S asymmetry of solar activity. (research papers)

  6. M Dwarf Flare Continuum Variations on One-second Timescales: Calibrating and Modeling of ULTRACAM Flare Color Indices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kowalski, Adam F.; Mathioudakis, Mihalis; Hawley, Suzanne L.; Wisniewski, John P.; Dhillon, Vik S.; Marsh, Tom R.; Hilton, Eric J.; Brown, Benjamin P.

    2016-04-01

    We present a large data set of high-cadence dMe flare light curves obtained with custom continuum filters on the triple-beam, high-speed camera system ULTRACAM. The measurements provide constraints for models of the near-ultraviolet (NUV) and optical continuum spectral evolution on timescales of ≈1 s. We provide a robust interpretation of the flare emission in the ULTRACAM filters using simultaneously obtained low-resolution spectra during two moderate-sized flares in the dM4.5e star YZ CMi. By avoiding the spectral complexity within the broadband Johnson filters, the ULTRACAM filters are shown to characterize bona fide continuum emission in the NUV, blue, and red wavelength regimes. The NUV/blue flux ratio in flares is equivalent to a Balmer jump ratio, and the blue/red flux ratio provides an estimate for the color temperature of the optical continuum emission. We present a new “color-color” relationship for these continuum flux ratios at the peaks of the flares. Using the RADYN and RH codes, we interpret the ULTRACAM filter emission using the dominant emission processes from a radiative-hydrodynamic flare model with a high nonthermal electron beam flux, which explains a hot, T ≈ 104 K, color temperature at blue-to-red optical wavelengths and a small Balmer jump ratio as observed in moderate-sized and large flares alike. We also discuss the high time resolution, high signal-to-noise continuum color variations observed in YZ CMi during a giant flare, which increased the NUV flux from this star by over a factor of 100. Based on observations obtained with the Apache Point Observatory 3.5 m telescope, which is owned and operated by the Astrophysical Research Consortium, based on observations made with the William Herschel Telescope operated on the island of La Palma by the Isaac Newton Group in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofsica de Canarias, and observations, and based on observations made with the ESO Telescopes

  7. Solar Flare Aimed at Earth

    Science.gov (United States)

    2002-01-01

    At the height of the solar cycle, the Sun is finally displaying some fireworks. This image from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) shows a large solar flare from June 6, 2000 at 1424 Universal Time (10:24 AM Eastern Daylight Savings Time). Associated with the flare was a coronal mass ejection that sent a wave of fast moving charged particles straight towards Earth. (The image was acquired by the Extreme ultaviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT), one of 12 instruments aboard SOHO) Solar activity affects the Earth in several ways. The particles generated by flares can disrupt satellite communications and interfere with power transmission on the Earth's surface. Earth's climate is tied to the total energy emitted by the sun, cooling when the sun radiates less energy and warming when solar output increases. Solar radiation also produces ozone in the stratosphere, so total ozone levels tend to increase during the solar maximum. For more information about these solar flares and the SOHO mission, see NASA Science News or the SOHO home page. For more about the links between the sun and climate change, see Sunspots and the Solar Max. Image courtesy SOHO Extreme ultaviolet Imaging Telescope, ESA/NASA

  8. Radio-flaring Ultracool Dwarf Population Synthesis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Route, Matthew, E-mail: mroute@purdue.edu [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, the Pennsylvania State University, 525 Davey Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802 (United States)

    2017-08-10

    Over a dozen ultracool dwarfs (UCDs), low-mass objects of spectral types ≥M7, are known to be sources of radio flares. These typically several-minutes-long radio bursts can be up to 100% circularly polarized and have high brightness temperatures, consistent with coherent emission via the electron cyclotron maser operating in approximately kilogauss magnetic fields. Recently, the statistical properties of the bulk physical parameters that describe these UCDs have become described adequately enough to permit synthesis of the population of radio-flaring objects. For the first time, I construct a Monte Carlo simulator to model the population of these radio-flaring UCDs. This simulator is powered by Intel Secure Key (ISK), a new processor technology that uses a local entropy source to improve random number generation that has heretofore been used to improve cryptography. The results from this simulator indicate that only ∼5% of radio-flaring UCDs within the local interstellar neighborhood (<25 pc away) have been discovered. I discuss a number of scenarios that may explain this radio-flaring fraction and suggest that the observed behavior is likely a result of several factors. The performance of ISK as compared to other pseudorandom number generators is also evaluated, and its potential utility for other astrophysical codes is briefly described.

  9. Well-observed dynamics of flaring and peripheral coronal magnetic loops during an M-class limb flare

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shen, Jinhua; Zhou, Tuanhui; Ji, Haisheng; Feng, Li; Wiegelmann, Thomas; Inhester, Bernd

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, we present a variety of well-observed dynamic behaviors for the flaring and peripheral magnetic loops of the M6.6 class extreme limb flare that occurred on 2011 February 24 (SOL2011-02-24T07:20) from EUV observations by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on the Solar Dynamics Observatory and X-ray observations by RHESSI. The flaring loop motion confirms the earlier contraction-expansion picture. We find that the U-shaped trajectory delineated by the X-ray corona source of the flare roughly follows the direction of a filament eruption associated with the flare. Different temperature structures of the coronal source during the contraction and expansion phases strongly suggest different kinds of magnetic reconnection processes. For some peripheral loops, we discover that their dynamics are closely correlated with the filament eruption. During the slow rising to abrupt, fast rising of the filament, overlying peripheral magnetic loops display different responses. Two magnetic loops on the elbow of the active region had a slow descending motion followed by an abrupt successive fast contraction, while magnetic loops on the top of the filament were pushed outward, slowly being inflated for a while and then erupting as a moving front. We show that the filament activation and eruption play a dominant role in determining the dynamics of the overlying peripheral coronal magnetic loops.

  10. Instant CloudFlare starter

    CERN Document Server

    Dickey, Jeff

    2013-01-01

    Get to grips with a new technology, understand what it is and what it can do for you, and then get to work with the most important features and tasks. Written as a practical guide, CloudFlare Starter will show you all you need to know in order to effectively improve your online presence in a multitude of different ways. ""Instant CloudFlare Starter"" is a practical yet accessible guide for website owners looking to optimize their site for optimum security and maximum performance.

  11. Flare-related color effects in UV Ceti stars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Flesch, T.R.

    1975-01-01

    The UV Ceti flare stars YZ CMi, BD+16 0 2708, EV Lac, and AD Leo were monitored photoelectrically for flare activity with the 76 centimeter reflecting telescope of the University of Florida's Rosemary Hill Observatory. Observations were carried out from January, 1973 to April, 1975. The instrumentation allowed simultaneous readings to be taken at 3500, 4632, and 6496A with a time resolution of 2 seconds. A total of 15 major events were observed, with 14 of these being observed in all three colors. All events showed the classical fast rise and slower decline that is typical of this type of activity. One event showed peculiar behavior in the red bandpass that may indicate strong dependence of the flare light in some cases on line emission. The data were applied to the fast electron model of flare activity proposed by Gurzadyan. Several serious inconsistencies in the theory were found that would not have been evident in single-channel monitoring. No event could be fitted in all three colors using consistent values of the unknown parameters in the theory. The most serious deficiencies in the theory were the wavelength dependence of the optical depth of the electron cloud and the lack of treatment of line emission behavior. Differential color indices for flare light are calculated and are shown to be essentially constant throughout the entire event for the stronger flares. A color-color plot of the flare light at maximum reveals that 11 of the flares show a linear relation. This relation indicates that the smaller the u-b index, the larger is the b-r index. This is probably directly involved with line emission during flare events. Future research possibilities are discussed, with spectroscopic studies and simultaneous multicolor observations being stressed

  12. Interacting CMEs and their associated flare and SEP activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shanmugaraju, A.; Prasanna Subramanian, S.

    2014-08-01

    We have analyzed a set of 25 interacting events which are associated with the DH type II bursts. These events are selected from the Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) observed during the period 1997-2010 in SOHO/LASCO and DH type IIs observed in Wind/WAVES. Their pre and primary CMEs from nearby active regions are identified using SOHO/LASCO and EIT images and their height-time diagrams. Their interacting time and height are obtained, and their associated activities, such as, flares and Solar Energetic Particles (>10 pfu) are also investigated. Results from the analysis are: primary CMEs are much faster than the pre-CMEs, their X-ray flares are also stronger (X- and M-class) compared to the flares (C- and M-class) of pre-CMEs. Most of the events (22/25) occurred during the period 2000-2006. From the observed width and speed of pre and primary CMEs, it is found that the pre-CMEs are found to be less energetic than the primary CMEs. While the primary CMEs are tracked up to the end of LASCO field of view (30 Rs), most of the pre-CMEs can be tracked up to <26 Rs. The SEP intensity is found to be related with the integrated flux of X-ray flares associated with the primary CMEs for nine events originating from the western region.

  13. M DWARF FLARES FROM TIME-RESOLVED SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY SPECTRA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hilton, Eric J.; Hawley, Suzanne L.; Kowalski, Adam F.; West, Andrew A.

    2010-01-01

    We have identified 63 flares on M dwarfs from the individual component spectra in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) using a novel measurement of emission-line strength called the Flare Line Index. Each of the ∼38,000 M dwarfs in the SDSS low-mass star spectroscopic sample of West et al. was observed several times (usually 3-5) in exposures that were typically 9-25 minutes in duration. Our criteria allowed us to identify flares that exhibit very strong Hα and Hβ emission-line strength and/or significant variability in those lines throughout the course of the exposures. The flares we identified have characteristics consistent with flares observed by classical spectroscopic monitoring. The flare duty cycle for the objects in our sample is found to increase from 0.02% for early M dwarfs to 3% for late M dwarfs. We find that the flare duty cycle is larger in the population near the Galactic plane and that the flare stars are more spatially restricted than the magnetically active but non-flaring stars. This suggests that flare frequency may be related to stellar age (younger stars are more likely to flare) and that the flare stars are younger than the mean active population.

  14. Narrow-band radio flares from red dwarf stars

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    White, S.M.; Kundu, M.R.; Jackson, P.D.

    1986-12-01

    VLA observations of narrow-band behavior in 20 cm flares from two red dwarf stars, L726 - 8A and AD Leo, are reported. The flare on L726 - 8A was observed at 1415 and 1515 MHz; the flux and the evolution differed significantly at the two frequencies. The flare on AD Leo lasted for 2 hr at 1415 MHz but did not appear at 1515 MHz. The AD Leo flare appears to rule out a source drifting through the stellar corona and is unlikely to be due to plasma emission. In the cyclotron maser model the narrow-band behavior reflects the range of magnetic fields present within the source. The apparent constancy of this field for 2 hr is difficult to understand if magnetic reconnection is the source of energy for the flare. The consistent polarization exhibited by red dwarf flares at 20 cm may be related to stellar activity cycles, and changes in this polarization will permit measuring the length of these cycles. 22 references.

  15. Endodontic cellulitis 'flare-up'. Case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matusow, R J

    1995-02-01

    Endodontic cellulitis involves facial swelling which can vary from mild to severe and can occur as a primary case or a flare-up following initial treatment of asymptomatic teeth with periapical lesions. The microbial spectrum in primary cases involves a significant mixture of anaerobic and facultative aerobic microbes, chiefly streptococci. In a previous study, cultures from flare-up cases, utilizing the same anaerobic techniques as in primary cases, revealed an absence of obligate anaerobes and an 80 per cent incidence of facultative aerobic streptococci. These cases also revealed a significant time lapse from onset of symptoms to the cellulitis phase. No sex or age factors were noted in the primary or flare-up cases. The purpose of this case report is to restate a traditional theory, namely, the alteration of the oxidation/reduction potential (Eh), as a major factor for endodontic cellulitis flare-ups; to confirm the pathogenic potential of oral facultative streptococci; and that asymptomatic endodontic lesions tend to exist with mixed aerobic/anaerobic microbial flora.

  16. ABRUPT LONGITUDINAL MAGNETIC FIELD CHANGES IN FLARING ACTIVE REGIONS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petrie, G. J. D.; Sudol, J. J.

    2010-01-01

    We characterize the changes in the longitudinal photospheric magnetic field during 38 X-class and 39 M-class flares within 65 0 of disk center using 1 minute GONG magnetograms. In all 77 cases, we identify at least one site in the flaring active region where clear, permanent, stepwise field changes occurred. The median duration of the field changes was about 15 minutes and was approximately equal for X-class and for M-class flares. The absolute values of the field changes ranged from the detection limit of ∼10 G to as high as ∼450 G in two exceptional cases. The median value was 69 G. Field changes were significantly stronger for X-class than for M-class flares and for limb flares than for disk-center flares. Longitudinal field changes less than 100 G tended to decrease longitudinal field strengths, both close to disk center and close to the limb, while field changes greater than 100 G showed no such pattern. Likewise, longitudinal flux strengths tended to decrease during flares. Flux changes, particularly net flux changes near disk center, correlated better than local field changes with GOES peak X-ray flux. The strongest longitudinal field and flux changes occurred in flares observed close to the limb. We estimate the change of Lorentz force associated with each flare and find that this is large enough in some cases to power seismic waves. We find that longitudinal field decreases would likely outnumber increases at all parts of the solar disk within 65 0 of disk center, as in our observations, if photospheric field tilts increase during flares as predicted by Hudson et al.

  17. Distribution function of frequency of stellar flares in the Orion association

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parsamyan, Eh.S.

    1980-01-01

    Using the chronology of discoveries of new flares and the chronology of confirmation i.e. the time distribution of second flares (Ambartsumian's method), the distribution function of frequency of flares on stars in the Orion association is obtained. A number of stars having different frequencies is also found. It is shown that flare stars with high flare frequency (ν -1 13sup(m). The quantities of flare stars in aggregates determined by two independent methods show that the number of flare stars in Orion association is about 1.5 times greater than in the Pleiades cluster [ru

  18. Solar flare X-radiation and energetic particles by the observation data from the Venera-13,14 space probes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Belyakov, S.A.; Dajbog, E.I.; D'yachkov, A.P.

    1984-01-01

    The relationship between bursts of solar hard X-radiation quanta (Esub(x) > 0.055 MeV) and flares of solar cosmic rays (SCR) was considered on the basis of the data from the Venera-13, 14 space probes. The data on solar flares in Hsub(α) and thermal X-radiation range as well as radio-frequency radiation of the 3d type were used for analysis. It was established that the intensity amplitude of flare electrons (Esub(e) > 0.025 and > 0.07 MeV) and protons (Esub(p) > 1.0 MeV) correlates best with the flare importance in the thermal X-radiation range (r approximately 0.8+-0.03). The use of flare importance in thermal X-radiation range was independent measure of flare power in which SCR particles were generated enabled to construct heliolongitudinal dependences of the flare electron fluxes and to obtain the idea of the heliolongitudinal flare interval in which the effects of coronal propagation could be ignored. It is shown that the flux of the flare nonrelativistic electrons is related with the total energy release in the burst of hard X-radiation better than with the amplitude of this burst. Distributions of the solar events were studied with respect to the amplitudes of the intensity of electrons of SCR, thermal and hard X-radiation. It is shown that in the most part of the varying amplitude ranqe the distribution functions are approximated according to the power law. It is shown that the distribution function factor depends both on the parameter used for its construction and the type of events being used for analysis

  19. Psychophysics, flare, and neurosecretory function in human pain models: capsaicin versus electrically evoked pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geber, Christian; Fondel, Ricarda; Krämer, Heidrun H; Rolke, Roman; Treede, Rolfe-Detlef; Sommer, Claudia; Birklein, Frank

    2007-06-01

    Intradermal capsaicin injection (CAP) and electrical current stimulation (ES) are analyzed in respect to patterns and test-retest reliability of pain as well as sensory and neurosecretory changes. In 10 healthy subjects, 2x CAP (50 microg) and 2x ES (5 to 30 mA) were applied to the volar forearm. The time period between 2 identical stimulations was about 4 months. Pain ratings, areas of mechanical hyperalgesia, and allodynia were assessed. The intensity of sensory changes was quantified by using quantitative sensory testing. Neurogenic flare was assessed by using laser Doppler imaging. Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) release was quantified by dermal microdialysis in combination with an enzyme immunoassay. Time course and peak pain ratings were different between CAP and ES. Test-retest correlation was high (r > or = 0.73). Both models induced primary heat hyperalgesia and primary plus secondary pin-prick hyperalgesia. Allodynia occurred in about half of the subjects. Maximum flare sizes did not differ between CAP and ES, but flare intensities were higher for ES. Test-retest correlation was higher for flare sizes than for flare intensity. A significant CGRP release could only be measured after CAP. The different time courses of pain stimulation (CAP: rapidly decaying pain versus ES: pain plateau) led to different peripheral neurosecretory effects but induced similar central plasticity and hyperalgesia. The present study gives a detailed overview of psychophysical and neurosecretory characteristics induced by noxious stimulation with capsaicin and electrical current. We describe differences, similarities, and reproducibility of these human pain models. These data might help to interpret past and future results of human pain studies using experimental pain.

  20. Extreme Radio Flares and Associated X-Ray Variability from Young Stellar Objects in the Orion Nebula Cluster

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Forbrich, Jan [Centre for Astrophysics Research, School of Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hatfield AL10 9AB (United Kingdom); Reid, Mark J.; Wolk, Scott J. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge MA 02138 (United States); Menten, Karl M. [Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn (Germany); Rivilla, Victor M. [Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo Enrico Fermi 5, I-50125, Firenze (Italy); Rau, Urvashi; Chandler, Claire J. [National Radio Astronomy Observatory, P.O. Box O, Socorro, NM 87801 (United States)

    2017-08-01

    Young stellar objects are known to exhibit strong radio variability on timescales of weeks to months, and a few reports have documented extreme radio flares with at least an order of magnitude change in flux density on timescales of hours to days. However, there have been few constraints on the occurrence rate of such radio flares or on the correlation with pre-main sequence X-ray flares, although such correlations are known for the Sun and nearby active stars. Here we report simultaneous deep VLA radio and Chandra X-ray observations of the Orion Nebula Cluster, targeting hundreds of sources to look for the occurrence rate of extreme radio variability and potential correlation with the most extreme X-ray variability. We identify 13 radio sources with extreme radio variability, with some showing an order of magnitude change in flux density in less than 30 minutes. All of these sources show X-ray emission and variability, but we find clear correlations with extreme radio flaring only on timescales <1 hr. Strong X-ray variability does not predict the extreme radio sources and vice versa. Radio flares thus provide us with a new perspective on high-energy processes in YSOs and the irradiation of their protoplanetary disks. Finally, our results highlight implications for interferometric imaging of sources violating the constant-sky assumption.

  1. Flare Prediction Using Photospheric and Coronal Image Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jonas, E.; Shankar, V.; Bobra, M.; Recht, B.

    2016-12-01

    We attempt to forecast M-and X-class solar flares using a machine-learning algorithm and five years of image data from both the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) and Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) instruments aboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory. HMI is the first instrument to continuously map the full-disk photospheric vector magnetic field from space (Schou et al., 2012). The AIA instrument maps the transition region and corona using various ultraviolet wavelengths (Lemen et al., 2012). HMI and AIA data are taken nearly simultaneously, providing an opportunity to study the entire solar atmosphere at a rapid cadence. Most flare forecasting efforts described in the literature use some parameterization of solar data - typically of the photospheric magnetic field within active regions. These numbers are considered to capture the information in any given image relevant to predicting solar flares. In our approach, we use HMI and AIA images of solar active regions and a deep convolutional kernel network to predict solar flares. This is effectively a series of shallow-but-wide random convolutional neural networks stacked and then trained with a large-scale block-weighted least squares solver. This algorithm automatically determines which patterns in the image data are most correlated with flaring activity and then uses these patterns to predict solar flares. Using the recently-developed KeystoneML machine learning framework, we construct a pipeline to process millions of images in a few hours on commodity cloud computing infrastructure. This is the first time vector magnetic field images have been combined with coronal imagery to forecast solar flares. This is also the first time such a large dataset of solar images, some 8.5 terabytes of images that together capture over 3000 active regions, has been used to forecast solar flares. We evaluate our method using various flare prediction windows defined in the literature (e.g. Ahmed et al., 2013) and a novel per

  2. Imaging Observations of Magnetic Reconnection in a Solar Eruptive Flare

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Y.; Ding, M. D.; Sun, X.; Qiu, J.; Priest, E. R.

    2017-01-01

    Solar flares are among the most energetic events in the solar atmosphere. It is widely accepted that flares are powered by magnetic reconnection in the corona. An eruptive flare is usually accompanied by a coronal mass ejection, both of which are probably driven by the eruption of a magnetic flux rope (MFR). Here we report an eruptive flare on 2016 March 23 observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory . The extreme-ultraviolet imaging observations exhibit the clear rise and eruption of an MFR. In particular, the observations reveal solid evidence of magnetic reconnection from both the corona and chromosphere during the flare. Moreover, weak reconnection is observed before the start of the flare. We find that the preflare weak reconnection is of tether-cutting type and helps the MFR to rise slowly. Induced by a further rise of the MFR, strong reconnection occurs in the rise phases of the flare, which is temporally related to the MFR eruption. We also find that the magnetic reconnection is more of 3D-type in the early phase, as manifested in a strong-to-weak shear transition in flare loops, and becomes more 2D-like in the later phase, as shown by the apparent rising motion of an arcade of flare loops.

  3. Imaging Observations of Magnetic Reconnection in a Solar Eruptive Flare

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Y.; Ding, M. D. [School of Astronomy and Space Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023 (China); Sun, X. [W. W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States); Qiu, J. [Department of Physics, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717 (United States); Priest, E. R., E-mail: yingli@nju.edu.cn [School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews, Fife KY16 9SS, Scotland (United Kingdom)

    2017-02-01

    Solar flares are among the most energetic events in the solar atmosphere. It is widely accepted that flares are powered by magnetic reconnection in the corona. An eruptive flare is usually accompanied by a coronal mass ejection, both of which are probably driven by the eruption of a magnetic flux rope (MFR). Here we report an eruptive flare on 2016 March 23 observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory . The extreme-ultraviolet imaging observations exhibit the clear rise and eruption of an MFR. In particular, the observations reveal solid evidence of magnetic reconnection from both the corona and chromosphere during the flare. Moreover, weak reconnection is observed before the start of the flare. We find that the preflare weak reconnection is of tether-cutting type and helps the MFR to rise slowly. Induced by a further rise of the MFR, strong reconnection occurs in the rise phases of the flare, which is temporally related to the MFR eruption. We also find that the magnetic reconnection is more of 3D-type in the early phase, as manifested in a strong-to-weak shear transition in flare loops, and becomes more 2D-like in the later phase, as shown by the apparent rising motion of an arcade of flare loops.

  4. X-ray Emission Characteristics of Flares Associated with CMEs ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    tics of solar flares and their relationship with the dynamics of CMEs have ... lation between X-ray peak intensity of the flares with linear speed as well ... shear angle (θ1, measured at the flare onset), the final shear angle (θ2, measured at the.

  5. X-ray Emission from Solar Flares

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    2016-01-27

    Jan 27, 2016 ... Solar flares; X-ray detectors; X-ray line emission and continuum; break energy; microflares. Abstract. Solar X-ray Spectrometer (SOXS), the first space-borne solar astronomy experiment of India was designed to improve our current understanding of X-ray emission from the Sun in general and solar flares in ...

  6. Multiwavelength Analysis of the Impact Polarization of 2001 June 15 Solar Flare

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Xu, Z.; Hénoux, J.C.; Chambe, G.; Karlický, Marian; Fang, C.

    2005-01-01

    Roč. 631, č. 1 (2005), s. 618-627 ISSN 0004-637X Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z1003909 Keywords : Sun * polarization * flares Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics Impact factor: 6.308, year: 2005

  7. Features of Microwave Radiation and Magnetographic Characteristics of Solar Active Region NOAA 12242 Before the X1.8 Flare on December 20, 2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abramov-Maximov, V. E.; Borovik, V. N.; Opeikina, L. V.; Tlatov, A. G.; Yasnov, L. V.

    2017-12-01

    This paper continues the cycle of authors' works on the detection of precursors of large flares (M5 and higher classes) in active regions (ARs) of the Sun by their microwave radiation and magnetographic characteristics. Generalization of the detected precursors of strong flares can be used to develop methods for their prediction. This paper presents an analysis of the development of NOAA AR 12242, in which an X1.8 flare occurred on December 20, 2014. The analysis is based on regular multiazimuth and multiwavelength observations with the RATAN-600 radio telescope in the range 1.65-10 cm with intensity and circular polarization analysis and data from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). It was found that a new component appeared in the AR microwave radiation two days before the X-flare. It became dominant in the AR the day before the flare and significantly decreased after the flare. The use of multiazimuth observations from RATAN-600 and observations at 1.76 cm from the Nobeyama Radioheliograph made it possible to identify the radio source that appeared before the X-flare with the site of the closest convergence of opposite polarity fields near the neutral line in the AR. It was established that the X-flare occurred 20 h after the total gradient of the magnetic field of the entire region calculated from SDO/HMI data reached its maximum value. Analysis of the evolution of the microwave source that appeared before the X-flare in AR 12242 and comparison of its parameters with the parameters of other components of the AR microwave radiation showed that the new source can be classified as neutral line associated sources (NLSs), which were repeatedly detected by the RATAN-600 and other radio telescopes 1-3 days before the large flares.

  8. Flare Energy Release: Internal Conflict, Contradiction with High Resolution Observations, Possible Solutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pustilnik, L.

    2017-06-01

    All accepted paradigm of solar and stellar flares energy release based on 2 whales: 1. Source of energy is free energy of non-potential force free magnetic field in atmosphere above active region; 2. Process of ultrafast dissipation of magnetic fields is Reconnection in Thin Turbulent Current Sheet (RTTCS). Progress in observational techniques in last years provided ultra-high spatial resolution and in physics of turbulent plasma showed that real situation is much more complicated and standard approach is in contradiction both with observations and with problem of RTTCS stability. We present critical analysis of classic models of pre-flare energy accumulation and its dissipation during flare energy release from pioneer works Giovanelli (1939, 1947) up to topological reconnection. We show that all accepted description of global force-free fields as source of future flare cannot be agreed with discovered in last years fine and ultra-fine current-magnetic structure included numerouse arcs-threads with diameters up to 100 km with constant sequence from photosphere to corona. This magnetic skeleton of thin current magnetic threads with strong interaction between them is main source of reserved magnetic energy insolar atmosphere. Its dynamics will be controlled by percolation of magnetic stresses through network of current-magnetic threads with transition to flare state caused by critical value of global current. We show that thin turbulent current sheet is absolutely unstable configuration both caused by splitting to numerous linear currents by dissipative modes like to tearing, and as sequence of suppress of plasma turbulence caused by anomalous heating of turbulent plasma. In result of these factors primary RTTCS will be disrupted in numerous turbulent and normal plasma domains like to resistors network. Current propagation through this network will have percolation character with all accompanied properties of percolated systems: self-organization with formation power

  9. Cold and hot model investigation of flow and mixing in a multi-jet flare

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pagot, P.R. [Petrobras Petroleo Brasileiro S.A., Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); Sobiesiak, A. [Windsor Univ., ON (Canada); Grandmaison, E.W. [Queen' s Univ., Kingston, ON (Canada). Centre for Advanced Gas Combustion Technology

    2003-07-01

    The oil and gas industry commonly disposes of hydrocarbon wastes by flaring. This study simulated several features of industrial offshore flares in a multi-jet burner. Cold and hot flow experiments were performed. Twenty-four nozzles mounted on radial arms originating from a central fuel plenum were used in the burner design. In an effort to improve the mixing and radiation characteristics of this type of burner, an examination of the effect of various mixing-altering devices on the nozzle exit ports was performed. Flow visualization studies of the cold and hot flow systems were presented, along with details concerning temperature, gas composition and radiation levels from the burner models. The complex flow pattern resulting when multiple jets are injected into a cross flow stream were demonstrated with the flow visualization studies from the cold model. The trajectory followed by the leading edge jet for the reference case and the ring attachments was higher but similar to the simple round jet in a cross flow. The precessing jets and the cone attachments were more strongly deflected by the cross flow with a higher degree of mixing between the jets in the nozzle region. For different firing rates, flow visualization, gas temperature, gas composition and radiative heat flux measurements were performed in the hot model studies. Flame trajectories, projected side view areas and volumes increased with firing rates for all nozzle configurations and the ring attachment flare had the smallest flame volume. The gas temperatures reached maximum values at close to 30 per cent of the flame length and the lowest gas temperature was observed for the flare model with precessing jets. For the reference case nozzle, nitrogen oxide (NOx) concentrations were in the 30 to 45 parts per million (ppm) range. The precessing jet model yielded NOx concentrations in the 22 to 24 ppm range, the lowest obtained. There was a linear dependence between the radiative heat flux from the flames

  10. Mitigation options : flare and vent mitigation undercuts CCS in trimming CO{sub 2} emissions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Smith, M.

    2010-11-15

    This article reported on a study aimed at reducing flaring and venting associated with conventional heavy oil production. In particular, the study analyzed parameters such as the variability in flare volumes, flare gas composition and statistical distribution of volumes flared. The objective was to determine the most viable economic solution to reducing flare and vent volumes. In particular, the study focused on various scenarios to tie-in currently flared and vented solution gas. Solution gas volume variability was found to be wide ranging, with 90 percent of sites handling less than 32 percent of the volume and 10 percent of the sites handling more than two-thirds of the volume. Composition also varied, and was difficult to measure. One scenario assumed that wells were unconnected and had to be tied in with their own compressors and pipe, while another scenario considered the wells to be individual wells. A first comprehensive analysis of flare and vent mitigation opportunities in Alberta revealed that tying in solution gas at battery sites could create emissions reductions at much lower cost than the province's carbon capture and storage (CCS) plan. The study of mitigation options primarily targeted the conventional heavy oil belt of eastern Alberta near Lloydminster. The most optimistic scenario included a $15 per tonne carbon credit, that up to 55 megatonnes could be trimmed over 10 years at no cost to the industry.1 fig.

  11. What is the Relationship Between the Properties of Photospheric Flows and Flares?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welsch, Brian; Li, Y.; Schuck, P. W.; Fisher, G. H.

    2009-05-01

    We estimated photospheric velocities by separately applying the Fourier Local Correlation Tracking (FLCT) and Differential Affine Velocity Estimator (DAVE) methods to 2708 co-registered pairs of SOHO/MDI magnetograms, with nominal 96-minute cadence, from 46 active regions (ARs) from 1996-1998 over the time interval κ45 when each AR was within 45° of disk center. For each magnetogram pair, we computed the average estimated radial magnetic field, BR and each tracking method produced an independently estimated flow field, u. We then quantitatively characterized these magnetic and flow fields by computing several extrinsic and intrinsic properties of each; extrinsic properties scale with AR size, while intrinsic properties do not depend directly on AR size. Intrinsic flow properties included moments of speeds, horizontal divergences, and radial curls; extrinsic flow properties included included sums of these properties, and a crude proxy for the ideal Poynting flux, ∑ |u| BR2. Several quantities derived from BR were also computed, including: total unsigned flux, Φ a measure of the amount of unsigned flux near strong-field polarity inversion lines (SPILs), R and ∑ BR2. Next, using correlation and discriminant analysis, we investigated the associations between derived properties and average flare flux determined from the GOES flare catalog, when averaged over both κ45 and shorter time windows, of 6 and 24 hours. Our AR sample included both flaring and flare-quiet ARs; the latter did not flare above GOES C1.0 level during κ45. Among magnetic properties, we found R to be most strongly associated with flare flux. Among extrinsic flow properties, the proxy Poynting flux, ∑ |u| BR2, was most strongly associated with flux, at a level comparable to that of R. All intrinsic flow properties studied were more poorly associated with flare flux than these magnetic properties.

  12. XSST/TRC rocket observations of July 13, 1982 flare. [X-ray Spectrometer, Spectrograph and Telescope/Transition Region Camera

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foing, Bernard H.; Bonnet, Roger M.; Dame, Luc; Bruner, Marilyn; Acton, Loren W.

    1986-01-01

    The present analysis of UV filtergrams of the July 13, 1982 solar flare obtained by the XSST/TRC rocket experiments has used calibrated intensities of the flare components to directly estimate the Lyman-alpha line flux, C IV line flux, and excess 160-nm continuum temperature brighness over the underlying plage. The values obtained are small by comparison with other observed or calculated equivalent quantities from the Machado (1980) model of flare F1. The corresponding power required to heat up to the temperature minimum over the 1200 sq Mm area is found to be 3.6 x 10 to the 25th erg/sec for this small X-ray C6 flare, 7 min after the ground-based observed flare maximum.

  13. THE FLARE-ONA OF EK DRACONIS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ayres, Thomas R.

    2015-01-01

    EK Draconis (HD 129333: G1.5 V) is a well-known young (50 Myr) solar analog. In 2012, Hubble Space Telescope returned to EK Dra to follow up a far-ultraviolet (FUV) SNAPshot visit by Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) two years earlier. The brief SNAP pointing had found surprisingly redshifted, impulsively variable subcoronal “hot-line” emission of Si iv 1400 Å (T ∼ 8 × 10 4 K). Serendipitously, the 2012 follow-on program witnessed one of the largest FUV flares ever recorded on a sunlike star, which again displayed strong redshifts (downflows) of 30–40 km s −1 , even after compensating for small systematics in the COS velocity scales, uncovered through a cross-calibration by Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS). The (now reduced, but still substantial) ∼10 km s −1 hot-line redshifts outside the flaring interval did not vary with rotational phase, so cannot be caused by “Doppler imaging” (bright surface patches near a receding limb). Density diagnostic O iv] 1400 Å multiplet line ratios of EK Dra suggest n e ∼ 10 11 cm −3 , an order of magnitude larger than in low-activity solar twin α Centauri A, but typical of densities inferred in large stellar soft X-ray events. The self-similar FUV hot-line profiles between the flare decay and the subsequent more quiet periods, and the unchanging but high densities, reinforce a long-standing idea that the coronae of hyperactive dwarfs are flaring all the time, in a scale-free way; a flare-ona if you will. In this picture, the subsonic hot-line downflows probably are a byproduct of the post-flare cooling process, something like “coronal rain” on the Sun. All in all, the new STIS/COS program documents a complex, energetic, dynamic outer atmosphere of the young sunlike star

  14. 40 CFR 63.987 - Flare requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... specified in paragraphs (b)(3)(i) through (iv) of this section. (i) Method 22 of appendix A of part 60 shall...) cross sectional area of the flare tip. (iv) Flare flame or pilot monitors, as applicable, shall be..., ultra-violet beam sensor, or infrared sensor) capable of continuously detecting that at least one pilot...

  15. University of Alberta Flare Research Project : interim report November 1996-Jun 2000

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kostiuk, L.; Johnson, M.

    2000-01-01

    The Flare Research Project at the University of Alberta is an ongoing multi year study into the emissions, combustion process and fluid mechanics related to flaring, which is commonly used in the energy and petrochemical industries to dispose of unwanted combustible gases by burning them in an open flame. This report focused on the emissions and efficiency of flares under operating conditions typical of solution gas flares. While most solution gas produced in Alberta is conserved, it is estimated that 6 per cent of these gases are flared with significant changes in the volumes flared from site to site. The median volume of flared or vented gas was approximately 60,300 m 3 /year and 95 per cent of battery sites flare and vent less than 1,000,000 m 3 /year. The goal of this project is to experimentally study the scaled-down generic pipe flares under well-controlled conditions to better understand the performance of flares. Research was conducted in a closed-loop wind tunnel to determine the effects of wind on flaring. Other objectives of the research are to develop methods for measuring the overall combustion efficiency of flares with either gaseous flare streams or those containing liquid droplets. Models for the scaling of plumes that disperse the products of combustion from flares as a function of wind speed, exit velocity and flare stack diameter were also examined. And finally, this research project measured the emissions of selected toxic compounds in both their vapor and soot phases. 38 refs., 10 tabs., 56 figs

  16. Flare plasma density determination using observed temperature profiles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garcia, H.A.

    1986-01-01

    Observed electron temperature variations derived from flux intensity ratios of whole-disk continuum soft X-ray spectra recorded by GOES satellites are presently subjected to an analysis that is based on the nonequilibrium energy balance equation in order to obtain the physical properties of a large solar flare from onset through the gradual phase. A self-similar formalism which reduces the nonlinear, second-order PDE in length and time to a more tractable, nonlinear, first-order Ricatti equation is invoked. Plasma density is the principal unknown variable contained in the Ricatti equation, which also contains first-order time derivatives and first- and second-order spatial derivatives of temperature. This methodology is presently applied to the moderate size flare of January 28, 1982, for which a density profile is deduced under various parametric conditions. 37 references

  17. System of an analysis of a fine time structure of X-ray solar flares in the RGS-1M spectrometer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lazutkov, V.P.

    1980-01-01

    The possibilities of RGS-1M spectral equipment intended for determination of more detailed data on the solar flare structure are discussed. Spectrometer modernization permits to record the fine time structure of solar events in the hard X-ray range (50-90 keV). The main requirement for fine time analysis of nonstationary processes is determination of the maximum possible resolution at the maximum available length of the signal under investigation. The scheme of the time analyzer of splash events with the time resolution Δt=62.5 ms and the length of the range processed T=27.6 s is given and described. Operation of the spectrometer telemetric apparatus is considered in detail. The fine solar flare structure occurred on 14.04.79 with visually chosen periodic structure is shown as an example [ru

  18. Variation of the solar wind velocity following solar flares

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, Y.; Lee, Y.

    1975-01-01

    By use of the superposed epoch method, changes in the solar wind velocity following solar flares have been investigated by using the solar wind velocity data obtained by Pioneer 6 and 7 and Vela 3, 4, and 5 satellites. A significant increase of the solar wind velocity has been found on the second day following importance 3 solar flares and on the third day following importance 2 solar flares. No significant increase of the solar wind velocity has been found for limb flares. (auth)

  19. Energy storage and deposition in a solar flare

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vorpahl, J. A.

    1976-01-01

    X-ray pictures of a solar flare taken with the S-056 X-ray telescope aboard Skylab are interpreted in terms of flare energy deposition and storage. The close similarity between calculated magnetic-field lines and the overall structure of the X-ray core is shown to suggest that the flare occurred in an entire arcade of loops. It is found that different X-ray features brightened sequentially as the flare evolved, indicating that some triggering disturbance moved from one side to the other in the flare core. A propagation velocity of 180 to 280 km/s is computed, and it is proposed that the geometry of the loop arcade strongly influenced the propagation of the triggering disturbance as well as the storage and site of the subsequent energy deposition. Some possible physical causes for the sequential X-ray brightening are examined, and a magnetosonic wave is suggested as the triggering disturbance. 'Correct' conditions for energy release are considered

  20. The analysis and the three-dimensional, forward-fit modeling of the X-ray and the microwave emissions of major solar flares

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuroda, Natsuha; Wang, Haimin; Gary, Dale E.

    2017-08-01

    It is well known that the time profiles of the hard X-ray (HXR) emission and the microwave (MW) emission during the impulsive phase of the solar flare are well correlated, and that their analysis can lead to the understandings of the flare-accelerated electrons. In this work, we first studied the source locations of seven distinct temporal peaks observed in HXR and MW lightcurves of the 2011-02-15 X2.2 flare using the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) and Nobeyama Radioheliograph. We found that the seven emission peaks did not come from seven spatially distinct sites in HXR and MW, but rather in HXR we observed a sudden change in location only between the second and the third peak, with the same pattern occurring, but evolving more slowly in MW, which is consistent with the tether-cutting model of solar flares. Next, we closely examine the widely-used notion of a "common population" of the accelerated electrons producing the HXR and the MW, which has been challenged by some studies suggesting the differences in the inferred energy spectral index and emitting energies of the HXR- and MW- producing electrons. We use the Non-linear Force Free Field model extrapolated from the observed photospheric magnetogram in the three-dimensional, multi-wavelength modeling platform GX Simulator, and attempt to create a unified electron population model that can simultaneously reproduce the observed X-ray and MW observations of the 2015-06-22 M6.5 flare. We constrain the model parameters by the observations made by the highest-resolving instruments currently available in two wavelengths, the RHESSI for X-ray and the Expanded Owens Valley Solar Array for MW. The results suggest that the X-ray emitting electron population model fits to the standard flare model with the broken, hardening power-law spectrum at ~300 keV that simultaneously produces the HXR footpoint emission and the MW high frequency emission, and also reveals that there could be a

  1. Observational constraints on the inter-binary stellar flare hypothesis for the gamma-ray bursts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rao, A. R.; Vahia, M. N.

    1994-01-01

    The Gamma Ray Observatory/Burst and Transient Source Experiment (GRO/BATSE) results on the Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) have given an internally consistent set of observations of about 260 GRBs which have been released for analysis by the BATSE team. Using this database we investigate our earlier suggestion (Vahia and Rao, 1988) that GRBs are inter-binary stellar flares from a group of objects classified as Magnetically Active Stellar Systems (MASS) which includes flare stars, RS CVn binaries and cataclysmic variables. We show that there exists an observationally consistent parameter space for the number density, scale height and flare luminosity of MASS which explains the complete log(N) - log(P) distribution of GRBs as also the observed isotropic distribution. We further use this model to predict anisotropy in the GRB distribution at intermediate luminosities. We make definite predictions under the stellar flare hypothesis that can be tested in the near future.

  2. Plasma heating in solar flares and their soft and hard X-ray emissions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Falewicz, R.

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, the energy budgets of two single-loop-like flares observed in X-ray are analyzed under the assumption that nonthermal electrons (NTEs) are the only source of plasma heating during all phases of both events. The flares were observed by RHESSI and GOES on 2002 February 20 and June 2, respectively. Using a one-dimensional (1D) hydrodynamic code for both flares, the energy deposited in the chromosphere was derived applying RHESSI observational data. The use of the Fokker-Planck formalism permits the calculation of distributions of the NTEs in flaring loops and thus spatial distributions of the X-ray nonthermal emissions and integral fluxes for the selected energy ranges that were compared with the observed ones. Additionally, a comparative analysis of the spatial distributions of the signals in the RHESSI images was conducted for the footpoints and for all the flare loops in selected energy ranges with these quantities' fluxes obtained from the models. The best compatibility of the model and observations was obtained for the 2002 June 2 event in the 0.5-4 Å GOES range and total fluxes in the 6-12 keV, 12-25 keV, 20-25 keV, and 50-100 keV energy bands. Results of photometry of the individual flaring structures in a high energy range show that the best compliance occurred for the 2002 June 2 flare, where the synthesized emissions were at least 30% higher than the observed emissions. For the 2002 February 20 flare, synthesized emission is about four times lower than the observed one. However, in the low energy range the best conformity was obtained for the 2002 February 20 flare, where emission from the model is about 11% lower than the observed one. The larger inconsistency occurs for the 2002 June 2 solar flare, where synthesized emission is about 12 times greater or even more than the observed emission. Some part of these differences may be caused by inevitable flaws of the applied methodology, like by an assumption that the model of the flare is

  3. Plasma Heating in Solar Flares and their Soft and Hard X-Ray Emissions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Falewicz, R.

    2014-07-01

    In this paper, the energy budgets of two single-loop-like flares observed in X-ray are analyzed under the assumption that nonthermal electrons (NTEs) are the only source of plasma heating during all phases of both events. The flares were observed by RHESSI and GOES on 2002 February 20 and June 2, respectively. Using a one-dimensional (1D) hydrodynamic code for both flares, the energy deposited in the chromosphere was derived applying RHESSI observational data. The use of the Fokker-Planck formalism permits the calculation of distributions of the NTEs in flaring loops and thus spatial distributions of the X-ray nonthermal emissions and integral fluxes for the selected energy ranges that were compared with the observed ones. Additionally, a comparative analysis of the spatial distributions of the signals in the RHESSI images was conducted for the footpoints and for all the flare loops in selected energy ranges with these quantities' fluxes obtained from the models. The best compatibility of the model and observations was obtained for the 2002 June 2 event in the 0.5-4 Å GOES range and total fluxes in the 6-12 keV, 12-25 keV, 20-25 keV, and 50-100 keV energy bands. Results of photometry of the individual flaring structures in a high energy range show that the best compliance occurred for the 2002 June 2 flare, where the synthesized emissions were at least 30% higher than the observed emissions. For the 2002 February 20 flare, synthesized emission is about four times lower than the observed one. However, in the low energy range the best conformity was obtained for the 2002 February 20 flare, where emission from the model is about 11% lower than the observed one. The larger inconsistency occurs for the 2002 June 2 solar flare, where synthesized emission is about 12 times greater or even more than the observed emission. Some part of these differences may be caused by inevitable flaws of the applied methodology, like by an assumption that the model of the flare is

  4. Endodontic flare up: incidence and association of possible risk factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gbadebo, S O; Sulaiman, A O; Anifowose, O O

    2016-06-01

    Endodontic emergency during root canal treatment (flare up) is a common occurrence in multivisit root canal treatment (RCT) and it may be associated with many factors. The occurrence however can affect the prognosis of the tooth and the patient -clinician relationship. To determine the incidence and risk factors associated with occurrence of flare up in a multi visit RCT. Patients planned for multi-visit (RCT) were recruited for the research. Standard protocol was followed in all cases. After the first visit, the patients were followed up for possible development of flare up. Patients' demographics, presence or absence of preoperative pain, status of the pulp and occurrence of flare up were among the data collected. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20 with level of significance set at P flare up was 8.5%. Prior to treatment, 47% of the cases had pain, 61.3% had apical radioluscency and 83% had pulpal necrosis. Majority (7, 77.8%) of the flare up occurred after the first visit (p=0.000). Only pre- treatment pain had a statistical significant ielationship with occurrence of flare up (p=0.009). Incidence of flare up was 8.5% and the major risk factor was preoperative pain. First visit in a multi visit RCT is an important stage which if well handled, can reduce the incidence of flare up.

  5. Comparison of emission properties of two homologous flares in AR 11283

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu, Yan; Jing, Ju; Wang, Shuo; Wang, Haimin, E-mail: yx2@njit.edu [Space Weather Research Lab, Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research, New Jersey Institute of Technology 323 Martin Luther King Boulevard, Newark, NJ 07102-1982 (United States)

    2014-05-20

    Large, complex, active regions may produce multiple flares within a certain period of one or two days. These flares could occur in the same location with similar morphologies, commonly referred to as 'homologous flares'. In 2011 September, active region NOAA 11283 produced a pair of homologous flares on the 6th and 7th, respectively. Both of them were white-light (WL) flares, as captured by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory in visible continuum at 6173 Å which is believed to originate from the deep solar atmosphere. We investigate the WL emission of these X-class flares with HMI's seeing-free imaging spectroscopy. The durations of impulsive peaks in the continuum are about 4 minutes. We compare the WL with hard X-ray (HXR) observations for the September 6 flare and find a good correlation between the continuum and HXR both spatially and temporally. In absence of RHESSI data during the second flare on September 7, the derivative of the GOES soft X-ray is used and also found to be well correlated temporally with the continuum. We measure the contrast enhancements, characteristic sizes, and HXR fluxes of the twin flares, which are similar for both flares, indicating analogous triggering and heating processes. However, the September 7 flare was associated with conspicuous sunquake signals whereas no seismic wave was detected during the flare on September 6. Therefore, this comparison suggests that the particle bombardment may not play a dominant role in producing the sunquake events studied in this paper.

  6. Radio wave heating of the corona and electron precipitation during flares

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melrose, D. B.; Dulk, G. A.

    1982-01-01

    Electron-cyclotron masers, excited while energy release is occurring in a flaring magnetic loop, are likely to generate extremely intense radiation at decimeter wavelengths. The energy in the radiation can be comparable with that in the electrons associated with hard X-ray bursts, i.e., a significant fraction of the total energy in the flare. Essentially all of the radio energy is likely to be reabsorbed by gyroresonance absorption, either near the emitting region or at some distance away in neighboring loops. Enhanced diffusion of fast electrons caused by the maser can lead to precipitation at the maximum possible rate, and hence account for hard X-ray emission from the footpoints of the magnetic loops.

  7. ON THE FLARE-INDUCED SEISMICITY IN THE ACTIVE REGION NOAA 10930 AND RELATED ENHANCEMENT OF GLOBAL WAVES IN THE SUN

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, Brajesh; Venkatakrishnan, P.; Mathur, Savita; Tiwari, Sanjiv Kumar; García, R. A.

    2011-01-01

    A major flare (of class X3.4) occurred on 2006 December 13 in the active region NOAA 10930. This flare event has remained interesting to solar researchers for studies related to particle acceleration during the flare process and the reconfiguration of magnetic fields as well as fine-scale features in the active region. The energy released during flares is also known to induce acoustic oscillations in the Sun. Here, we analyze the line-of-sight velocity patterns in this active region during the X3.4 flare using the Dopplergrams obtained by the Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) instrument. We have also analyzed the disk-integrated velocity observations of the Sun obtained by the Global Oscillation at Low Frequency (GOLF) instrument on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory spacecraft as well as full-disk collapsed velocity signals from GONG observations during this flare to study any possible connection between the flare-related changes seen in the local and global velocity oscillations in the Sun. We apply wavelet transform to the time series of the localized velocity oscillations as well as the global velocity oscillations in the Sun spanning the flare event. The line-of-sight velocity shows significant enhancement in some localized regions of the penumbra of this active region during the flare. The affected region is seen to be away from the locations of the flare ribbons and the hard X-ray footpoints. The sudden enhancement of this velocity seems to be caused by the Lorentz force driven by the 'magnetic jerk' in the localized penumbral region. Application of wavelet analysis to these flare-induced localized seismic signals shows significant enhancement in the high-frequency domain (5 <ν < 8 mHz) and a feeble enhancement in the p-mode oscillations (2 <ν < 5 mHz) during the flare. On the other hand, the wavelet analysis of GOLF velocity data and the full-disk collapsed GONG velocity data spanning the flare event indicates significant post-flare

  8. Prevalence of inter-appointment endodontic flare-ups and host-related factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azim, Adham A; Azim, Katharina A; Abbott, Paul V

    2017-04-01

    The aims of this study were to report the prevalence of inter-appointment flare-ups following adequate root canal disinfection and to investigate the host factors contributing to its occurrence. One thousand five hundred patient records were reviewed and the prevalence of flare-up was recorded. Patients' root canal space status (vital, non-vital or retreatment), medical condition and demographics (age, gender, tooth type and position) were recorded from their dental records. Statistical analyses were performed to determine the impact of the recorded factors on flare-up occurrence. Nine hundred fifty-one patient records met the inclusion criteria. The prevalence of flare-up was 2.3 %. There was a correlation between the canal space status and patient's age with flare-up development (P flare-up occurrence and tooth type, location, gender or medical condition (P > 0.5). The root canal space status was the primary factor affecting flare-up occurrence. Patients >50 years had the highest risk in developing flare-ups. This article provides evidence that patients suffering from inflamed pulp will not develop flare-up if adequate cleaning and shaping of the root canal space was performed. It also shows that patients above the age of 50 are a high-risk group that is prone to flare-up development.

  9. Health and exposure assessment of flare gas emissions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kindzierski, W.B.; Byrne-Lewis, C.; Probert, S.

    2000-01-01

    The incomplete combustion of flare gases produces pollutants such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which are cause for concern for public health. Some of the concerns relate to potential long-term cumulative health effects from exposure to hazardous air pollutants including benzene, styrene, naphthalene, and benzopyrene. This study demonstrated that several factors should be taken into account when considering the importance of flaring and human exposure to flare gas emissions. Most flare stacks are located in rural areas, but most time-availability studies have been done on urban populations where the majority of people spend their time indoors. It was recommended that more time-activity studies are needed to emphasize the behaviour of rural populations which are most susceptible to exposure from pollutants from flaring. It was concluded that higher indoor air concentrations exist for many VOCs and PAHs compared to outdoors, but in these instances, indoor sources are the major contributors to indoor air concentrations. It was recommended that health assessments of hazardous air pollutants emitted from gas flaring has to take into account the indoor setting and other background exposures in order to provide useful information for decision makers. 49 refs., 8 tabs., 1 fig

  10. Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations for Studying Solar Flare Trigger Mechanism

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Muhamad, J.; Kusano, K.; Inoue, S.; Shiota, D. [Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, Nagoya University, Furocho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8601 (Japan)

    2017-06-20

    In order to understand the flare trigger mechanism, we conduct three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations using a coronal magnetic field model derived from data observed by the Hinode satellite. Several types of magnetic bipoles are imposed into the photospheric boundary of the Nonlinear Force-free Field model of Active Region (AR) NOAA 10930 on 2006 December 13, to investigate what kind of magnetic disturbance may trigger the flare. As a result, we confirm that certain small bipole fields, which emerge into the highly sheared global magnetic field of an AR, can effectively trigger a flare. These bipole fields can be classified into two groups based on their orientation relative to the polarity inversion line: the so-called opposite polarity, and reversed shear structures, as suggested by Kusano et al. We also investigate the structure of the footpoints of reconnected field lines. By comparing the distribution of reconstructed field lines and observed flare ribbons, the trigger structure of the flare can be inferred. Our simulation suggests that the data-constrained simulation, taking into account both the large-scale magnetic structure and small-scale magnetic disturbance (such as emerging fluxes), is a good way to discover a flare-producing AR, which can be applied to space weather prediction.

  11. New flare stars in the Pleiade. 3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parsamyan, Eh.S.

    1976-01-01

    The flare stars in the Pleiads were investigated. The observations were carried out from the second part of 1972 to the beginning of 1973. Data on 9 new and 9 repeat flares are given. The new data are compared with those obtained previously

  12. Reduced evolutionary rate in reemerged Ebola virus transmission chains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blackley, David J; Wiley, Michael R; Ladner, Jason T; Fallah, Mosoka; Lo, Terrence; Gilbert, Merle L; Gregory, Christopher; D'ambrozio, Jonathan; Coulter, Stewart; Mate, Suzanne; Balogun, Zephaniah; Kugelman, Jeffrey; Nwachukwu, William; Prieto, Karla; Yeiah, Adolphus; Amegashie, Fred; Kearney, Brian; Wisniewski, Meagan; Saindon, John; Schroth, Gary; Fakoli, Lawrence; Diclaro, Joseph W; Kuhn, Jens H; Hensley, Lisa E; Jahrling, Peter B; Ströher, Ute; Nichol, Stuart T; Massaquoi, Moses; Kateh, Francis; Clement, Peter; Gasasira, Alex; Bolay, Fatorma; Monroe, Stephan S; Rambaut, Andrew; Sanchez-Lockhart, Mariano; Scott Laney, A; Nyenswah, Tolbert; Christie, Athalia; Palacios, Gustavo

    2016-04-01

    On 29 June 2015, Liberia's respite from Ebola virus disease (EVD) was interrupted for the second time by a renewed outbreak ("flare-up") of seven confirmed cases. We demonstrate that, similar to the March 2015 flare-up associated with sexual transmission, this new flare-up was a reemergence of a Liberian transmission chain originating from a persistently infected source rather than a reintroduction from a reservoir or a neighboring country with active transmission. Although distinct, Ebola virus (EBOV) genomes from both flare-ups exhibit significantly low genetic divergence, indicating a reduced rate of EBOV evolution during persistent infection. Using this rate of change as a signature, we identified two additional EVD clusters that possibly arose from persistently infected sources. These findings highlight the risk of EVD flare-ups even after an outbreak is declared over.

  13. Gamma-ray flares from the Crab Nebula.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdo, A A; Ackermann, M; Ajello, M; Allafort, A; Baldini, L; Ballet, J; Barbiellini, G; Bastieri, D; Bechtol, K; Bellazzini, R; Berenji, B; Blandford, R D; Bloom, E D; Bonamente, E; Borgland, A W; Bouvier, A; Brandt, T J; Bregeon, J; Brez, A; Brigida, M; Bruel, P; Buehler, R; Buson, S; Caliandro, G A; Cameron, R A; Cannon, A; Caraveo, P A; Casandjian, J M; Çelik, Ö; Charles, E; Chekhtman, A; Cheung, C C; Chiang, J; Ciprini, S; Claus, R; Cohen-Tanugi, J; Costamante, L; Cutini, S; D'Ammando, F; Dermer, C D; de Angelis, A; de Luca, A; de Palma, F; Digel, S W; do Couto e Silva, E; Drell, P S; Drlica-Wagner, A; Dubois, R; Dumora, D; Favuzzi, C; Fegan, S J; Ferrara, E C; Focke, W B; Fortin, P; Frailis, M; Fukazawa, Y; Funk, S; Fusco, P; Gargano, F; Gasparrini, D; Gehrels, N; Germani, S; Giglietto, N; Giordano, F; Giroletti, M; Glanzman, T; Godfrey, G; Grenier, I A; Grondin, M-H; Grove, J E; Guiriec, S; Hadasch, D; Hanabata, Y; Harding, A K; Hayashi, K; Hayashida, M; Hays, E; Horan, D; Itoh, R; Jóhannesson, G; Johnson, A S; Johnson, T J; Khangulyan, D; Kamae, T; Katagiri, H; Kataoka, J; Kerr, M; Knödlseder, J; Kuss, M; Lande, J; Latronico, L; Lee, S-H; Lemoine-Goumard, M; Longo, F; Loparco, F; Lubrano, P; Madejski, G M; Makeev, A; Marelli, M; Mazziotta, M N; McEnery, J E; Michelson, P F; Mitthumsiri, W; Mizuno, T; Moiseev, A A; Monte, C; Monzani, M E; Morselli, A; Moskalenko, I V; Murgia, S; Nakamori, T; Naumann-Godo, M; Nolan, P L; Norris, J P; Nuss, E; Ohsugi, T; Okumura, A; Omodei, N; Ormes, J F; Ozaki, M; Paneque, D; Parent, D; Pelassa, V; Pepe, M; Pesce-Rollins, M; Pierbattista, M; Piron, F; Porter, T A; Rainò, S; Rando, R; Ray, P S; Razzano, M; Reimer, A; Reimer, O; Reposeur, T; Ritz, S; Romani, R W; Sadrozinski, H F-W; Sanchez, D; Saz Parkinson, P M; Scargle, J D; Schalk, T L; Sgrò, C; Siskind, E J; Smith, P D; Spandre, G; Spinelli, P; Strickman, M S; Suson, D J; Takahashi, H; Takahashi, T; Tanaka, T; Thayer, J B; Thompson, D J; Tibaldo, L; Torres, D F; Tosti, G; Tramacere, A; Troja, E; Uchiyama, Y; Vandenbroucke, J; Vasileiou, V; Vianello, G; Vitale, V; Wang, P; Wood, K S; Yang, Z; Ziegler, M

    2011-02-11

    A young and energetic pulsar powers the well-known Crab Nebula. Here, we describe two separate gamma-ray (photon energy greater than 100 mega-electron volts) flares from this source detected by the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. The first flare occurred in February 2009 and lasted approximately 16 days. The second flare was detected in September 2010 and lasted approximately 4 days. During these outbursts, the gamma-ray flux from the nebula increased by factors of four and six, respectively. The brevity of the flares implies that the gamma rays were emitted via synchrotron radiation from peta-electron-volt (10(15) electron volts) electrons in a region smaller than 1.4 × 10(-2) parsecs. These are the highest-energy particles that can be associated with a discrete astronomical source, and they pose challenges to particle acceleration theory.

  14. Gamma-ray flares from the Crab nebula

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abdo, A.A.; Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; Allafort, A.; Baldini, L.; Ballet, J.; Casandjian, J.M.; Grenier, I.A.; Naumann-Godo, M.; Pierbattista, M.; Tibaldo, L.

    2011-01-01

    A young and energetic pulsar powers the well-known Crab Nebula. Here, we describe two separate gamma-ray (photon energy greater than 100 mega-electron volts) flares from this source detected by the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. The first flare occurred in February 2009 and lasted approximately 16 days. The second flare was detected in September 2010 and lasted approximately 4 days. During these outbursts, the gamma-ray flux from the nebula increased by factors of four and six, respectively. The brevity of the flares implies that the gamma rays were emitted via synchrotron radiation from peta-electron-volt (10 15 electron volts) electrons in a region smaller than 1.4 * 10 -2 parsecs. These are the highest-energy particles that can be associated with a discrete astronomical source, and they pose challenges to particle acceleration theory. (authors)

  15. NEW SOLAR EXTREME-ULTRAVIOLET IRRADIANCE OBSERVATIONS DURING FLARES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Woods, Thomas N.; Hock, Rachel; Eparvier, Frank; Jones, Andrew R.; Chamberlin, Phillip C.; Klimchuk, James A.; Didkovsky, Leonid; Judge, Darrell; Mariska, John; Warren, Harry; Schrijver, Carolus J.; Webb, David F.; Bailey, Scott; Tobiska, W. Kent

    2011-01-01

    New solar extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) irradiance observations from the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) EUV Variability Experiment provide full coverage in the EUV range from 0.1 to 106 nm and continuously at a cadence of 10 s for spectra at 0.1 nm resolution and even faster, 0.25 s, for six EUV bands. These observations can be decomposed into four distinct characteristics during flares. First, the emissions that dominate during the flare's impulsive phase are the transition region emissions, such as the He II 30.4 nm. Second, the hot coronal emissions above 5 MK dominate during the gradual phase and are highly correlated with the GOES X-ray. A third flare characteristic in the EUV is coronal dimming, seen best in the cool corona, such as the Fe IX 17.1 nm. As the post-flare loops reconnect and cool, many of the EUV coronal emissions peak a few minutes after the GOES X-ray peak. One interesting variation of the post-eruptive loop reconnection is that warm coronal emissions (e.g., Fe XVI 33.5 nm) sometimes exhibit a second large peak separated from the primary flare event by many minutes to hours, with EUV emission originating not from the original flare site and its immediate vicinity, but rather from a volume of higher loops. We refer to this second peak as the EUV late phase. The characterization of many flares during the SDO mission is provided, including quantification of the spectral irradiance from the EUV late phase that cannot be inferred from GOES X-ray diagnostics.

  16. A Parameter Study for Modeling Mg ii h and k Emission during Solar Flares

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rubio da Costa, Fatima [Department of Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States); Kleint, Lucia, E-mail: frubio@stanford.edu [University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, 5210, Windisch (Switzerland)

    2017-06-20

    Solar flares show highly unusual spectra in which the thermodynamic conditions of the solar atmosphere are encoded. Current models are unable to fully reproduce the spectroscopic flare observations, especially the single-peaked spectral profiles of the Mg ii h and k lines. We aim to understand the formation of the chromospheric and optically thick Mg ii h and k lines in flares through radiative transfer calculations. We take a flare atmosphere obtained from a simulation with the radiative hydrodynamic code RADYN as input for a radiative transfer modeling with the RH code. By iteratively changing this model atmosphere and varying thermodynamic parameters such as temperature, electron density, and velocity, we study their effects on the emergent intensity spectra. We reproduce the typical single-peaked Mg ii h and k flare spectral shape and approximate the intensity ratios to the subordinate Mg ii lines by increasing either densities, temperatures, or velocities at the line core formation height range. Additionally, by combining unresolved upflows and downflows up to ∼250 km s{sup −1} within one resolution element, we reproduce the widely broadened line wings. While we cannot unambiguously determine which mechanism dominates in flares, future modeling efforts should investigate unresolved components, additional heat dissipation, larger velocities, and higher densities and combine the analysis of multiple spectral lines.

  17. An essay on sunspots and solar flares

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akasofu, S.-I.

    1984-01-01

    The presently prevailing theories of sunspots and solar flares rely on the hypothetical presence of magnetic flux tubes beneath the photosphere and the two subsequent hypotheses, their emergence above the photosphere and explosive magnetic reconnection, converting magnetic energy carried by the flux tubes for solar flare energy. In this paper, attention is paid to the fact that there are large-scale magnetic fields which divide the photosphere into positive and negative (line-of-sight) polarity regions and that they are likely to be more fundamental than sunspot fields, as emphasized most recently by McIntosh. A new phenomenological model of the sunspot pair formation is then constructed by considering an amplification process of these large-scale fields near their boundaries by shear flows, including localized vortex motions. The amplification results from a dynamo process associated with such vortex flows and the associated convergence flow in the large-scale fields. This dynamo process generates also some of the familiar ''force-free'' fields or the ''sheared'' magnetic fields in which the magnetic field-aligned currents are essential. Upward field-aligned currents generated by the dynamo process are carried by downward streaming electrons which are expected to be accelerated by an electric potential structure; a similar structure is responsible for accelerating auroral electrons in the magnetosphere. Depending on the magnetic field configuration and the shear flows, the current-carrying electrons precipitate into different geometrical patterns, causing circular flares, umbral flares, two-ribbon flares, etc. Thus, it is suggested that ''low temperature flares'' are directly driven by the photospheric dynamo process. (author)

  18. Developing a Construct to Evaluate Flares in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Conceptual Report of the OMERACT RA Flare Definition Working Group

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alten, Rieke; Choy, Ernest H; Christensen, Robin

    2011-01-01

    Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and healthcare professionals (HCP) recognize that episodic worsening disease activity, often described as a "flare," is a common feature of RA that can contribute to impaired function and disability. However, there is no standard definition to enable measurement...... of its intensity and impact. The conceptual framework of the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology Clinical Trials (OMERACT) RA Flare Definition Working Group includes an anchoring statement, developed at OMERACT 9 in 2008: "flare in RA" is defined as worsening of signs and symptoms of sufficient intensity....... The conceptual framework of flare takes into account validated approaches to measurement in RA: (1) various disease activity indices (e.g., Disease Activity Score, Clinical Disease Activity Index, Simplified Disease Activity Index); (2) use of patient-reported outcomes (PRO); and (3) characterization...

  19. Solar Flare Track Exposure Ages in Regolith Particles: A Calibration for Transmission Electron Microscope Measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berger, Eve L.; Keller, Lindsay P.

    2015-01-01

    Mineral grains in lunar and asteroidal regolith samples provide a unique record of their interaction with the space environment. Space weathering effects result from multiple processes including: exposure to the solar wind, which results in ion damage and implantation effects that are preserved in the rims of grains (typically the outermost 100 nm); cosmic ray and solar flare activity, which result in track formation; and impact processes that result in the accumulation of vapor-deposited elements, impact melts and adhering grains on particle surfaces. Determining the rate at which these effects accumulate in the grains during their space exposure is critical to studies of the surface evolution of airless bodies. Solar flare energetic particles (mainly Fe-group nuclei) have a penetration depth of a few millimeters and leave a trail of ionization damage in insulating materials that is readily observable by transmission electron microscope (TEM) imaging. The density of solar flare particle tracks is used to infer the length of time an object was at or near the regolith surface (i.e., its exposure age). Track measurements by TEM methods are routine, yet track production rate calibrations have only been determined using chemical etching techniques [e.g., 1, and references therein]. We used focused ion beam-scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM) sample preparation techniques combined with TEM imaging to determine the track density/exposure age relations for lunar rock 64455. The 64455 sample was used earlier by [2] to determine a track production rate by chemical etching of tracks in anorthite. Here, we show that combined FIB/TEM techniques provide a more accurate determination of a track production rate and also allow us to extend the calibration to solar flare tracks in olivine.

  20. Numerical simulation of a sour gas flare

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chambers, A. [Alberta Research Council, Devon, AB (Canada)

    2008-07-01

    Due to the limited amount of information in the literature on sour gas flares and the cost of conducting wind tunnel and field experiments on sour flares, this presentation presented a modelling project that predicted the effect of operating conditions on flare performance and emissions. The objectives of the project were to adapt an existing numerical model suitable for flare simulation, incorporate sulfur chemistry, and run simulations for a range of conditions typical of sour flares in Alberta. The study involved the use of modelling expertise at the University of Utah, and employed large eddy simulation (LES) methods to model open flames. The existing model included the prediction of turbulent flow field; hydrocarbon reaction chemistry; soot formation; and radiation heat transfer. The presentation addressed the unique features of the model and discussed whether LES could predict the flow field. Other topics that were presented included the results from a University of Utah comparison; challenges of the LES model; an example of a run time issue; predicting the impact of operating conditions; and the results of simulations. Last, several next steps were identified and preliminary results were provided. Future work will focus on reducing computation time and increasing information reporting. figs.

  1. Quasi-periodic Pulsations in the Most Powerful Solar Flare of Cycle 24

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kolotkov, Dmitrii Y.; Pugh, Chloe E.; Broomhall, Anne-Marie; Nakariakov, Valery M.

    2018-05-01

    Quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs) are common in solar flares and are now regularly observed in stellar flares. We present the detection of two different types of QPP signals in the thermal emission light curves of the X9.3-class solar flare SOL2017-09-06T12:02, which is the most powerful flare of Cycle 24. The period of the shorter-period QPP drifts from about 12 to 25 s during the flare. The observed properties of this QPP are consistent with a sausage oscillation of a plasma loop in the flaring active region. The period of the longer-period QPP is about 4 to 5 minutes. Its properties are compatible with standing slow magnetoacoustic oscillations, which are often detected in coronal loops. For both QPP signals, other mechanisms such as repetitive reconnection cannot be ruled out, however. The studied solar flare has an energy in the realm of observed stellar flares, and the fact that there is evidence of a short-period QPP signal typical of solar flares along with a long-period QPP signal more typical of stellar flares suggests that the different ranges of QPP periods typically observed in solar and stellar flares is likely due to observational constraints, and that similar physical processes may be occurring in solar and stellar flares.

  2. Flare stars of the Orion Nebula - spectra of an outburst

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carter, B.D.; O'Mara, B.J.; Ross, J.E.

    1988-01-01

    For the first time, detailed, time-resolved spectra of a flare event of an Orion cluster flare star are presented. These spectra, covering ∼ λλ3600-4600, were obtained by using the Anglo-Australian Telescope with a fibre coupler to simultaneously monitor 23 flare stars in the region of the Orion Nebula. The flare spectra reveal continuous emission which filled in the photospheric Ca I 4226 A absorption, and hydrogen Balmer, Ca II H and K, He I 4026 A and He I 4471 A line emission. Overall, the spectral behaviour indicates similarities to strong outbursts of the classical dMe flare stars. (author)

  3. A very small and super strong zebra pattern burst at the beginning of a solar flare

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tan, Baolin; Tan, Chengming; Zhang, Yin; Huang, Jing; Yan, Yihua [Key Laboratory of Solar Activity, National Astronomical Observatories of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100012 (China); Mészárosová, Hana; Karlický, Marian, E-mail: bltan@nao.cas.cn [Astronomical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Ondřejov 15165 (Czech Republic)

    2014-08-01

    Microwave emission with spectral zebra pattern structures (ZPs) is frequently observed in solar flares and the Crab pulsar. The previous observations show that ZP is a structure only overlapped on the underlying broadband continuum with slight increments and decrements. This work reports an unusually strong ZP burst occurring at the beginning of a solar flare observed simultaneously by two radio telescopes located in China and the Czech Republic and by the EUV telescope on board NASA's satellite Solar Dynamics Observatory on 2013 April 11. It is a very short and super strong explosion whose intensity exceeds several times that of the underlying flaring broadband continuum emission, lasting for just 18 s. EUV images show that the flare starts from several small flare bursting points (FBPs). There is a sudden EUV flash with extra enhancement in one of these FBPs during the ZP burst. Analysis indicates that the ZP burst accompanying an EUV flash is an unusual explosion revealing a strong coherent process with rapid particle acceleration, violent energy release, and fast plasma heating simultaneously in a small region with a short duration just at the beginning of the flare.

  4. WHY IS A FLARE-RICH ACTIVE REGION CME-POOR?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Lijuan; Wang, Yuming; Shen, Chenglong; Ye, Pinzhong; Liu, Rui; Chen, Jun; Zhang, Quanhao; Wang, S. [CAS Key Laboratory of Geospace Environment, Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (China); Wang, Jingxiu, E-mail: ymwang@ustc.edu.cn, E-mail: ljliu@mail.ustc.edu.cn [National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100012 (China)

    2016-08-01

    Solar active regions (ARs) are the major sources of two of the most violent solar eruptions, namely flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). The largest AR in the past 24 years, NOAA AR 12192, which crossed the visible disk from 2014 October 17 to 30, unusually produced more than one hundred flares, including 32 M-class and 6 X-class ones, but only one small CME. Flares and CMEs are believed to be two phenomena in the same eruptive process. Why is such a flare-rich AR so CME-poor? We compared this AR with other four ARs; two were productive in both and two were inert. The investigation of the photospheric parameters based on the SDO /HMI vector magnetogram reveals that the flare-rich AR 12192, as with the other two productive ARs, has larger magnetic flux, current, and free magnetic energy than the two inert ARs but, in contrast to the two productive ARs, it has no strong, concentrated current helicity along both sides of the flaring neutral line, indicating the absence of a mature magnetic structure consisting of highly sheared or twisted field lines. Furthermore, the decay index above the AR 12192 is relatively low, showing strong constraint. These results suggest that productive ARs are always large and have enough current and free energy to power flares, but whether or not a flare is accompanied by a CME is seemingly related to (1) the presence of a mature sheared or twisted core field serving as the seed of the CME, or (2) a weak enough constraint of the overlying arcades.

  5. Quantitative Examination of a Large Sample of Supra-Arcade Downflows in Eruptive Solar Flares

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savage, Sabrina L.; McKenzie, David E.

    2011-01-01

    Sunward-flowing voids above post-coronal mass ejection flare arcades were first discovered using the soft X-ray telescope aboard Yohkoh and have since been observed with TRACE (extreme ultraviolet (EUV)), SOHO/LASCO (white light), SOHO/SUMER (EUV spectra), and Hinode/XRT (soft X-rays). Supra-arcade downflow (SAD) observations suggest that they are the cross-sections of thin flux tubes retracting from a reconnection site high in the corona. Supra-arcade downflowing loops (SADLs) have also been observed under similar circumstances and are theorized to be SADs viewed from a perpendicular angle. Although previous studies have focused on dark flows because they are easier to detect and complementary spectral data analysis reveals their magnetic nature, the signal intensity of the flows actually ranges from dark to bright. This implies that newly reconnected coronal loops can contain a range of hot plasma density. Previous studies have presented detailed SAD observations for a small number of flares. In this paper, we present a substantial SADs and SADLs flare catalog. We have applied semiautomatic detection software to several of these events to detect and track individual downflows thereby providing statistically significant samples of parameters such as velocity, acceleration, area, magnetic flux, shrinkage energy, and reconnection rate. We discuss these measurements (particularly the unexpected result of the speeds being an order of magnitude slower than the assumed Alfven speed), how they were obtained, and potential impact on reconnection models.

  6. CHANDRA, KECK, AND VLA OBSERVATIONS OF THE CRAB NEBULA DURING THE 2011-APRIL GAMMA-RAY FLARE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weisskopf, Martin C.; Tennant, Allyn F.; O' Dell, Stephen L. [NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Astrophysics Office (ZP12), Huntsville, AL 35812 (United States); Arons, Jonathan [Astronomy Department and Theoretical Astrophysics Center, University of California, Berkeley, 601 Campbell Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Blandford, Roger; Funk, Stefan; Romani, Roger W. [W. W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Department of Physics and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States); Buehler, Rolf [DESY, Platanenallee 6, D-15738 Zeuthen (Germany); Caraveo, Patrizia; De Luca, Andrea [INAF-IASF Milano, via E. Bassini 15, I-20133 Milano (Italy); Cheung, Chi C. [National Research Council Research Associate, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC 20001 (United States); Costa, Enrico [INFN Roma Tor Vergata, via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, I-00133 Roma (Italy); Ferrigno, Carlo [ISDC, Data Center for Astrophysics of the University of Geneva, chemin d' cogia 16, CH-1290 Versoix (Switzerland); Fu, Hai [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697 (United States); Habermehl, Moritz; Horns, Dieter [Institut fuer Experimentalphysik, Universitaet Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, D-22761 Hamburg (Germany); Linford, Justin D. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of New Mexico, MSC07 4220, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001 (United States); Lobanov, Andrei [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Radioastronomie, Auf dem Huegel 69, D-53121 Bonn (Germany); Max, Claire [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Mignani, Roberto [Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St. Mary Dorking, Surrey RH5 6NT (United Kingdom); and others

    2013-03-01

    We present results from our analysis of Chandra X-Ray Observatory, W. M. Keck Observatory, and Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) images of the Crab Nebula that were contemporaneous with the {gamma}-ray flare of 2011 April. Despite hints in the X-ray data, we find no evidence for statistically significant variations that pinpoint the specific location of the flares within the Nebula. The Keck observations extend this conclusion to the 'inner knot', i.e., the feature within an arcsecond of the pulsar. The VLA observations support this conclusion. We also discuss theoretical implications of the {gamma}-ray flares and suggest that the most dramatic {gamma}-ray flares are due to radiation-reaction-limited synchrotron emission associated with sudden, dissipative changes in the current system sustained by the central pulsar.

  7. A Fifteen Year Record of Global Natural Gas Flaring Derived from Satellite Data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elvidge, Ch. D.; Erwin, E. H.; Ziskin, D.; Baugh, K. E.; Tuttle, B. T.; Ghosh, T.; Tuttle, B. T.; Ghosh, T.; Pack, D. W.; Zhizhin, M.

    2009-01-01

    We have produced annual estimates of national and global gas flaring and gas flaring efficiency from 1994 through 2008 using low light imaging data acquired by the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP). Gas flaring is a widely used practice for the disposal of associated gas in oil production and processing facilities where there is insufficient infrastructure for utilization of the gas (primarily methane). Improved utilization of the gas is key to reducing global carbon emissions to the atmosphere. The DMSP estimates of flared gas volume are based on a calibration developed with a pooled set of reported national gas flaring volumes and data from individual flares. Flaring efficiency was calculated as the volume of flared gas per barrel of crude oil produced. Global gas flaring has remained largely stable over the past fifteen years, in the range of 140 to 170 billion cubic meters (BCM). Global flaring efficiency was in the seven to eight cubic meters per barrel from 1994 to 2005 and declined to 5.6 m 3 per barrel by 2008. The 2008 gas flaring estimate of 139 BCM represents 21% of the natural gas consumption of the USA with a potential retail market value of 68 billions USD. The 2008 flaring added more than 278 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO 2e ) into the atmosphere. The DMSP estimated gas flaring volumes indicate that global gas flaring has declined by 19% since 2005, led by gas flaring reductions in Russia and Nigeria, the two countries with the highest gas flaring levels. The flaring efficiency of both Russia and Nigeria improved from 2005 to 2008, suggesting that the reductions in gas flaring are likely the result of either improved utilization of the gas, reinjection, or direct venting of gas into the atmosphere, although the effect of uncertainties in the satellite data cannot be ruled out. It is anticipated that the capability to estimate gas flaring volumes based on satellite data will spur improved utilization of gas that

  8. Microbial causes of endodontic flare-ups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siqueira, Jose F

    2003-07-01

    Inter-appointment flare-up is characterized by the development of pain, swelling or both, following endodontic intervention. The causative factors of flare-ups encompass mechanical, chemical and/or microbial injury to the pulp or periradicular tissues. Of these factors, microorganisms are arguably the major causative agents of flare-ups. Even though the host is usually unable to eliminate the root canal infection, mobilization and further concentration of defence components at the periradicular tissues impede spreading of infection, and a balance between microbial aggression and host defences is commonly achieved. There are some situations during endodontic therapy in which such a balance may be disrupted in favour of microbial aggression, and an acute periradicular inflammation can ensue. Situations include apical extrusion of infected debris, changes in the root canal microbiota and/or in environmental conditions caused by incomplete chemo-mechanical preparation, secondary intraradicular infections and perhaps the increase in the oxidation-reduction potential within the root canal favouring the overgrowth of the facultative bacteria. Based on these situations, preventive measures against infective flare-ups are proposed, including selection of instrumentation techniques that extrude lesser amounts of debris apically; completion of the chemo-mechanical procedures in a single visit; use of an antimicrobial intracanal medicament between appointments in the treatment of infected cases; not leaving teeth open for drainage and maintenance of the aseptic chain throughout endodontic treatment. Knowledge about the microbial causes of flare-ups and adoption of appropriate preventive measures can significantly reduce the incidence of this highly distressing and undesirable clinical phenomenon.

  9. Laser flare photometry in clinical practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yury S Astakhov

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Laser flare photometry (LFP is the only quantitative and objective method for the evaluation of aqueous flare. There are numerous opportunities to use LFP in clinical practice, and they are discussed in the paper. It is especially helpful in management of uveitis patients, because it allows estimating the correct diagnosis, managing the patient during the treatment with noninvasive method and predicting relapses and complications.

  10. The solar-flare infrared continuum: observational techniques and upper limits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hudson, H.S.

    1975-01-01

    Exploratory observations at 20μ and 350 μ have determined detection thresholds for solar flares in these wavelengths. In the 20μ range solar atmospheric fluctuations (the 'temperature field') set the basic limits on flare detectability at approximately 5K; at 350μ the extinction in the Earth's atmosphere provides the basic limitation of approximately 30 K. These thresholds are low enough for the successful detection of several infrared-emitting components of large flares. Limited observing time and lack of solar activity have prevented observations of large flares up to the present, but the techniques promise to be extremely useful in the future. The upper limits obtained thus far, for subflares, indicate that the thickness of the Hα flare region does not exceed approximately 10 km. This result confirms the conclusion of Suemoto and Hiei (1959) regarding the small effective thickness of the Hα-emitting regions in solar flares. (Auth.)

  11. Spots and White Light Flares in an L Dwarf

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Program GN-2012A-Q-37) GMOS spectrograph (Hook et al. 2004) when a series of flares occurred. A spectrum of the most powerful flare in its impulsive...10:14 Hα HeI HeI HeI OI Fig. 4. Gemini-North GMOS spectra of W1906+40 in quiescence (below) and in flare. Note the broad Hα, atomic emission lines

  12. Validation of OMERACT preliminary rheumatoid arthritis flare domains in the NOR-DMARD study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lie, Elisabeth; Woodworth, Thasia G; Christensen, Robin

    2014-01-01

    '. Convergent and divergent construct validity and content validity were assessed by correlation analyses and logistic regression analysis, respectively. RESULTS: Applying the flare working definition based on patient-reported worsening, standardised mean differences (SMDs) were >0.5 for the majority...... of outcomes. The largest SMDs were observed for Pain visual analogue scale (1.30), SF-36 Bodily pain (1.24), Patient global (1.20) and morning stiffness intensity (1.17). The flare working definition based on treatment change yielded lower SMDs (

  13. A Comparative Study of the Eruptive and Non-eruptive Flares Produced by the Largest Active Region of Solar Cycle 24

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarkar, Ranadeep; Srivastava, Nandita

    2018-02-01

    We investigate the morphological and magnetic characteristics of solar active region (AR) NOAA 12192. AR 12192 was the largest region of Solar Cycle 24; it underwent noticeable growth and produced 6 X-class flares, 22 M-class flares, and 53 C-class flares in the course of its disc passage. However, the most peculiar fact of this AR is that it was associated with only one CME in spite of producing several X-class flares. In this work, we carry out a comparative study between the eruptive and non-eruptive flares produced by AR 12192. We find that the magnitude of abrupt and permanent changes in the horizontal magnetic field and Lorentz force are significantly smaller in the case of the confined flares compared to the eruptive one. We present the areal evolution of AR 12192 during its disc passage. We find the flare-related morphological changes to be weaker during the confined flares, whereas the eruptive flare exhibits a rapid and permanent disappearance of penumbral area away from the magnetic neutral line after the flare. Furthermore, from the extrapolated non-linear force-free magnetic field, we examine the overlying coronal magnetic environment over the eruptive and non-eruptive zones of the AR. We find that the critical decay index for the onset of torus instability was achieved at a lower height over the eruptive flaring region, than for the non-eruptive core area. These results suggest that the decay rate of the gradient of overlying magnetic-field strength may play a decisive role to determine the CME productivity of the AR. In addition, the magnitude of changes in the flare-related magnetic characteristics are found to be well correlated with the nature of solar eruptions.

  14. ANATOMY OF A SOLAR FLARE: MEASUREMENTS OF THE 2006 DECEMBER 14 X-CLASS FLARE WITH GONG, HINODE, AND RHESSI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matthews, S. A.; Zharkov, S.; Zharkova, V. V.

    2011-01-01

    Some of the most challenging observations to explain in the context of existing flare models are those related to the lower atmosphere and below the solar surface. Such observations, including changes in the photospheric magnetic field and seismic emission, indicate the poorly understood connections between energy release in the corona and its impact in the photosphere and the solar interior. Using data from Hinode, TRACE, RHESSI, and GONG we study the temporal and spatial evolution of the 2006 December 14 X-class flare in the chromosphere, photosphere, and the solar interior. We investigate the connections between the emission at various atmospheric depths, including acoustic signatures obtained by time-distance and holography methods from the GONG data. We report the horizontal displacements observed in the photosphere linked to the timing and locations of the acoustic signatures we believe to be associated with this flare, their vertical and horizontal displacement velocities, and their potential implications for current models of flare dynamics.

  15. Automated flare forecasting using a statistical learning technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Yuan; Shih, Frank Y.; Jing, Ju; Wang, Hai-Min

    2010-08-01

    We present a new method for automatically forecasting the occurrence of solar flares based on photospheric magnetic measurements. The method is a cascading combination of an ordinal logistic regression model and a support vector machine classifier. The predictive variables are three photospheric magnetic parameters, i.e., the total unsigned magnetic flux, length of the strong-gradient magnetic polarity inversion line, and total magnetic energy dissipation. The output is true or false for the occurrence of a certain level of flares within 24 hours. Experimental results, from a sample of 230 active regions between 1996 and 2005, show the accuracies of a 24-hour flare forecast to be 0.86, 0.72, 0.65 and 0.84 respectively for the four different levels. Comparison shows an improvement in the accuracy of X-class flare forecasting.

  16. SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS OF SOLAR FLARES AND SOLAR ENERGETIC PARTICLE EVENTS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cliver, E. W.; Ling, A. G.; Belov, A.; Yashiro, S.

    2012-01-01

    We suggest that the flatter size distribution of solar energetic proton (SEP) events relative to that of flare soft X-ray (SXR) events is primarily due to the fact that SEP flares are an energetic subset of all flares. Flares associated with gradual SEP events are characteristically accompanied by fast (≥1000 km s –1 ) coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that drive coronal/interplanetary shock waves. For the 1996-2005 interval, the slopes (α values) of power-law size distributions of the peak 1-8 Å fluxes of SXR flares associated with (a) >10 MeV SEP events (with peak fluxes ≥1 pr cm –2 s –1 sr –1 ) and (b) fast CMEs were ∼1.3-1.4 compared to ∼1.2 for the peak proton fluxes of >10 MeV SEP events and ∼2 for the peak 1-8 Å fluxes of all SXR flares. The difference of ∼0.15 between the slopes of the distributions of SEP events and SEP SXR flares is consistent with the observed variation of SEP event peak flux with SXR peak flux.

  17. The Flares Associated with the Dynamics of the Sunspots K. M. ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    tional theory of magnetic reconnection is briefly discussed. ... between changes in the sunspots' dynamics, emerging flux region, twisting of the field ... the eventual triggering of the flares is due to proper motion of the sunspots. Using .... rotation rates obtained from the daily motion of sunspot groups with respect to their life.

  18. A Search for Vector Magnetic Field Variations Associated with the M-Class Flares of 1991 June 10 in AR 6659

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hagyard, Mona J.; Stark, B. A.; Venkatakrishnan, P.

    1998-01-01

    A careful analysis of a 6-hour time sequence of vector magnetograms of AR 6659, observed on 1991 June 10 with the MSFC vector magnetograph, has revealed only minor changes in the vector magnetic field azimuths in the vicinity of two M-class flares, and the association of these changes with the flares is not unambiguous. In this paper we present our analysis of the data which includes comparison of vector magnetograms prior to and during the flares, calculation of distributions of the rms variation of the azimuth at each pixel in the field of view of the active region, and examination of the variation with time of the azimuths at every pixel covered by the main flare emissions as observed with the H-alpha telescope coaligned with the vector magnetograph. We also present results of an analysis of evolutionary changes in the azimuth over the field of view of the active region.

  19. Solar flares observed simultaneously with SphinX, GOES and RHESSI

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mrozek, Tomasz; Gburek, Szymon; Siarkowski, Marek; Sylwester, Barbara; Sylwester, Janusz; Kępa, Anna; Gryciuk, Magdalena

    2013-07-01

    In February 2009, during recent deepest solar minimum, Polish Solar Photometer in X-rays (SphinX) begun observations of the Sun in the energy range of 1.2-15 keV. SphinX was almost 100 times more sensitive than GOES X-ray Sensors. The silicon PIN diode detectors used in the experiment were carefully calibrated on the ground using Synchrotron Radiation Source BESSY II. The SphinX energy range overlaps with the Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) energy range. The instrument provided us with observations of hundreds of very small flares and X-ray brightenings. We have chosen a group of solar flares observed simultaneously with GOES, SphinX and RHESSI and performed spectroscopic analysis of observations wherever possible. The analysis of thermal part of the spectra showed that SphinX is a very sensitive complementary observatory for RHESSI and GOES.

  20. ANALYSIS AND MODELING OF TWO FLARE LOOPS OBSERVED BY AIA AND EIS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Y.; Ding, M. D. [School of Astronomy and Space Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China); Qiu, J. [Department of Physics, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717 (United States)

    2012-10-10

    We analyze and model an M1.0 flare observed by SDO/AIA and Hinode/EIS to investigate how flare loops are heated and evolve subsequently. The flare is composed of two distinctive loop systems observed in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) images. The UV 1600 A emission at the feet of these loops exhibits a rapid rise, followed by enhanced emission in different EUV channels observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) and the EUV Imaging Spectrometer (EIS). Such behavior is indicative of impulsive energy deposit and the subsequent response in overlying coronal loops that evolve through different temperatures. Using the method we recently developed, we infer empirical heating functions from the rapid rise of the UV light curves for the two loop systems, respectively, treating them as two big loops with cross-sectional area of 5'' by 5'', and compute the plasma evolution in the loops using the EBTEL model. We compute the synthetic EUV light curves, which, with the limitation of the model, reasonably agree with observed light curves obtained in multiple AIA channels and EIS lines: they show the same evolution trend and their magnitudes are comparable by within a factor of two. Furthermore, we also compare the computed mean enthalpy flow velocity with the Doppler shift measurements by EIS during the decay phase of the two loops. Our results suggest that the two different loops with different heating functions as inferred from their footpoint UV emission, combined with their different lengths as measured from imaging observations, give rise to different coronal plasma evolution patterns captured both in the model and in observations.

  1. THE IMPLICATIONS OF M DWARF FLARES ON THE DETECTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF EXOPLANETS AT INFRARED WAVELENGTHS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tofflemire, Benjamin M.; Wisniewski, John P.; Kowalski, Adam F.; Schmidt, Sarah J.; Kundurthy, Praveen; Hilton, Eric J.; Hawley, Suzanne L.; Holtzman, Jon A.

    2012-01-01

    We present the results of an observational campaign which obtained high-cadence, high-precision, simultaneous optical and IR photometric observations of three M dwarf flare stars for 47 hr. The campaign was designed to characterize the behavior of energetic flare events, which routinely occur on M dwarfs, at IR wavelengths to millimagnitude precision, and quantify to what extent such events might influence current and future efforts to detect and characterize extrasolar planets surrounding these stars. We detected and characterized four highly energetic optical flares having U-band total energies of ∼7.8 × 10 30 to ∼1.3 × 10 32 erg, and found no corresponding response in the J, H, or Ks bandpasses at the precision of our data. For active dM3e stars, we find that a ∼1.3 × 10 32 erg U-band flare (ΔU max ∼ 1.5 mag) will induce 31 erg U-band flare (ΔU max ∼ 1.6 mag) will induce <7.8 (J), <8.8 (H), and <5.1 (Ks) mmag of a response. A flare of this energy or greater should occur less than once per 10 hr. No evidence of stellar variability not associated with discrete flare events was observed at the level of ∼3.9 mmag over 1 hr timescales and at the level of ∼5.6 mmag over 7.5 hr timescales. We therefore demonstrate that most M dwarf stellar activity and flares will not influence IR detection and characterization studies of M dwarf exoplanets above the level of ∼5-11 mmag, depending on the filter and spectral type. We speculate that the most energetic megaflares on M dwarfs, which occur at rates of once per month, are likely to be easily detected in IR observations with sensitivity of tens of millimagnitudes. We also discuss how recent detections of line flux enhancements during M dwarf flares could influence IR transmission spectroscopic observations of M dwarf exoplanets.

  2. Dynamic evolution of the source volumes of gradual and impulsive solar flare emissions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruner, M. E.; Crannell, C. J.; Goetz, F.; Magun, A.; Mckenzie, D. L.

    1988-01-01

    This study compares flare source volumes inferred from impulsive hard X-rays and microwaves with those derived from density sensitive soft X-ray line ratios in the O VII spectrum. The data for this study were obtained with the SMM Hard X-ray Burst Spectrometer, Earth-based radio observatories, and the SOLEX-B spectrometer on the P78-1 satellite. Data were available for the flares of 1980 April 8, 1980 May 9, and 1981 February 26. The hard X-ray/microwave source volume is determined under the assumption that the same electron temperature or power law index characterizes both the source of hard X-rays and the source of microwaves. The O VII line ratios yield the density and volume of the 2 x 10 to the 6th K plasma. For all three flares, the O VII source volume is found to be smallest at the beginning of the flare, near the time when the impulsive hard X-ray/microwave volume reaches its first maximum. At this time, the O VII volume is three to four orders of magnitude smaller than that inferred from the hard X-ray/microwave analysis. Subsequently, the O VII source volume increases by one or two orders of magnitude then remains almost constant until the end of the flare when it apparently increases again.

  3. Dynamic evolution of the source volumes of gradual and impulsive solar flare emissions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bruner, M.E.; Crannell, C.J.; Goetz, F.; Magun, A.; Mckenzie, D.L.

    1987-12-01

    This study compares flare source volumes inferred from impulsive hard x rays and microwaves with those derived from density sensitive soft x ray line ratios in the O VII spectrum. The data for this study were obtained with the SMM Hard X-Ray Burst Spectrometer, Earth-based radio observatories, and the SOLEX-B spectrometer on the P78-1 satellite. Data were available for the flares of 1980 April 8, 1980 May 9, and 1981 February 26. The hard x ray/microwave source volume is determined under the assumption that the same electron temperature or power law index characterizes both the source of hard x rays and the source of microwaves. The O VII line ratios yield the density and volume of the 2 X 10 to the 6th K plasma. For all three flares, the O VII source volume is found to be smallest at the beginning of the flare, near the time when the impulsive hard x ray/microwave volume reaches its first maximum. At this time, the O VII volume is three to four orders of magnitude smaller than that inferred from the hard x ray/microwave analysis. Subsequently, the O VII source volume increases by one or two orders of magnitude then remains almost constant until the end of the flare when it apparently increases again

  4. Dynamic evolution of the source volumes of gradual and impulsive solar flare emissions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bruner, M.E.; Crannell, C.J.; Goetz, F.; Magun, A.; Mckenzie, D.L.

    1988-01-01

    This study compares flare source volumes inferred from impulsive hard X-rays and microwaves with those derived from density sensitive soft X-ray line ratios in the O VII spectrum. The data for this study were obtained with the SMM Hard X-ray Burst Spectrometer, Earth-based radio observatories, and the SOLEX-B spectrometer on the P78-1 satellite. Data were available for the flares of 1980 April 8, 1980 May 9, and 1981 February 26. The hard X-ray/microwave source volume is determined under the assumption that the same electron temperature or power law index characterizes both the source of hard X-rays and the source of microwaves. The O VII line ratios yield the density and volume of the 2 x 10 to the 6th K plasma. For all three flares, the O VII source volume is found to be smallest at the beginning of the flare, near the time when the impulsive hard X-ray/microwave volume reaches its first maximum. At this time, the O VII volume is three to four orders of magnitude smaller than that inferred from the hard X-ray/microwave analysis. Subsequently, the O VII source volume increases by one or two orders of magnitude then remains almost constant until the end of the flare when it apparently increases again. 29 references

  5. Critical Height of the Torus Instability in Two-ribbon Solar Flares

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Dong; Liu, Rui; Wang, Yuming; Liu, Kai; Chen, Jun; Liu, Jiajia; Zhou, Zhenjun [CAS Key Laboratory of Geospace Environment, Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (China); Zhang, Min, E-mail: rliu@ustc.edu.cn [Department of Mathematics and Physics, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei 230601 (China)

    2017-07-01

    We studied the background field for 60 two-ribbon flares of M-and-above classes during 2011–2015. These flares are categorized into two groups, i.e., eruptive and confined flares, based on whether a flare is associated with a coronal mass ejection or not. The background field of source active regions is approximated by a potential field extrapolated from the B {sub z} component of vector magnetograms provided by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager. We calculated the decay index n of the background field above the flaring polarity inversion line, and defined a critical height h {sub crit} corresponding to the theoretical threshold ( n {sub crit} = 1.5) of the torus instability. We found that h {sub crit} is approximately half of the distance between the centroids of opposite polarities in active regions and that the distribution of h {sub crit} is bimodal: it is significantly higher for confined flares than for eruptive ones. The decay index increases monotonously with increasing height for 86% (84%) of the eruptive (confined) flares but displays a saddle-like profile for the rest, 14% (16%), which are found exclusively in active regions of multipolar field configuration. Moreover, n at the saddle bottom is significantly smaller in confined flares than that in eruptive ones. These results highlight the critical role of background field in regulating the eruptive behavior of two-ribbon flares.

  6. Global energetics of solar flares. I. Magnetic energies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aschwanden, Markus J. [Lockheed Martin, Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, Org. A021S, Bldg. 252, 3251 Hanover Street, Palo Alto, CA 94304 (United States); Xu, Yan; Jing, Ju, E-mail: aschwanden@lmsal.com, E-mail: yan.xu@njit.edu, E-mail: ju.jing@njit.edu [Space Weather Research Laboratory, Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research, New Jersey Institute of Technology, 323 Martin Luther King Boulevard, Newark, NJ 07102-1982 (United States)

    2014-12-10

    We present the first part of a project on the global energetics of solar flares and coronal mass ejections that includes about 400 M- and X-class flares observed with Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) and Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). We calculate the potential (E{sub p} ), the nonpotential (E {sub np}) or free energies (E {sub free} = E {sub np} – E{sub p} ), and the flare-dissipated magnetic energies (E {sub diss}). We calculate these magnetic parameters using two different NLFFF codes: the COR-NLFFF code uses the line-of-sight magnetic field component B{sub z} from HMI to define the potential field, and the two-dimensional (2D) coordinates of automatically detected coronal loops in six coronal wavelengths from AIA to measure the helical twist of coronal loops caused by vertical currents, while the PHOT-NLFFF code extrapolates the photospheric three-dimensional (3D) vector fields. We find agreement between the two codes in the measurement of free energies and dissipated energies within a factor of ≲ 3. The size distributions of magnetic parameters exhibit powerlaw slopes that are approximately consistent with the fractal-diffusive self-organized criticality model. The magnetic parameters exhibit scaling laws for the nonpotential energy, E{sub np}∝E{sub p}{sup 1.02}, for the free energy, E{sub free}∝E{sub p}{sup 1.7} and E{sub free}∝B{sub φ}{sup 1.0}L{sup 1.5}, for the dissipated energy, E{sub diss}∝E{sub p}{sup 1.6} and E{sub diss}∝E{sub free}{sup 0.9}, and the energy dissipation volume, V∝E{sub diss}{sup 1.2}. The potential energies vary in the range of E{sub p} = 1 × 10{sup 31}-4 × 10{sup 33} erg, while the free energy has a ratio of E {sub free}/E{sub p} ≈ 1%-25%. The Poynting flux amounts to F {sub flare} ≈ 5 × 10{sup 8}-10{sup 10} erg cm{sup –2} s{sup –1} during flares, which averages to F {sub AR} ≈ 6 × 10{sup 6} erg cm{sup –2} s{sup –1} during the entire observation

  7. How is symptom flare defined in musculoskeletal conditions: A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costa, Nathalia; Ferreira, Manuela L; Cross, Marita; Makovey, Joanna; Hodges, Paul W

    2018-01-31

    To systematically review the definitions for "flare" in musculoskeletal conditions, the derivation processes, and validation of definitions for the 12 most burdensome musculoskeletal conditions. A literature search was conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, AMED, PsycInfo and Lilacs to identify studies that investigated derivation or validation of a flare definition, which we considered as a phrase or group of domains. Reports of derivation of flare definitions were identified for 9/12 musculoskeletal conditions. Validation of flare definitions was initiated for 4/12. For each condition, different derivation and validation methods have been used, with variable levels of consumer involvement, and in some cases different groups have worked on the process in parallel. Although some flare definitions began simply as "symptom worsening" or "change in treatment", most evolved into multidimensional definitions that include: pain, impact on function, joint symptoms, and emotional elements. Frequently initial attempts to create phrase to define the term flare evolved into consensus on the breadth of domains involved. Validation has compared flare definitions/domains against measures of disease activity, clinicians' diagnosis, response to drug therapy, or a combination. This review suggests that greater characterisation and definition of flares in musculoskeletal conditions are linked to the inclusion of multiple perspectives, multifaceted domains and compound comparators for their validation. Further work is required to optimise and test the derived definitions for most musculoskeletal conditions. As some elements are disease-specific, flare definitions cannot be extrapolated to other conditions. Research regarding flare in back pain (most burdensome disease) is limited. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. {omega}-8 Flare fire; {omega}-8 feu torche

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pagej, S

    2003-06-15

    This document provides propositions and recommendations concerning the physical phenomena of the flare fires. The first part describes the accident analysis and the second part the phenomenon. The third part presents a modelization of the flame, the wind effects and the thermal effects. The last part is devoted to the calculated thresholds for the domino effects on structures. (A.L.B.)

  9. Radiation dose from solar flares at ground level

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Brien, K.

    1979-01-01

    Wdowczyk and Wolfendale (Nature, 268, 510, 1977) concluded that a very large solar flare producing exposure of 10 4 rad at ground level (lethal to almost any organism) has a possible frequency of once per 10 5 -10 8 yr. In the work reported similar results were obtained using a more elaborate model. Flares occuring from February 1956 to August 1972 were analyzed. The flare size distribution above the earth's atmosphere, and neutron flux, dose and dose equivalent at ground level at the latitude of Deep River, Canada, were calculated. The probable frequency of flares delivering various doses are given. Doses larger than 100 rad which have significant somatic effects on man and other animals may be delivered once in 10 6 years. The probability of 10 4 rad was found to be 10 -8 /yr. These calculations apply only to high geomagnetic latitudes. Field reversals during which the geomagnetic field is much weaker than current values total about 10% of the past 4 million years. This suggests that a very large flare delivering a large dose worldwide at ground level cannot be ruled out. (author)

  10. Automated flare forecasting using a statistical learning technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yuan Yuan; Shih, Frank Y.; Jing Ju; Wang Haimin

    2010-01-01

    We present a new method for automatically forecasting the occurrence of solar flares based on photospheric magnetic measurements. The method is a cascading combination of an ordinal logistic regression model and a support vector machine classifier. The predictive variables are three photospheric magnetic parameters, i.e., the total unsigned magnetic flux, length of the strong-gradient magnetic polarity inversion line, and total magnetic energy dissipation. The output is true or false for the occurrence of a certain level of flares within 24 hours. Experimental results, from a sample of 230 active regions between 1996 and 2005, show the accuracies of a 24-hour flare forecast to be 0.86, 0.72, 0.65 and 0.84 respectively for the four different levels. Comparison shows an improvement in the accuracy of X-class flare forecasting. (research papers)

  11. Gamma-ray Burst X-ray Flares Light Curve Fitting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aubain, Jonisha

    2018-01-01

    Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) are the most luminous explosions in the Universe. These electromagnetic explosions produce jets demonstrated by a short burst of prompt gamma-ray emission followed by a broadband afterglow. There are sharp increases of flux in the X-ray light curves known as flares that occurs in about 50% of the afterglows. In this study, we characterized all of the X-ray afterglows that were detected by the Swift X-ray Telescope (XRT), whether with flares or without. We fit flares to the Norris function (Norris et al. 2005) and power laws with breaks where necessary (Racusin et al. 2009). After fitting the Norris function and power laws, we search for the residual pattern detected in prompt GRB pulses (Hakkila et al. 2014, 2015, 2017), that may indicate a common signature of shock physics. If we find the same signature in flares and prompt pulses, it provides insight into what causes them, as well as, how these flares are produced.

  12. Endodontic inter-appointment flare-ups: An example of chaos?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Poorya Jalali

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Pain and/or swelling after instrumentation of a root canal constitute a significant complication during endodontic treatment. Despite a large number of articles discussing the causative factors behind endodontic flare-ups, the exact mechanism is still not understood. The Hypothesis: The seemingly irrational behavior of endodontic inter-appointment flare-ups may be due to sensitive dependence on initial conditions. A model based on Lorenz′ chaos theory is presented as a possible explanation for the sudden emergence and unpredictability of flare-ups. Evaluation of the Hypothesis: All studies agree on some common traits regarding inter-appointment flare-ups: Careful instrumentation can still cause flare-up; the host inflammatory response behaves as a complex nonlinear network; and also the poly-etiologic nature of this phenomenon all illustrate the sensitive dependence on initial conditions of the system. Integrating more variables (e.g., different species of bacteria into this already complex system will make it increasingly chaotic reflecting its unpredictable behavior.

  13. Solar flare hard and soft x ray relationship determined from SMM HXRBS and BCS data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toot, G. David

    1989-01-01

    The exact nature of the solar flare process is still somewhat a mystery. A key element to understanding flares if the relationship between the hard x rays emitted by the most energetic portions of the flare and the soft x rays from other areas and times. This relationship was studied by comparing hard x ray light curved from the Hard X-Ray Burst Spectrometer (HXRBS) with the soft x ray light curve and its derivation from the Bent Crystal Spectrometer (BCS) which is part of the X-Ray Polychrometer (XRP), these instruments being on the Solar Maximum Mission spacecraft (SMM). Data sample was taken from flares observed with the above instruments during 1980, the peak of the previous maximum of solar activity. Flares were chosen based on complete coverage of the event by several instruments. The HXRBS data covers the x ray spectrum from about 25 keV to about 440 keV in 15 spectral channels, while the BCS data used covers a region of the Spectrum around 3 angstroms including emission from the Ca XIX ion. Both sets of data were summed over their spectral ranges and plotted against time at a maximum time resolution of around 3 seconds. The most popular theory of flares holds that a beam of electrons produces the hard x rays by bremsstrahlung while the soft x rays are the thermal response to this energy deposition. The question is whether the rate of change of soft x ray emission might reflect the variability of the electron beam and hence the variability of the hard x rays. To address this, we took the time derivative of the soft x ray light curve and compared it to the hard flares, 12 of them showed very closed agreement between the soft x ray derivative and the hard x ray light curve. The other five did not show this behavior but were similar to each other in general soft x ray behavior. Efforts to determine basic differences between the two kinds of flares continue. In addition the behavior of soft x ray temperature of flares was examined.

  14. Multifractality as a Measure of Complexity in Solar Flare Activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sen, Asok K.

    2007-03-01

    In this paper we use the notion of multifractality to describe the complexity in H α flare activity during the solar cycles 21, 22, and 23. Both northern and southern hemisphere flare indices are analyzed. Multifractal behavior of the flare activity is characterized by calculating the singularity spectrum of the daily flare index time series in terms of the Hölder exponent. The broadness of the singularity spectrum gives a measure of the degree of multifractality or complexity in the flare index data. The broader the spectrum, the richer and more complex is the structure with a higher degree of multifractality. Using this broadness measure, complexity in the flare index data is compared between the northern and southern hemispheres in each of the three cycles, and among the three cycles in each of the two hemispheres. Other parameters of the singularity spectrum can also provide information about the fractal properties of the flare index data. For instance, an asymmetry to the left or right in the singularity spectrum indicates a dominance of high or low fractal exponents, respectively, reflecting a relative abundance of large or small fluctuations in the total energy emitted by the flares. Our results reveal that in the even (22nd) cycle the singularity spectra are very similar for the northern and southern hemispheres, whereas in the odd cycles (21st and 23rd) they differ significantly. In particular, we find that in cycle 21, the northern hemisphere flare index data have higher complexity than its southern counterpart, with an opposite pattern prevailing in cycle 23. Furthermore, small-scale fluctuations in the flare index time series are predominant in the northern hemisphere in the 21st cycle and are predominant in the southern hemisphere in the 23rd cycle. Based on these findings one might suggest that, from cycle to cycle, there exists a smooth switching between the northern and southern hemispheres in the multifractality of the flaring process. This new

  15. The Flare Irradiance Spectral Model (FISM) and its Contributions to Space Weather Research, the Flare Energy Budget, and Instrument Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chamberlin, Phillip

    2008-01-01

    The Flare Irradiance Spectral Model (FISM) is an empirical model of the solar irradiance spectrum from 0.1 to 190 nm at 1 nm spectral resolution and on a 1-minute time cadence. The goal of FISM is to provide accurate solar spectral irradiances over the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV: 0-200 nm) range as input for ionospheric and thermospheric models. The seminar will begin with a brief overview of the FISM model, and also how the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) EUV Variability Experiment (EVE) will contribute to improving FISM. Some current studies will then be presented that use FISM estimations of the solar VUV irradiance to quantify the contributions of the increased irradiance from flares to Earth's increased thermospheric and ionospheric densites. Initial results will also be presented from a study looking at the electron density increases in the Martian atmosphere during a solar flare. Results will also be shown quantifying the VUV contributions to the total flare energy budget for both the impulsive and gradual phases of solar flares. Lastly, an example of how FISM can be used to simplify the design of future solar VUV irradiance instruments will be discussed, using the future NOAA GOES-R Extreme Ultraviolet and X-Ray Sensors (EXIS) space weather instrument.

  16. [A clinical study of endodontic flare-ups].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeh, S J; Lin, Y T; Lu, S Y

    1994-06-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical variables influencing endodontic flare-ups. Three hundred and thirteen teeth receiving endodontic treatment at the Endodontic Department, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital were studied from December 1992 to February 1993. Among them, 21 teeth with significant pain and 9 with apical swelling were noted after the first appointment of treatment. Three teeth with persistent pain and one with apical swelling were also found one week after completion of endodontic therapy. The results showed significant improvement of clinical symptoms and signs one week after completion of endodontic treatment in comparison with pretreatment and after the first appointment (p endodontic flare-ups after the first appointment of treatment (P endodontic flare-ups.

  17. Modelling combustion reactions for gas flaring and its resulting emissions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. Saheed Ismail

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Flaring of associated petroleum gas is an age long environmental concern which remains unabated. Flaring of gas maybe a very efficient combustion process especially steam/air assisted flare and more economical than utilization in some oil fields. However, it has serious implications for the environment. This study considered different reaction types and operating conditions for gas flaring. Six combustion equations were generated using the mass balance concept with varying air and combustion efficiency. These equations were coded with a computer program using 12 natural gas samples of different chemical composition and origin to predict the pattern of emission species from gas flaring. The effect of key parameters on the emission output is also shown. CO2, CO, NO, NO2 and SO2 are the anticipated non-hydrocarbon emissions of environmental concern. Results show that the quantity and pattern of these chemical species depended on percentage excess/deficiency of stoichiometric air, natural gas type, reaction type, carbon mass content, impurities, combustion efficiency of the flare system etc. These emissions degrade the environment and human life, so knowing the emission types, pattern and flaring conditions that this study predicts is of paramount importance to governments, environmental agencies and the oil and gas industry.

  18. Detection of Three-minute Oscillations in Full-disk Ly α Emission during a Solar Flare

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Milligan, Ryan O.; Fletcher, Lyndsay [SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ (United Kingdom); Fleck, Bernhard [ESA Directorate of Science, Operations Department, c/o NASA/GSFC Code 671, Greenbelt, MD 20071 (United States); Ireland, Jack; Dennis, Brian R. [Solar Physics Laboratory (Code 671), Heliophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)

    2017-10-10

    In this Letter we report the detection of chromospheric 3-minute oscillations in disk-integrated EUV irradiance observations during a solar flare. A wavelet analysis of detrended Ly α (from GOES /EUVS) and Lyman continuum (from Solar Dynamics Observatory ( SDO )/EVE) emission from the 2011 February 15 X-class flare (SOL2011-02-15T01:56) revealed a ∼3 minute period present during the flare’s main phase. The formation temperature of this emission locates this radiation at the flare’s chromospheric footpoints, and similar behavior is found in the SDO /Atmospheric Imaging Assembly 1600 and 1700 Å channels, which are dominated by chromospheric continuum. The implication is that the chromosphere responds dynamically at its acoustic cutoff frequency to an impulsive injection of energy. Since the 3-minute period was not found at hard X-ray (HXR) energies (50–100 keV) in Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager data we can state that this 3-minute oscillation does not depend on the rate of energization of non-thermal electrons. However, a second period of 120 s found in both HXR and chromospheric lightcurves is consistent with episodic electron energization on 2-minute timescales. Our finding on the 3-minute oscillation suggests that chromospheric mechanical energy should be included in the flare energy budget, and the fluctuations in the Ly α line may influence the composition and dynamics of planetary atmospheres during periods of high activity.

  19. EVOLUTION OF CURRENTS OF OPPOSITE SIGNS IN THE FLARE-PRODUCTIVE SOLAR ACTIVE REGION NOAA 10930

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ravindra, B.; Venkatakrishnan, P.; Tiwari, Sanjiv Kumar; Bhattacharyya, R.

    2011-01-01

    Analysis of a time series of high spatial resolution vector magnetograms of the active region NOAA 10930 available from the Solar Optical Telescope SpectroPolarimeter on board Hinode revealed that there is a mixture of upward and downward currents in the two footpoints of an emerging flux rope. The flux emergence rate is almost the same in both the polarities. We observe that along with an increase in magnetic flux, the net current in each polarity increases initially for about three days after which it decreases. This net current is characterized by having exactly opposite signs in each polarity while its magnitude remains almost the same most of the time. The decrease of the net current in both the polarities is due to the increase of current having a sign opposite to that of the net current. The dominant current, with the same sign as the net current, is seen to increase first and then decreases during the major X-class flares. Evolution of non-dominant current appears to be a necessary condition for flare initiation. The above observations can be plausibly explained in terms of the superposition of two different force-free states resulting in a non-zero Lorentz force in the corona. This Lorentz force then pushes the coronal plasma and might facilitate the magnetic reconnection required for flares. Also, the evolution of the net current is found to follow the evolution of magnetic shear at the polarity inversion line.

  20. Statistical properties of correlated solar flares and coronal mass ejections in cycles 23 and 24

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aarnio, Alicia

    2018-01-01

    Outstanding problems in understanding early stellar systems include mass loss, angular momentum evolution, and the effects of energetic events on the surrounding environs. The latter of these drives much research into our own system's space weather and the development of predictive algorithms for geomagnetic storms. So dually motivated, we have leveraged a big-data approach to combine two decades of GOES and LASCO data to identify a large sample of spatially and temporally correlated solar flares and CMEs. In this presentation, we revisit the analysis of Aarnio et al. (2011), adding 10 years of data and further exploring the relationships between correlated flare and CME properties. We compare the updated data set results to those previously obtained, and discuss the effects of selecting smaller time windows within solar cycles 23 and 24 on the empirically defined relationships between correlated flare and CME properties. Finally, we discuss a newly identified large sample of potentially interesting correlated flares and CMEs perhaps erroneously excluded from previous searches.

  1. Solar flare irradiation records in Antarctic meteorites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goswami, J.N.

    1981-01-01

    Observations of solar flare heavy nuclei tracks in eight Antartic meteorite samples are reported. Two of these were interior specimens from an L-3 chondrite which contained track-rich grains (olivine) indicating their exposure to solar flare irradiation before compaction of the meteorite. Preliminary noble gas data also indicate the presence of solar-type gases. (U.K.)

  2. Establishing a core domain set to measure rheumatoid arthritis flares

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bykerk, Vivian P; Lie, Elisabeth; Bartlett, Susan J

    2014-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: The OMERACT Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Flare Group (FG) is developing a data-driven, patient-inclusive, consensus-based RA flare definition for use in clinical trials, longterm observational studies, and clinical practice. At OMERACT 11, we sought endorsement of a proposed core domain set...... to measure RA flare. METHODS: Patient and healthcare professional (HCP) qualitative studies, focus groups, and literature review, followed by patient and HCP Delphi exercises including combined Delphi consensus at Outcome Measures in Rheumatology 10 (OMERACT 10), identified potential domains to measure flare...... Filter 2.0 methodology. RESULTS: A pre-meeting combined Delphi exercise for defining flare identified 9 domains as important (>70% consensus from patients or HCP). Four new patient-reported domains beyond those included in the RA disease activity core set were proposed for inclusion (fatigue...

  3. PREDICTION OF SOLAR FLARES USING UNIQUE SIGNATURES OF MAGNETIC FIELD IMAGES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Raboonik, Abbas; Safari, Hossein; Alipour, Nasibe [Department of Physics, University of Zanjan, P.O. Box 45195-313, Zanjan (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Wheatland, Michael S., E-mail: raboonik@alumni.znu.ac.ir, E-mail: safari@znu.ac.ir [Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia)

    2017-01-01

    Prediction of solar flares is an important task in solar physics. The occurrence of solar flares is highly dependent on the structure and topology of solar magnetic fields. A new method for predicting large (M- and X-class) flares is presented, which uses machine learning methods applied to the Zernike moments (ZM) of magnetograms observed by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory for a period of six years from 2010 June 2 to 2016 August 1. Magnetic field images consisting of the radial component of the magnetic field are converted to finite sets of ZMs and fed to the support vector machine classifier. ZMs have the capability to elicit unique features from any 2D image, which may allow more accurate classification. The results indicate whether an arbitrary active region has the potential to produce at least one large flare. We show that the majority of large flares can be predicted within 48 hr before their occurrence, with only 10 false negatives out of 385 flaring active region magnetograms and 21 false positives out of 179 non-flaring active region magnetograms. Our method may provide a useful tool for the prediction of solar flares, which can be employed alongside other forecasting methods.

  4. Interplanetary medium and geomagnetic activity after compact flare triplets 1966-1981

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ivanov, K.G.; Mikerina, N.V.; Pavlov, P.P.

    1986-01-01

    The interplanetary medium state and geomagnetic activity when the Earth is getting into this or that interplanetary disturbance zone after flare triplets, i.e. trains of three solar flares out of an active zone, are considered. There are the following conditionally differentiated zones in the interplanetary disturbance configuration: a forbidden (F), a perturbed (P) and a normal (N) zones of interplanetary disturbance. The interplanetary medium disturbances and geomagnetic activity after trains of three flares of class 2 and higher out of one of active zones depend on the following factors: the magnetic axis orientation of a bipolar group of active zone spots appeared after flares, time interval between the first and second flares in the train, flare intensity. The conditions of maximum disturbance occurrence pointed out. The interplanetary and geomagnetic disturbance intensity in the N zone is higher than that of the F and P zones (i.e. in the proximity of the great circle planes passing through the flares parallel with tha active zone magnetic axes), and it is higher after quasicompact rather than after compact triplets (i.e. it considerably grows when passing over the critical value of the time interval betwenn the first and second triplet flares, τ 12 =16 h)

  5. Flare Prediction Using Photospheric and Coronal Image Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jonas, Eric; Bobra, Monica; Shankar, Vaishaal; Todd Hoeksema, J.; Recht, Benjamin

    2018-03-01

    The precise physical process that triggers solar flares is not currently understood. Here we attempt to capture the signature of this mechanism in solar-image data of various wavelengths and use these signatures to predict flaring activity. We do this by developing an algorithm that i) automatically generates features in 5.5 TB of image data taken by the Solar Dynamics Observatory of the solar photosphere, chromosphere, transition region, and corona during the time period between May 2010 and May 2014, ii) combines these features with other features based on flaring history and a physical understanding of putative flaring processes, and iii) classifies these features to predict whether a solar active region will flare within a time period of T hours, where T = 2 and 24. Such an approach may be useful since, at the present time, there are no physical models of flares available for real-time prediction. We find that when optimizing for the True Skill Score (TSS), photospheric vector-magnetic-field data combined with flaring history yields the best performance, and when optimizing for the area under the precision-recall curve, all of the data are helpful. Our model performance yields a TSS of 0.84 ±0.03 and 0.81 ±0.03 in the T = 2- and 24-hour cases, respectively, and a value of 0.13 ±0.07 and 0.43 ±0.08 for the area under the precision-recall curve in the T=2- and 24-hour cases, respectively. These relatively high scores are competitive with previous attempts at solar prediction, but our different methodology and extreme care in task design and experimental setup provide an independent confirmation of these results. Given the similar values of algorithm performance across various types of models reported in the literature, we conclude that we can expect a certain baseline predictive capacity using these data. We believe that this is the first attempt to predict solar flares using photospheric vector-magnetic field data as well as multiple wavelengths of image

  6. Flare activity on UV CETI: visible and IUE observations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Phillips, K.J.H.; Bromage, G.E.; Dufton, P.L.; Keenan, F.P.; Kingston, A.E.

    1988-06-01

    Simultaneous far-ultraviolet (IUE) spectroscopy and optical photometry and spectrophotometry of a flare on UV Ceti are reported. The flare reached ΔU = 2sup(m) but showed only modest enhancements in the IUE spectra. The optical spectrophotometry indicated broadened Balmer line profiles during the flare, with Hβ and Hγ clearly showing red wings. The results are compared with other IUE and optical observations of UV Ceti, and their solar analogues. (author)

  7. Search for correlation of neutrino events with solar flares in Kamiokande

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hirata, K.S.; Kajita, T.; Kifune, T.

    1988-10-01

    A search has been made for a correlation between large solar flares and neutrino events observed in Kamiokande for the period of July 1983 - July 1988. No significant neutrino signal was found at the time of a solar flare, giving a limit on the time integrated 'solar-flare' ν e flux 7 (2.5 x 10 9 )/cm 2 per flare at 90 % confidence level, for E ν = 100 (50) MeV. These limits are 2000 (60) times smaller than the value required for neutrinos with those energies to account for the excess of signal in the 37 Cl solar neutrino experiment at some of the corresponding solar flare times. (author)

  8. On the signatures of flare-induced global waves in the Sun: GOLF and VIRGO observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Brajesh; Mathur, Savita; García, Rafael A.; Jiménez, Antonio

    2017-11-01

    Recently, several efforts have been made to identify the seismic signatures of flares and magnetic activity in the Sun and Sun-like stars. In this work, we have analysed the disc-integrated velocity and intensity observations of the Sun obtained from the Global Oscillations at Low Frequencies (GOLF) and Variability of solar IRradiance and Gravity Oscillations/Sun photometers (VIRGO/SPM) instruments, respectively, on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory space mission covering several successive flare events, for the period from 2011 February 11 to 2011 February 17, of which 2011 February 11 remained a relatively quiet day and served as a `null test' for the investigation. Application of the spectral analysis to these disc-integrated Sun-as-a-star velocity and intensity signals indicates that there is enhanced power of the global modes of oscillations in the Sun during the flares, as compared to the quiet day. The GOLF instrument obtains velocity observations using the Na I D lines which are formed in the upper solar photosphere, while the intensity data used in our analysis are obtained by VIRGO/SPM instrument at 862 nm, which is formed within the solar photosphere. Despite the fact that the two instruments sample different layers of the solar atmosphere using two different parameters (velocity versus intensity), we have found that both these observations show the signatures of flare-induced global waves in the Sun. These results could suffice in identifying the asteroseismic signatures of stellar flares and magnetic activity in the Sun-like stars.

  9. Future flare compositions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lingen, J.L.N. van; Meuken, D.; Hackspik, M.M.; Mäkeläinen, T.; Weiser, V.; Poulson, G.W.

    2014-01-01

    This poster describes the work done within the Category B joint research project under the European Defence Agency (EDA) on Future Flare Compositions [1]. Contributing members were Finland, Germany, United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The program was aimed to identify the technology gaps that apply

  10. Association of solar flares with coronal mass ejections accompanied by Deca-Hectometric type II radio burst for two solar cycles 23 and 24

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kharayat, Hema; Prasad, Lalan; Pant, Sumit

    2018-05-01

    The aim of present study is to find the association of solar flares with coronal mass ejections (CMEs) accompanied by Deca-Hectometric (DH) type II radio burst for the period 1997-2014 (solar cycle 23 and ascending phase of solar cycle 24). We have used a statistical analysis and found that 10-20∘ latitudinal belt of northern region and 80-90∘ longitudinal belts of western region of the sun are more effective for flare-CME accompanied by DH type II radio burst events. M-class flares (52%) are in good association with the CMEs accompanied by DH type II radio burst. Further, we have calculated the flare position and found that most frequent flare site is at the center of the CME span. However, the occurrence probability of all flares is maximum outside the CME span. X-class flare associated CMEs have maximum speed than that of M, C, and B-class flare associated CMEs. We have also found a good correlation between flare position and central position angle of CMEs accompanied by DH type II radio burst.

  11. Some calculations using the two-dimensional turbulent combustion code flare

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin, D.

    1986-09-01

    A brief description of the code FLARE is given. Both the model used in FLARE and the numerical scheme used to implement the model are described. Results for the simulation of an experiment are presented and discussed. An alternative turbulence model to that used in FLARE is discussed but it is concluded that the original model is better. (author)

  12. Flares in Biopsy-Proven Giant Cell Arteritis in Northern Italy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Restuccia, Giovanna; Boiardi, Luigi; Cavazza, Alberto; Catanoso, Mariagrazia; Macchioni, Pierluigi; Muratore, Francesco; Cimino, Luca; Aldigeri, Raffaella; Crescentini, Filippo; Pipitone, Nicolò; Salvarani, Carlo

    2016-01-01

    Abstract This study evaluated the frequency, timing, and characteristics of flares in a large cohort of Italian patients with biopsy-proven giant cell arteritis (GCA) and to identify factors at diagnosis able to predict the occurrence of flares. We evaluated 157 patients with biopsy-proven transmural GCA diagnosed and followed at the Rheumatology Unit of Reggio Emilia Hospital (Italy) for whom sufficient information was available from the time of diagnosis until at least 4 years of follow-up. Fifty-seven patients (36.5%) experienced ≥1 flares. Fifty-one (46.4%) of the 110 total flares (88 relapses and 22 recurrences) were experienced during the first 2 years after diagnosis. The majority of relapses occurred with doses of prednisone ≤ 10 mg/day (82.9%), whereas only 3.4% of relapses occurred for doses ≥ 25 mg/day. Polymyalgia rheumatica (46.5%) and cranial symptoms (41.9%) were the most frequent manifestations at the time of the first relapse. Cumulative prednisone dose during the first year and total cumulative prednisone dose were significantly higher in flaring patients compared with those without flares (7.8 ± 2.4 vs 6.7 ± 2.4 g, P = 0.02; 15.5 ± 8.9 vs 10.0 ± 9.2 g, P = 0.0001, respectively). The total duration of prednisone treatment was longer in flaring patients (58 ± 44 vs 30 ± 30 months, P = 0.0001). Patients with disease flares had at diagnosis more frequently systemic manifestations (P = 0.02) and fever ≥ 38°C (P = 0.02), significantly lower hemoglobin levels (P = 0.05), more frequent presence at temporal artery biopsy (TAB) specimens of giant cells (P = 0.04) and intraluminal acute thrombosis (P = 0.007), and more moderate/severe arterial inflammation (P = 0.009) compared with those without flares. In the multivariate model fever ≥ 38 °C (hazard ratio 2.14; 95% confidence interval, 1.06–4.32, P = 0.03) and the severity of inflammatory infiltrate

  13. ["Flare-up" during endodontic treatment--etiology and management].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zuckerman, O; Metzger, Z; Sela, G; Lin, S

    2007-04-01

    "Flare-ups" during or following endodontic treatment are not uncommon. A "Flare-up" refers to post-operative pain and/or swelling resulting from bacterial, mechanical or chemical irritation. Prompt diagnosis and treatment are essential for reducing patients' pain and discomfort. Prevention of bacterial, chemical or mechanical invasion to the periapical tissues is the best approach. Other treatment modalities which reduce the probability of periradicular tissue irritation should also be adopted. Etiology, prevention, diagnosis and treatment options of "flare-up" cases are discussed as well as indications for analgesics, in accordance with the severity of the pain.

  14. Solar Flares and the High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (HESSI)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holman, Gordon D.; Fisher, Richard R. (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    Solar flares are the biggest explosions in the solar system. They are important both for understanding explosive events in the Universe and for their impact on human technology and communications. The satellite-based HESSI is designed to study the explosive release of energy and the acceleration of electrons, protons, and other charged particles to high energies in solar flares. HESSI produces "color" movies of the Sun in high-energy X rays and gamma rays radiated by these energetic particles. HESSI's X-ray and gamma-ray images of flares are obtained using techniques similar to those used in radio interferometry. Ground-based radio observations of the Sun provide an important complement to the HESSI observations of solar flares. I will describe the HESSI Project and the high-energy aspects of solar flares, and how these relate to radio astronomy techniques and observations.

  15. Flare activity on UV Ceti: visible and IUE observations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Phillips, K.J.H.; Bromage, G.E.; Dufton, P.L.; Keenan, F.P.; Kingston, A.E.

    1988-01-01

    Simultaneous far-ultraviolet (IUE) spectroscopy and optical photometry and spectrophotometry of a flare on UV Ceti are reported. The flare reached ΔU=2 mag but showed only modest enhancements in the IUE spectra. The optical spectrophotometry indicated broadened Balmer line profiles during the flare, with Hβ and Hγ clearly showing red wings (∼ 100 km s -1 ). The results are compared with other IUE and optical observations of UV Ceti, and their solar analogues. (author)

  16. Validation of treatment escalation as a definition of atopic eczema flares.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kim S Thomas

    Full Text Available Atopic eczema (AE is a chronic disease with flares and remissions. Long-term control of AE flares has been identified as a core outcome domain for AE trials. However, it is unclear how flares should be defined and measured.To validate two concepts of AE flares based on daily reports of topical medication use: (i escalation of treatment and (ii days of topical anti-inflammatory medication use (topical corticosteroids and/or calcineurin inhibitors.Data from two published AE studies (studies A (n=336 and B (n=60 were analysed separately. Validity and feasibility of flare definitions were assessed using daily global bother (scale 0 to 10 as the reference standard. Intra-class correlations were reported for continuous variables, and odds ratios and area under the receiver operator characteristic (ROC curve for binary outcome measures.Good agreement was found between both AE flare definitions and change in global bother: area under the ROC curve for treatment escalation of 0.70 and 0.73 in studies A and B respectively, and area under the ROC curve of 0.69 for topical anti-inflammatory medication use (Study A only. Significant positive relationships were found between validated severity scales (POEM, SASSAD, TIS and the duration of AE flares occurring in the previous week - POEM and SASSAD rose by half a point for each unit increase in number of days in flare. Smaller increases were observed on the TIS scale. Completeness of daily diaries was 95% for Study A and 60% for Study B over 16 weeks.Both definitions were good proxy indicators of AE flares. We found no evidence that 'escalation of treatment' was a better measure of AE flares than 'use of topical anti-inflammatory medications'. Capturing disease flares in AE trials through daily recording of medication use is feasible and appears to be a good indicator of long-term control.Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN71423189 (Study A.

  17. Photographic colorimetry of stellar flares in the Pleiades and Orion. II

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mirzoian, L.V.; Chavushian, O.S.; Melikian, N.D.; Natsvlishvili, R.Sh.; Ambarian, V.V.; Brutian, G.A.

    1984-01-01

    Synchronous three-telescope UBV photographic colorimetry of Pleiades and Orion stellar flares obtained at Biurakan Astrophysical Observatory and Abastumani Astrophysical Observatory during 86 observing hours in 1980 and 1981 is presented. The data are compiled in tables and discussed in terms of color differences appearing at different stages of a flare. A total of 32 flares are observed (25 in the Pleiades and 7 in Orion), and four new flare stars are identified in each region. 12 references

  18. Studies of soft x-ray emission during solar flares

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anandaram, M.N.

    1973-01-01

    Solar flare soft x-ray emission from 0.5 A to 8.5 A was observed during 1967-68 by Bragg crystal (LiF and EDDT) spectrometers aboard the OSO-4 satellite and also by NRL broad-band ionization detectors aboard the OGO-4 satellite. In this work, instrumental parameters for the LiF crystal spectrometer based on experimental values have been determined and used in the data analysis. The total continuum emission in the 0.5 to 3 A and the 1 to 8 A broad band segments has been determined from OGO-4 data for 21 flares. In doing this, a simple and approximate method of converting the total emission based on the gray body approximation (in which the OGO-4 data are reported) to one based on the thermal continuum spectrum has been developed. (author)

  19. K2 Ultracool Dwarfs Survey. III. White Light Flares Are Ubiquitous in M6-L0 Dwarfs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paudel, Rishi R.; Gizis, John E.; Mullan, D. J.; Schmidt, Sarah J.; Burgasser, Adam J.; Williams, Peter K. G.; Berger, Edo

    2018-05-01

    We report the white light flare rates for 10 ultracool dwarfs using Kepler K2 short-cadence data. Among our sample stars, two have spectral type M6, three are M7, three are M8, and two are L0. Most of our targets are old low-mass stars. We identify a total of 283 flares in all of the stars in our sample, with Kepler energies in the range log E Kp ∼ (29–33.5) erg. Using the maximum-likelihood method of line fitting, we find that the flare frequency distribution (FFD) for each star in our sample follows a power law with slope ‑α in the range ‑(1.3–2.0). We find that cooler objects tend to have shallower slopes. For some of our targets, the FFD follows either a broken power law, or a power law with an exponential cutoff. For the L0 dwarf 2MASS J12321827-0951502, we find a very shallow slope (‑α = ‑1.3) in the Kepler energy range (0.82–130) × 1030 erg: this L0 dwarf has flare rates which are comparable to those of high-energy flares in stars of earlier spectral types. In addition, we report photometry of two superflares: one on the L0 dwarf 2MASS J12321827-0951502 and another on the M7 dwarf 2MASS J08352366+1029318. In the case of 2MASS J12321827-0951502, we report a flare brightening by a factor of ∼144 relative to the quiescent photospheric level. Likewise, for 2MASS J08352366+1029318, we report a flare brightening by a factor of ∼60 relative to the quiescent photospheric level. These two superflares have bolometric (ultraviolet/optical/infrared) energies 3.6 × 1033 erg and 8.9 × 1033 erg respectively, while the full width half maximum timescales are very short, ∼2 min. We find that the M8 star TRAPPIST-1 is more active than the M8.5 dwarf 2M03264453+1919309, but less active than another M8 dwarf (2M12215066-0843197).

  20. KIC 9451096: Magnetic Activity, Flares and Differential Rotation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Özdarcan, O.; Yoldaş, E.; Dal, H. A.

    2018-04-01

    We present a spectroscopic and photometric analysis of KIC 9451096. The combined spectroscopic and photometric modelling shows that the system is a detached eclipsing binary in a circular orbit and composed of F5V + K2V components. Subtracting the best-fitting light curve model from the whole long cadence data reveals additional low (mmag) amplitude light variations in time and occasional flares, suggesting a low, but still remarkable level of magnetic spot activity on the K2V component. Analyzing the rotational modulation of the light curve residuals enables us to estimate the differential rotation coefficient of the K2V component as k = 0.069 ± 0.008, which is 3 times weaker compared with the solar value of k = 0.19, assuming a solar type differential rotation. We find the stellar flare activity frequency for the K2V component as 0.000368411 h-1 indicating a low magnetic activity level.

  1. Electron Acceleration In Impulsive Solar Flares : extract of a thesis

    CERN Document Server

    Lenters, G T

    1999-01-01

    Impulsive solar flares generate a wide range of photon and particle emissions and hence provide an excellent backyard laboratory for studying particle acceleration processes in astrophysical plasmas. The source of the acceleration remains unidentified, but the basic observations are clear: (1) Hard X-ray and gamma-ray line emission occur simultaneously, indicating that electron and ion acceleration must occur simultaneously; (2) the electron and ion precipitation rates at the foot-points of the flare must be extremely large to account for the photon emission (∼1037 electrons s −1 and ∼1035 protons s−1, respectively), which means that replenishment of the acceleration region (which contains ≈1037 fully ionized hydrogen atoms) is a crucial issue; and (3) there are enhancements of the heavy ion abundances relative to normal coronal values. The basic model proposed assumes the generation of extremely low levels of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turb...

  2. Hard X-Ray Emission from Partially Occulted Solar Flares: RHESSI Observations in Two Solar Cycles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Effenberger, Frederic; Costa, Fatima Rubio da; Petrosian, Vahé [Department of Physics and KIPAC, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States); Oka, Mitsuo; Saint-Hilaire, Pascal; Krucker, Säm [Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-7450 (United States); Liu, Wei [Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, 625 2nd Street, Suite 209, Petaluma, CA 94952 (United States); Glesener, Lindsay, E-mail: feffen@stanford.edu, E-mail: frubio@stanford.edu [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (United States)

    2017-02-01

    Flares close to the solar limb, where the footpoints are occulted, can reveal the spectrum and structure of the coronal looptop source in X-rays. We aim at studying the properties of the corresponding energetic electrons near their acceleration site, without footpoint contamination. To this end, a statistical study of partially occulted flares observed with Reuven Ramaty High-Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager is presented here, covering a large part of solar cycles 23 and 24. We perform detailed spectra, imaging, and light curve analyses for 116 flares and include contextual observations from SDO and STEREO when available, providing further insights into flare emission that were previously not accessible. We find that most spectra are fitted well with a thermal component plus a broken power-law, non-thermal component. A thin-target kappa distribution model gives satisfactory fits after the addition of a thermal component. X-ray imaging reveals small spatial separation between the thermal and non-thermal components, except for a few flares with a richer coronal source structure. A comprehensive light curve analysis shows a very good correlation between the derivative of the soft X-ray flux (from GOES ) and the hard X-rays for a substantial number of flares, indicative of the Neupert effect. The results confirm that non-thermal particles are accelerated in the corona and estimated timescales support the validity of a thin-target scenario with similar magnitudes of thermal and non-thermal energy fluxes.

  3. Feasibility and Domain Validation of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Flare Core Domain Set

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bartlett, Susan J; Bykerk, Vivian P; Cooksey, Roxanne

    2015-01-01

    , and stiffness scores averaged ≥ 2 times higher (2 of 11 points) in flaring individuals. Correlations between flare domains and corresponding legacy instruments were obtained: r = 0.46 to 0.93. A combined definition (patient report of flare and 28-joint Disease Activity Score increase) was evaluated in 2 other...... provided input for stiffness, self-management, contextual factors, and measurement considerations. RESULTS: Flare data from 501 patients in an observational study indicated 39% were in flare, with mean (SD) severity of 6.0 (2.6) and 55% lasting > 14 days. Pain, physical function, fatigue, participation...

  4. Reconnection Mediated by Magnetic Fractures and the Solar Flare

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haerendel, Gerhard

    2018-03-01

    Reconnection of sheared magnetic fields is commonly treated by regarding the component perpendicular to the antiparallel components as a largely inert guide field. In this paper an alternative is proposed in which the free energy residing in the shear field is being converted prior to reconnection. This happens in high-density, dissipative current sheets bordering the reconnection site. A global scenario is presented in which low-intensity currents out of the photosphere are converging into the narrow, high-intensity currents at high altitude. This is enabled by the obliqueness of the latter. The very short timescale of the energy conversion causes a lateral propagation of the current sheets. In a quasi-stationary situation, it balances the reconnection rate, which turns out to be much lower than in guide-field approaches. Another important consequence of the obliqueness is the field-parallel emission of runaway electrons. Accelerated up to tens of keV, they are possibly important contributors to the production of hard X-rays during the impulsive phase of a flare, but only in areas of upward-directed currents. Quantitative evaluation of the model predicts various potentially observable properties, such as width and propagation speed of the generated flare ribbons, spatial dependences of the electron spectrum, size of the area of energy deposition, and successive decrease of the shear angle between conjugate footpoints. The presented theoretical model can account for the observed brightness asymmetry of flare ribbons with respect to the direction of the vertical currents.

  5. ARCADE IMPLOSION CAUSED BY A FILAMENT ERUPTION IN A FLARE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Juntao; Simões, P. J. A.; Fletcher, L.; Hannah, I. G. [SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ (United Kingdom); Thalmann, J. K. [Institute of Physics/IGAM, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 5, A-8010 Graz (Austria); Hudson, H. S., E-mail: j.wang.4@research.gla.ac.uk [SSL/UC, Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2016-12-20

    Coronal implosions—the convergence motion of plasmas and entrained magnetic field in the corona due to a reduction in magnetic pressure—can help to locate and track sites of magnetic energy release or redistribution during solar flares and eruptions. We report here on the analysis of a well-observed implosion in the form of an arcade contraction associated with a filament eruption, during the C3.5 flare SOL2013-06-19T07:29. A sequence of events including the magnetic flux-rope instability and distortion, followed by a filament eruption and arcade implosion, lead us to conclude that the implosion arises from the transfer of magnetic energy from beneath the arcade as part of the global magnetic instability, rather than due to local magnetic energy dissipation in the flare. The observed net contraction of the imploding loops, which is found also in nonlinear force-free field extrapolations, reflects a permanent reduction of magnetic energy underneath the arcade. This event shows that, in addition to resulting in the expansion or eruption of an overlying field, flux-rope instability can also simultaneously implode an unopened field due to magnetic energy transfer. It demonstrates the “partial opening of the field” scenario, which is one of the ways in 3D to produce a magnetic eruption without violating the Aly–Sturrock hypothesis. In the framework of this observation, we also propose a unification of three main concepts for active region magnetic evolution, namely the metastable eruption model, the implosion conjecture, and the standard “CSHKP” flare model.

  6. Relation between gamma-ray emission, radio bursts, and proton fluxes from solar flares

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fomichev, V.V.; Chertok, I.M.

    1985-01-01

    Data on solar gamma-ray flares, including 24 flares with gamma-ray lines, recorded up to June 1982, are analyzed. It is shown that from the point of view of radio emission the differences between flares with and without gamma-ray lines has a purely quantitative character: the former are accompanied by the most intense microwave bursts. Meter type II bursts are not a distinctive feature of flares with gamma-ray lines. Pulsed flares, regardless of the presence or absence of gamma-ray lines, are not accompanied by significant proton fluxes at the earth. On the whole, contrary to the popular opinion in the literature, flares with gamma-ray lines do not display a deficit of proton flux in interplanetary space in comparison with similar flares without gamma-ray lines. The results of quantitative diagnostics of proton flares based on radio bursts are not at variance with the presence of flares without detectable gamma-ray emission in lines but with a pronounced increase in the proton flux at the earth. 23 references

  7. Detection of the Acceleration Site in a Solar Flare

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleishman, Gregory D.; Kontar, E. P.; Nita, G. M.; Gary, D. E.

    2011-05-01

    We report the observation of an unusual cold, tenuous solar flare (ApJL, v. 731, p. L19, 2011), which reveals itself via numerous and prominent non-thermal manifestations, while lacking any noticeable thermal emission signature. RHESSI hard X-rays and 0.1-18 GHz radio data from OVSA and Phoenix-2 show copious electron acceleration (1035 electrons per second above 10 keV) typical for GOES M-class flares with electrons energies up to 100 keV, but GOES temperatures not exceeding 6.1 MK. The HXR footpoints and coronal radio sources belong, supposedly, to a single magnetic loop, which departs strongly from the corresponding potential loop (obtained from a photospheric extrapolation) in agreement with the apparent need of a non-potential magnetic field structure to produce a flare. The imaging, temporal, and spectral characteristics of the flare have led us to a firm conclusion that the bulk of the microwave continuum emission from this flare was produced directly in the acceleration region. We found that the electron acceleration efficiency is very high in the flare, so almost all available thermal electrons are eventually accelerated. However, given a relatively small flaring volume and rather low thermal density at the flaring loop, the total energy release turned out to be insufficient for a significant heating of the coronal plasma or for a prominent chromospheric response giving rise to chromospheric evaporation. Some sort of stochastic acceleration process is needed to account for an approximately energy-independent lifetime of about 3 s for the electrons in the acceleration region. This work was supported in part by NSF grants AGS-0961867, AST-0908344, and NASA grants NNX10AF27G and NNX11AB49G to New Jersey Institute of Technology. This work was supported by a UK STFC rolling grant, STFC/PPARC Advanced Fellowship, and the Leverhulme Trust, UK. Financial support by the European Commission through the SOLAIRE and HESPE Networks is gratefully acknowledged.

  8. Measurements and modeling of total solar irradiance in X-class solar flares

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moore, Christopher Samuel; Chamberlin, Phillip Clyde; Hock, Rachel

    2014-01-01

    The Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM) from NASA's SOlar Radiation and Climate Experiment can detect changes in the total solar irradiance (TSI) to a precision of 2 ppm, allowing observations of variations due to the largest X-class solar flares for the first time. Presented here is a robust algorithm for determining the radiative output in the TIM TSI measurements, in both the impulsive and gradual phases, for the four solar flares presented in Woods et al., as well as an additional flare measured on 2006 December 6. The radiative outputs for both phases of these five flares are then compared to the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) irradiance output from the Flare Irradiance Spectral Model (FISM) in order to derive an empirical relationship between the FISM VUV model and the TIM TSI data output to estimate the TSI radiative output for eight other X-class flares. This model provides the basis for the bolometric energy estimates for the solar flares analyzed in the Emslie et al. study.

  9. Optical flare observed in the flaring gamma-ray blazar Ton 599

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pursimo, Tapio; Sagues, Ana; Telting, John; Ojha, Roopesh

    2017-11-01

    We report optical photometry of the flat spectrum radio quasar Ton 599, obtained with the 2.56m Nordic Optical Telescope in La Palma, to look for any enhanced optical activity associated with a recent flare in the daily averaged gamma-ray flux (ATel#10931, ATel#10937).

  10. A ``perfect'' Late Phase Flare Loop: X-ray And Radio Studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bain, Hazel; Fletcher, L.

    2009-05-01

    We present observations of a GOES X3.1 class flare which occurred on the 24th August 2002. The event was observed by a number of instruments including RHESSI, TRACE and NoRH. This flare is particularly interesting due to its position and orientation on the west limb of the Sun. The flare appears to be perpendicular to the line of sight making it possible to ascertain the geometrical parameters of the post flare arcade loops. We investigate the decay phase of the flare by comparing X-ray and radio observations of the post flare arcade loops with models of soft x-ray and thermal gyrosynchrotron emission to characterise the electron distribution present within the loop. HMB gratefully acknowledges the support of an SPD and STFC studentship. LF gratefully acknowledges the support of an STFC Rolling Grant, and financial support by the European Commission through the SOLAIRE Network (MTRN-CT_2006-035484)

  11. Sources of uncertainty in characterizing health risks from flare emissions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hrudey, S.E.

    2000-01-01

    The assessment of health risks associated with gas flaring was the focus of this paper. Health risk assessments for environmental decision-making includes the evaluation of scientific data to identify hazards and to determine dose-response assessments, exposure assessments and risk characterization. Gas flaring has been the cause for public health concerns in recent years, most notably since 1996 after a published report by the Alberta Research Council. Some of the major sources of uncertainty associated with identifying hazardous contaminants in flare emissions were discussed. Methods to predict human exposures to emitted contaminants were examined along with risk characterization of predicted exposures to several identified contaminants. One of the problems is that elemental uncertainties exist regarding flare emissions which places limitations of the degree of reassurance that risk assessment can provide, but risk assessment can nevertheless offer some guidance to those responsible for flare emissions

  12. Reconnection in Solar Flares: Outstanding Questions Hiroaki Isobe ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Although the idea of magnetic reconnection for explaining the energy release in solar flares had been proposed many decades ago (Parker 1957; Sweet. 1958) it was after Yohkoh (Ogawara et al. 1991) observations that the reality of mag- netic reconnection occurring during solar flares was established. Examples of evi-.

  13. Thermal x-rays and deuterium production in stellar flares

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Colgate, S.A.

    1977-01-01

    The x-ray spectrum of flares is shown to be necessarily thermal up to greater than or equal to 200 keV because the self magnetic field of any electron stream required for a thick or thin target source is inconsistently large. The resulting flare model can then be related to stellar luminosity, convection and magnetic fields to result in a maximum possible γ-burst (Mullan, 1976) and continuous x-ray flux. One of the most striking isotopic anomalies observed is the extreme enrichment of Helium (3) in some solar flares and the mysterious depletion of deuterium. It is discussed how deuterium may be produced and emitted in the largest flares associated with γ-bursts but in amounts insufficient to support the tentative conclusion of Colemen and Worden

  14. THE IMPLICATIONS OF M DWARF FLARES ON THE DETECTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF EXOPLANETS AT INFRARED WAVELENGTHS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tofflemire, Benjamin M.; Wisniewski, John P.; Kowalski, Adam F.; Schmidt, Sarah J.; Kundurthy, Praveen; Hilton, Eric J.; Hawley, Suzanne L. [Astronomy Department, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Holtzman, Jon A., E-mail: tofflb@u.washington.edu, E-mail: jwisnie@u.washington.edu [Department of Astronomy, New Mexico State University, Box 30001, Las Cruces, NM 880033 (United States)

    2012-01-15

    We present the results of an observational campaign which obtained high-cadence, high-precision, simultaneous optical and IR photometric observations of three M dwarf flare stars for 47 hr. The campaign was designed to characterize the behavior of energetic flare events, which routinely occur on M dwarfs, at IR wavelengths to millimagnitude precision, and quantify to what extent such events might influence current and future efforts to detect and characterize extrasolar planets surrounding these stars. We detected and characterized four highly energetic optical flares having U-band total energies of {approx}7.8 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 30} to {approx}1.3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 32} erg, and found no corresponding response in the J, H, or Ks bandpasses at the precision of our data. For active dM3e stars, we find that a {approx}1.3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 32} erg U-band flare ({Delta}U{sub max} {approx} 1.5 mag) will induce <8.3 (J), <8.5 (H), and <11.7 (Ks) mmag of a response. A flare of this energy or greater should occur less than once per 18 hr. For active dM4.5e stars, we find that a {approx}5.1 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 31} erg U-band flare ({Delta}U{sub max} {approx} 1.6 mag) will induce <7.8 (J), <8.8 (H), and <5.1 (Ks) mmag of a response. A flare of this energy or greater should occur less than once per 10 hr. No evidence of stellar variability not associated with discrete flare events was observed at the level of {approx}3.9 mmag over 1 hr timescales and at the level of {approx}5.6 mmag over 7.5 hr timescales. We therefore demonstrate that most M dwarf stellar activity and flares will not influence IR detection and characterization studies of M dwarf exoplanets above the level of {approx}5-11 mmag, depending on the filter and spectral type. We speculate that the most energetic megaflares on M dwarfs, which occur at rates of once per month, are likely to be easily detected in IR observations with sensitivity of tens of millimagnitudes. We also

  15. Recurrent flares in active region NOAA 11283

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romano, P.; Zuccarello, F.; Guglielmino, S. L.; Berrilli, F.; Bruno, R.; Carbone, V.; Consolini, G.; de Lauretis, M.; Del Moro, D.; Elmhamdi, A.; Ermolli, I.; Fineschi, S.; Francia, P.; Kordi, A. S.; Landi Degl'Innocenti, E.; Laurenza, M.; Lepreti, F.; Marcucci, M. F.; Pallocchia, G.; Pietropaolo, E.; Romoli, M.; Vecchio, A.; Vellante, M.; Villante, U.

    2015-10-01

    Context. Flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are solar phenomena that are not yet fully understood. Several investigations have been performed to single out their related physical parameters that can be used as indices of the magnetic complexity leading to their occurrence. Aims: In order to shed light on the occurrence of recurrent flares and subsequent associated CMEs, we studied the active region NOAA 11283 where recurrent M and X GOES-class flares and CMEs occurred. Methods: We use vector magnetograms taken by HMI/SDO to calculate the horizontal velocity fields of the photospheric magnetic structures, the shear and the dip angles of the magnetic field, the magnetic helicity flux distribution, and the Poynting fluxes across the photosphere due to the emergence and the shearing of the magnetic field. Results: Although we do not observe consistent emerging magnetic flux through the photosphere during the observation time interval, we detected a monotonic increase of the magnetic helicity accumulated in the corona. We found that both the shear and the dip angles have high values along the main polarity inversion line (PIL) before and after all the events. We also note that before the main flare of X2.1 GOES class, the shearing motions seem to inject a more significant energy than the energy injected by the emergence of the magnetic field. Conclusions: We conclude that the very long duration (about 4 days) of the horizontal displacement of the main photospheric magnetic structures along the PIL has a primary role in the energy release during the recurrent flares. This peculiar horizontal velocity field also contributes to the monotonic injection of magnetic helicity into the corona. This process, coupled with the high shear and dip angles along the main PIL, appears to be responsible for the consecutive events of loss of equilibrium leading to the recurrent flares and CMEs. A movie associated to Fig. 4 is available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

  16. “Orphan” γ-Ray Flares and Stationary Sheaths of Blazar Jets

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacDonald, Nicholas R.; Jorstad, Svetlana G.; Marscher, Alan P.

    2017-11-01

    Blazars exhibit flares across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Many γ-ray flares are highly correlated with flares detected at longer wavelengths; however, a small subset appears to occur in isolation, with little or no correlated variability at longer wavelengths. These “orphan” γ-ray flares challenge current models of blazar variability, most of which are unable to reproduce this type of behavior. MacDonald et al. have developed the Ring of Fire model to explain the origin of orphan γ-ray flares from within blazar jets. In this model, electrons contained within a blob of plasma moving relativistically along the spine of the jet inverse-Compton scatter synchrotron photons emanating off of a ring of shocked sheath plasma that enshrouds the jet spine. As the blob propagates through the ring, the scattering of the ring photons by the blob electrons creates an orphan γ-ray flare. This model was successfully applied to modeling a prominent orphan γ-ray flare observed in the blazar PKS 1510-089. To further support the plausibility of this model, MacDonald et al. presented a stacked radio map of PKS 1510-089 containing the polarimetric signature of a sheath of plasma surrounding the spine of the jet. In this paper, we extend our modeling and stacking techniques to a larger sample of blazars: 3C 273, 4C 71.01, 3C 279, 1055+018, CTA 102, and 3C 345, the majority of which have exhibited orphan γ-ray flares. We find that the model can successfully reproduce these flares, while our stacked maps reveal the existence of jet sheaths within these blazars.

  17. The Solar Flare: A Strongly Turbulent Particle Accelerator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vlahos, L.; Krucker, S.; Cargill, P.

    The topics of explosive magnetic energy release on a large scale (a solar flare) and particle acceleration during such an event are rarely discussed together in the same article. Many discussions of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) mod- eling of solar flares and/or CMEs have appeared (see [143] and references therein) and usually address large-scale destabilization of the coronal mag- netic field. Particle acceleration in solar flares has also been discussed exten- sively [74, 164, 116, 166, 87, 168, 95, 122, 35] with the main emphasis being on the actual mechanisms for acceleration (e.g., shocks, turbulence, DC electric fields) rather than the global magnetic context in which the acceleration takes place.

  18. Impulsiveness and energetics in solar flares with and without type II radio bursts - A comparison of hard X-ray characteristics for over 2500 solar flares

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pearson, Douglas H.; Nelson, Robert; Kojoian, Gabriel; Seal, James

    1989-01-01

    The hard X-ray characteristics of more than 2500 solar flares are used to study the relative size, impulsiveness, and energetics of flares with and without type II radio bursts. A quantitative definition of the hard X-ray impulsiveness is introduced, which may be applied to a large number of events unambiguously. It is found that the flares with type II bursts are generally not significantly larger, more impulsive, or more energetic than those without type II bursts. Also, no evidence is found to suggest a simple classification of the flares as either 'impulsive' or 'gradual'. Because type II bursts are present even in small flares with relatively unimpulsive energy releases, it is concluded that changes in the ambient conditions of the solar atmosphere causing an unusually low Alfven speed may be important in the generation of the shock wave that produces type II radio bursts.

  19. MAGNETIC NON-POTENTIALITY OF SOLAR ACTIVE REGIONS AND PEAK X-RAY FLUX OF THE ASSOCIATED FLARES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tiwari, Sanjiv Kumar; Venkatakrishnan, P.; Gosain, Sanjay

    2010-01-01

    Predicting the severity of solar eruptive phenomena such as flares and coronal mass ejections remains a great challenge despite concerted efforts to do so over the past several decades. However, the advent of high-quality vector magnetograms obtained from Hinode (SOT/SP) has increased the possibility of meeting this challenge. In particular, the spatially averaged signed shear angle (SASSA) seems to be a unique parameter for quantifying the non-potentiality of active regions. We demonstrate the usefulness of the SASSA for predicting flare severity. For this purpose, we present case studies of the evolution of magnetic non-potentiality using 115 vector magnetograms of four active regions, namely, ARs NOAA 10930, 10960, 10961, and 10963 during 2006 December 8-15, 2007 June 3-10, 2007 June 28-July 5, and 2007 July 10-17, respectively. The NOAA ARs 10930 and 10960 were very active and produced X and M class flares, respectively, along with many smaller X-ray flares. On the other hand, the NOAA ARs 10961 and 10963 were relatively less active and produced only very small (mostly A- and B-class) flares. For this study, we have used a large number of high-resolution vector magnetograms obtained from Hinode (SOT/SP). Our analysis shows that the peak X-ray flux of the most intense solar flare emanating from the active regions depends on the magnitude of the SASSA at the time of the flare. This finding of the existence of a lower limit of the SASSA for a given class of X-ray flares will be very useful for space weather forecasting. We have also studied another non-potentiality parameter called the mean weighted shear angle (MWSA) of the vector magnetograms along with the SASSA. We find that the MWSA does not show such distinction as the SASSA for upper limits of the GOES X-ray flux of solar flares; however, both the quantities show similar trends during the evolution of all active regions studied.

  20. Flaring red dwarf stars: news from Crimea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gershberg, Roald E

    1998-01-01

    Important phenomena are briefly described which have recently been discovered in the Crimean studies of flaring red dwarf stars believed to be the most common type of variable stars in the Galaxy. These phenomena include (i) long-lived radiation from a blueshifted component in the ionized-helium λ 4686 A emission line in the active state of one such star, (ii) a long-lived absorption component in the stellar flare light curves with a lifetime exceeding that of the conventional flare emission, and (iii) solarcycle-like activity periodicity of the star EV Lac, whose mass is only 0.3 solar masses. In theoretical terms, a red dwarf star spot model is constructed which, in contrast to the commonly accepted model, agrees well with the solar spot picture. (physics of our days)

  1. Flaring red dwarf stars: news from Crimea

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gershberg, Roald E [Crimean Astrophysical Observatory, Nauchnyi, Crimea (Ukraine)

    1998-08-31

    Important phenomena are briefly described which have recently been discovered in the Crimean studies of flaring red dwarf stars believed to be the most common type of variable stars in the Galaxy. These phenomena include (i) long-lived radiation from a blueshifted component in the ionized-helium {lambda} 4686 A emission line in the active state of one such star, (ii) a long-lived absorption component in the stellar flare light curves with a lifetime exceeding that of the conventional flare emission, and (iii) solarcycle-like activity periodicity of the star EV Lac, whose mass is only 0.3 solar masses. In theoretical terms, a red dwarf star spot model is constructed which, in contrast to the commonly accepted model, agrees well with the solar spot picture. (physics of our days)

  2. VLBI OBSERVATION OF MICROQUASAR CYG X-3 DURING AN X-RAY STATE TRANSITION FROM SOFT TO HARD IN THE 2007 MAY-JUNE FLARE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Jeong-Sook; Kim, Sang Joon [School of Space Science, Kyunghee University, Seocheon-dong, Giheung-si, Gyeonggi-do 446-701 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Soon-Wook [Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, 776 Daedeokdaero, Yuseong, Daejeon 305-348 (Korea, Republic of); Kurayama, Tomoharu [Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Kagoshima University, 1-21-35 Korimoto, Kagoshima, Kagoshima 890-0065 (Japan); Honma, Mareki [National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588 (Japan); Sasao, Tetsuo, E-mail: evony@kasi.re.kr, E-mail: skim@kasi.re.kr [Yaeyama Star Club, Ookawa, Ishigaki, Okinawa 904-0022 (Japan)

    2013-07-20

    We present a radio observation of microquasar Cyg X-3 during an X-ray state transition from ultrasoft to hard state in the 2007 May-June flare using the VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry at 22 GHz. During the transition, a short-lived mini-flare of {approx}< 3 hr was detected prior to the major flare. In such a transition, a jet ejection is believed to occur, but there have been no direct observations to support it. An analysis of Gaussian fits to the observed visibility amplitudes shows a time variation of the source axis, or a structural change, during the mini-flare. Our model fits, together with other multiwavelength observations in the radio, soft, and hard X-rays, and the shock-in-jet models for other flaring activities at GHz wavebands, suggest a high possibility of synchrotron flares during the mini-flare, indicative of a predominant contribution from jet activity. Therefore, the mini-flare with an associated structural change is indicative of a jet ejection event in the state transition from ultrasoft to hard state.

  3. The solar flare of 18 August 1979: Incoherent scatter radar data and photochemical model comparisons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zinn, J.; Sutherland, C.D.; Fenimore, E.E.; Ganguly, S.

    1988-04-01

    Measurements of electron density at seven D-region altidues were made with the Arecibo radar during a Class-X solar flare on 18 August 1979. Measurements of solar x-ray fluxes during the same period were available from the GOES-2 satellite (0.5 to 4 /angstrom/ and 1 to 8 /angstrom/) and from ISEE-3 (in four bands between 26 and 400 keV). From the x-ray flux data we computed ionization rates in the D-region and the associated chemical changes, using a coupled atmospheric chemistry and diffusion model (with 836 chemical reactions and 19 vertical levels). The computed electron densities matched the data fairly well after we had adjusted the rate coefficients of two reactions. We discuss the hierarchies among the many flare-induced chemical reactions in two altitude ranges within the D-region and the effects of adjusting several other rate coefficients. 51 refs., 6 figs., 3 tabs

  4. Global Energetics in Solar Flares and Coronal Mass Ejections

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aschwanden, Markus J.

    2017-08-01

    We present a statistical study of the energetics of coronal mass ejections (CME) and compare it with the magnetic, thermal, and nonthermal energy dissipated in flares. The physical parameters of CME speeds, mass, and kinetic energies are determined with two different independent methods, i.e., the traditional white-light scattering method using LASCO/SOHO data, and the EUV dimming method using AIA/SDO data. We analyze all 860 GOES M- and X-class flare events observed during the first 7 years (2010-2016) of the SDO mission. The new ingredients of our CME modeling includes: (1) CME geometry in terms of a self-similar adiabatic expansion, (2) DEM analysis of CME mass over entire coronal temperature range, (3) deceleration of CME due to gravity force which controls the kinetic and potentail CME energy as a function of time, (4) the critical speed that controls eruptive and confined CMEs, (5) the relationship between the center-of-mass motion during EUV dimming and the leading edge motion observed in white-light coronagraphs. Novel results are: (1) Physical parameters obtained from both the EUV dimming and white-light method can be reconciled; (2) the equi-partition of CME kinetic and thermal flare energy; (3) the Rosner-Tucker-Vaiana scaling law. We find that the two methods in EUV and white-light wavelengths are highly complementary and yield more complete models than each method alone.

  5. A search for X-rays from UV Ceti flare stars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crannell, C.J.; Spangler, S.R.

    1975-01-01

    A search of the MIT/OSO-7 data has been made for evidence of X-ray emission from flares of UV Ceti flare stars. Observations from McDonald Observatory have been used to identify the times of optical flares. The only instance of coincident coverage occurred on 1974 January 21 UT at 03:43:26 GMT for a Δm = 0.86 flare of YZ CMi. No radio coverage of this particular event was obtained. Upper limits of 0.8, 1.0, and 0.7 photons/cm 2 s on the observed X-ray flux have been set for the energy ranges >= 15, >= 3, and 1-10 keV, respectively. (orig.) [de

  6. Direct numerical simulation of hypersonic boundary-layer flow on a flared cone

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pruett, C.D. [James Madison Univ., Harrisonburg, VA (United States). Dept. of Math. and Comput. Sci.; Chang Chau-Lyan [High Technology Corporation, Hampton, VA 23666 (United States)

    1998-03-01

    The forced transition of the boundary layer on an axisymmetric flared cone in Mach 6 flow is simulated by the method of spatial direct numerical simulation (DNS). The full effects of the flared afterbody are incorporated into the governing equations and boundary conditions; these effects include nonzero streamwise surface curvature, adverse streamwise pressure gradient, and decreasing boundary-layer edge Mach number. Transition is precipitated by periodic forcing at the computational inflow boundary with perturbations derived from parabolized stability equation (PSE) methodology and based, in part, on frequency spectra available from physical experiments. Significant qualitative differences are shown to exist between the present results and those obtained previously for a cone without afterbody flare. In both cases, the primary instability is of second-mode type; however, frequencies are much higher for the flared cone because of the decrease in boundary-layer thickness in the flared region. Moreover, Goertler modes, which are linearly stable for the straight cone, are unstable in regions of concave body flare. Reynolds stresses, which peak near the critical layer for the straight cone, exhibit peaks close to the wall for the flared cone. The cumulative effect appears to be that transition onset is shifted upstream for the flared cone. However, the length of the transition zone may possibly be greater because of the seemingly more gradual nature of the transition process on the flared cone. (orig.) With 20 figs., 28 refs.

  7. Very low luminosity stars with very large amplitude flares

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schaefer, B.E.

    1990-01-01

    CCD frames of CZ Cnc, KY Cep, the gamma-ray burster optical transient, and NSV 12006 are analyzed. Also studied are 549 archival photographic plates of the CZ Cnc field. These observations are compared with the data of Lovas (1976). Flare events on CZ Cnc are examined. Based on the data it is noted that CZ Cnc is a main-sequence star, has a magnitude of 16.1, a distance of 100 pc, occasional large-amplitude flares, and frequent flares with amplitudes greater than 4 mag. 36 refs

  8. Wavelength Dependence of Solar Flare Irradiation and its Influence on the Thermosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yanshi; Richmond, Arthur D.; Deng, Yue; Qian, L.; Solomon, S.; Chamberlin, P.

    2012-01-01

    The wavelength dependence of solar flare enhancement is one of the important factors determining how the Thermosphere-Ionosphere (T-I) system response to flares. To investigate the wavelength dependence of solar flare, the Flare Irradiance Spectral Model (FISM) has been run for 34 X-class flares. The results show that the percentage increases of solar irradiance at flare peak comparing to pre-flare condition have a clear wavelength dependence. In the wavelength range between 0 - 195 nm, it can vary from 1% to 10000%. The solar irradiance enhancement is largest ( 1000%) in the XUV range (0 - 25 nm), and is about 100% in EUV range (25 - 120 nm). The influence of different wavebands on the T-I system during the October 28th, 2003 flare (X17.2-class) has also been examined using the latest version of National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Thermosphere- Ionosphere-Electrodynamics General Circulation Model (TIE-GCM). While the globally integrated solar energy deposition is largest in the 0 - 14 nm waveband, the impact of solar irradiance enhancement on the thermosphere at 400 km is largest for 25 - 105 nm waveband. The effect of 122 - 195 nm is small in magnitude, but it decays slowly.

  9. The size of coronal hard X-ray sources in solar flares: How big are they?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Effenberger, F.; Krucker, S.; Rubio da Costa, F.

    2017-12-01

    Coronal hard X-ray sources are considered to be one of the key signatures of non-thermal particle acceleration and heating during the energy release in solar flares. In some cases, X-ray observations reveal multiple components spatially located near and above the loop top and even further up in the corona. Here, we combine a detailed RHESSI imaging analysis of near-limb solar flares with occulted footpoints and a multi-wavelength study of the flare loop evolution in SDO/AIA. We connect our findings to different current sheet formation and magnetic break-out scenarios and relate it to particle acceleration theory. We find that the upper and usually fainter emission regions can be underestimated in their size due to the majority of flux originating from the lower loops.

  10. Impulsive phase of solar flares: theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mackinnon, A.L.

    1986-01-01

    The paper reviews the theoretical interpretation of impulsive phase phenomena in solar flares. The impulsive phase is defined to be that period of approx. 10 - 100s duration, during which the flare radiative output undergoes its most rapid, dramatic increase and decrease. The interpretation of the various impulsive phase radiation signatures are examined, including the i) hard x-ray emission, ii) radio emission, iii) UV, Hα and white light emissions and iv) gamma-ray emission. The acceleration mechanisms are discussed with respect to candidate acceleration mechanisms, and the synthesis of the theory and observations. (UK)

  11. Current Fragmentation and Particle Acceleration in Solar Flares

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cargill, P. J.; Vlahos, L.; Baumann, G.; Drake, J. F.; Nordlund, Å.

    2012-11-01

    Particle acceleration in solar flares remains an outstanding problem in plasma physics and space science. While the observed particle energies and timescales can perhaps be understood in terms of acceleration at a simple current sheet or turbulence site, the vast number of accelerated particles, and the fraction of flare energy in them, defies any simple explanation. The nature of energy storage and dissipation in the global coronal magnetic field is essential for understanding flare acceleration. Scenarios where the coronal field is stressed by complex photospheric motions lead to the formation of multiple current sheets, rather than the single monolithic current sheet proposed by some. The currents sheets in turn can fragment into multiple, smaller dissipation sites. MHD, kinetic and cellular automata models are used to demonstrate this feature. Particle acceleration in this environment thus involves interaction with many distributed accelerators. A series of examples demonstrate how acceleration works in such an environment. As required, acceleration is fast, and relativistic energies are readily attained. It is also shown that accelerated particles do indeed interact with multiple acceleration sites. Test particle models also demonstrate that a large number of particles can be accelerated, with a significant fraction of the flare energy associated with them. However, in the absence of feedback, and with limited numerical resolution, these results need to be viewed with caution. Particle in cell models can incorporate feedback and in one scenario suggest that acceleration can be limited by the energetic particles reaching the condition for firehose marginal stability. Contemporary issues such as footpoint particle acceleration are also discussed. It is also noted that the idea of a "standard flare model" is ill-conceived when the entire distribution of flare energies is considered.

  12. Solar Features - Solar Flares

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — A solar flare is a short-lived sudden increase in the intensity of radiation emitted in the neighborhood of sunspots. For many years it was best monitored in the...

  13. Neutral beams in two-ribbon flares and in the geomagnetic tail

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martens, P.C.H.; Young, A.

    1990-01-01

    The current sheet created in the wake of an erupting filament during a two-ribbon flare is studied. A comparison with the geomagnetic tail shows that the physics of these systems is very similar, and therefore the existence of super Dreicer fields and the generation of netural beams traveling down the postflare loops with small pitch angles may be expected. The observational evidence for neutral beams in flares is reviewed and found to be generally supportive, while contracting the widely held hypothesis of electron beams. A dimensional analysis further demonstrates that the results for self-consistent numerical simulations of the current sheet in the geomagnetic tail can directly be scaled to the coronal current sheet, and the scaling parameters are derived. 71 refs

  14. High-energy particles associated with solar flares

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sakurai, K.; Klimas, A.J.

    1974-05-01

    High energy particles, the so-called solar cosmic rays, are often generated in association with solar flares, and then emitted into interplanetary space. These particles, consisting of electrons, protons, and other heavier nuclei, including the iron-group, are accelerated in the vicinity of the flare. By studying the temporal and spatial variation of these particles near the earth's orbit, their storage and release mechanisms in the solar corona and their propagation mechanism can be understood. The details of the nuclear composition and the rigidity spectrum for each nuclear component of the solar cosmic rays are important for investigating the acceleration mechanism in solar flares. The timing and efficiency of the acceleration process can also be investigated by using this information. These problems are described in some detail by using observational results on solar cosmic rays and associated phenomena. (U.S.)

  15. Solar flares associated coronal mass ejection accompanied with DH type II radio burst in relation with interplanetary magnetic field, geomagnetic storms and cosmic ray intensity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chandra, Harish; Bhatt, Beena

    2018-04-01

    In this paper, we have selected 114 flare-CME events accompanied with Deca-hectometric (DH) type II radio burst chosen from 1996 to 2008 (i.e., solar cycle 23). Statistical analyses are performed to examine the relationship of flare-CME events accompanied with DH type II radio burst with Interplanetary Magnetic field (IMF), Geomagnetic storms (GSs) and Cosmic Ray Intensity (CRI). The collected sample events are divided into two groups. In the first group, we considered 43 events which lie under the CME span and the second group consists of 71 events which are outside the CME span. Our analysis indicates that flare-CME accompanied with DH type II radio burst is inconsistent with CSHKP flare-CME model. We apply the Chree analysis by the superposed epoch method to both set of data to find the geo-effectiveness. We observed different fluctuations in IMF for arising and decay phase of solar cycle in both the cases. Maximum decrease in Dst during arising and decay phase of solar cycle is different for both the cases. It is noted that when flare lie outside the CME span CRI shows comparatively more variation than the flare lie under the CME span. Furthermore, we found that flare lying under the CME span is more geo effective than the flare outside of CME span. We noticed that the time leg between IMF Peak value and GSs, IMF and CRI is on average one day for both the cases. Also, the time leg between CRI and GSs is on average 0 to 1 day for both the cases. In case flare lie under the CME span we observed high correlation (0.64) between CRI and Dst whereas when flare lie outside the CME span a weak correlation (0.47) exists. Thus, flare position with respect to CME span play a key role for geo-effectiveness of CME.

  16. Giant Radio Flare of Cygnus X-3 in September 2016

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trushkin, S. A.; Nizhelskij, N. A.; Tsybulev, P. G.; Zhekanis, G. V.

    2017-06-01

    In the long-term multi-frequency monitoring program of the microquasars with RATAN-600 we discovered the giant flare from X-ray binary Cyg X-3 on 13 September 2016. It happened after 2000 days of the 'quiescent state' of the source passed after the former giant flare (˜18 Jy) in March 2011. We have found that during this quiet period the hard X-ray flux (Swift/BAT, 15-50 keV) and radio flux (RATAN-600, 11 GHz) have been strongly anti-correlated. Both radio flares occurred after transitions of the microquasar to a 'hypersoft' X-ray state that occurred in February 2011 and in the end of August 2016. The giant flare was predicted by us in the first ATel (Trushkin et al. (2016)). Indeed after dramatic decrease of the hard X-ray Swift 15-50 keV flux and RATAN 4- 11 GHz fluxes (a 'quenched state') a small flare (0.7 Jy at 4-11 GHz) developed on MJD 57632 and then on MJD 57644.5 almost simultaneously with X-rays radio flux rose from 0.01 to 15 Jy at 4.6 GHz during few days. The rise of the flaring flux is well fitted by a exponential law that could be a initial phase of the relativistic electrons generation by internal shock waves in the jets. Initially spectra were optically thick at frequencies lower 2 GHz and optically thin at frequencies higher 8 GHz with typical spectral index about -0.5. After maximum of the flare radio fluxes at all frequencies faded out with exponential law.

  17. CASA : oil and gas industry perspective : flaring : case study of success

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pryce, D.

    2002-01-01

    A brief overview of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) and its mission is provided at the beginning of this presentation. The importance of flaring is explained, as it represents a safety precaution in the event of an emergency or process upset. It is also an important part of operations, and is valuable in well test evaluations for gathering information as part of the facility design process. Some of the major issues associated with flaring are reviewed, namely flare performance; concerns related to health risks, odour, visibility, greenhouse gases, resource conservation; the position of the Energy and Utilities Board (EUB), and the need of the industry for regulatory certainty. The Clean Air Strategic Alliance (CASA) was commissioned by the CAPP to examine the issue of flaring in November 1996 as part of the CASA flaring project team. The key recommendations of the CASA flaring team project were submitted in 1998 and included: focus on solution gas at oil batteries, the establishment of a new management framework. The author presents the Alberta provincial policy objective with regard to flaring. The best management practices decision tree is explained, along with management tools, which were incorporated in a new guide for flaring issued in July 1999 by the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board. The reduction targets are reviewed, and the author explains the rationale for the industry support of the recommendations. The progress to date is reviewed, and the next steps in the ongoing process are described, such as the formal progress review currently underway

  18. Fermi -LAT Observations of High-energy Behind-the-limb Solar Flares

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ackermann, M.; Buehler, R. [Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron DESY, D-15738 Zeuthen (Germany); Allafort, A.; Bottacini, E.; Cameron, R. A.; Charles, E. [W. W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Department of Physics and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States); Baldini, L. [Università di Pisa and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa I-56127 Pisa (Italy); Barbiellini, G. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Trieste, I-34127 Trieste (Italy); Bastieri, D. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Padova, I-35131 Padova (Italy); Bellazzini, R. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, I-56127 Pisa (Italy); Bissaldi, E.; Caragiulo, M.; Costanza, F. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Bari, I-70126 Bari (Italy); Bonino, R. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino, I-10125 Torino (Italy); Bregeon, J. [Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier, Université Montpellier, CNRS/IN2P3, F-34095 Montpellier (France); Bruel, P. [Laboratoire Leprince-Ringuet, École polytechnique, CNRS/IN2P3, F-91128 Palaiseau (France); Caraveo, P. A. [INAF-Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica Milano, via E. Bassini 15, I-20133 Milano (Italy); Cavazzuti, E.; Ciprini, S. [Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI) Science Data Center, I-00133 Roma (Italy); Cecchi, C., E-mail: nicola.omodei@stanford.edu, E-mail: vahep@stanford.edu, E-mail: melissa.pesce.rollins@pi.infn.it [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Perugia, I-06123 Perugia (Italy); and others

    2017-02-01

    We report on the Fermi -LAT detection of high-energy emission from the behind-the-limb (BTL) solar flares that occurred on 2013 October 11, and 2014 January 6 and September 1. The Fermi -LAT observations are associated with flares from active regions originating behind both the eastern and western limbs, as determined by STEREO . All three flares are associated with very fast coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and strong solar energetic particle events. We present updated localizations of the >100 MeV photon emission, hard X-ray (HXR) and EUV images, and broadband spectra from 10 keV to 10 GeV, as well as microwave spectra. We also provide a comparison of the BTL flares detected by Fermi -LAT with three on-disk flares and present a study of some of the significant quantities of these flares as an attempt to better understand the acceleration mechanisms at work during these occulted flares. We interpret the HXR emission to be due to electron bremsstrahlung from a coronal thin-target loop top with the accelerated electron spectra steepening at semirelativistic energies. The >100 MeV gamma-rays are best described by a pion-decay model resulting from the interaction of protons (and other ions) in a thick-target photospheric source. The protons are believed to have been accelerated (to energies >10 GeV) in the CME environment and precipitate down to the photosphere from the downstream side of the CME shock and landed on the front side of the Sun, away from the original flare site and the HXR emission.

  19. Content and Construct Validity, Reliability, and Responsiveness of the Rheumatoid Arthritis Flare Questionnaire

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bartlett, Susan J; Barbic, Skye P; Bykerk, Vivian P

    2017-01-01

    -FQ), and the voting results at OMERACT 2016. METHODS: Classic and modern psychometric methods were used to assess reliability, validity, sensitivity, factor structure, scoring, and thresholds. Interviews with patients and clinicians also assessed content validity, utility, and meaningfulness of RA-FQ scores. RESULTS......: People with RA in observational trials in Canada (n = 896) and France (n = 138), and an RCT in the Netherlands (n = 178) completed 5 items (11-point numerical rating scale) representing RA Flare core domains. There was moderate to high evidence of reliability, content and construct validity...... to identify and measure RA flares. Its review through OMERACT Filter 2.0 shows evidence of reliability, content and construct validity, and responsiveness. These properties merit its further validation as an outcome for clinical trials....

  20. OBSERVATIONS AND SIMULATIONS OF THE Na i D{sub 1} LINE PROFILES IN AN M-CLASS SOLAR FLARE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kuridze, D.; Mathioudakis, M.; Jess, D. B.; Grant, S. D. T.; Kawate, T.; Keenan, F. P. [Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN (United Kingdom); Christian, D. J. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State University, Northridge, CA 91330 (United States); Kowalski, A. F.; Allred, J. C. [NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 671, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Simões, P. J. A. [SUPA School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ (United Kingdom)

    2016-12-01

    We study the temporal evolution of the Na i D{sub 1} line profiles in the M3.9 flare SOL2014-06-11T21:03 UT, using observations at high spectral resolution obtained with the Interferometric Bidimensional Spectrometer instrument on the Dunn Solar Telescope combined with radiative hydrodynamic simulations. Our results show a significant increase in the intensities of the line core and wings during the flare. The analysis of the line profiles from the flare ribbons reveals that the Na i D{sub 1} line has a central reversal with excess emission in the blue wing (blue asymmetry). We combine RADYN and RH simulations to synthesize Na i D{sub 1} line profiles of the flaring atmosphere and find good agreement with the observations. Heating with a beam of electrons modifies the radiation field in the flaring atmosphere and excites electrons from the ground state 3s {sup 2}S to the first excited state 3p {sup 2}P, which in turn modifies the relative population of the two states. The change in temperature and the population density of the energy states make the sodium line profile revert from absorption into emission. Furthermore, the rapid changes in temperature break the pressure balance between the different layers of the lower atmosphere, generating upflow/downflow patterns. Analysis of the simulated spectra reveals that the asymmetries of the Na i D{sub 1} flare profile are produced by the velocity gradients in the lower solar atmosphere.

  1. Far-ultraviolet and visible observations of flares on dMe stars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bromage, G.E.; Patchett, B.E.; Phillips, K.J.H.

    1983-01-01

    Four large flare events - one on each of the dMe stars UV Cet, AT Mic, EV Lac and EQ Peg - have been witnessed during a total of 17 1/2 hours of far-UV (lambdalambda1150-1950) IUE exposures. Some observational characteristics of these four events are compared. Two showed strong enhancements of chromospheric and transition-region line strengths. The other two did not, even though their visible flares were intense (ΔU approx. 2 mag.). The brightest UV flare spectrum (EQ Peg) is contrasted with that of the largest solar flare seen from 'Skylab'. (Auth.)

  2. Remediation of flare pit soils using supercritical fluid extraction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nagpal, V.; Guigard, S.E. [Alberta Univ., Edmonton, AB (Canada). Dept. of Civil Engineering

    2005-09-01

    A laboratory study was conducted to examine the ability of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) to remove petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs) from two flare pit soils in Alberta. SFE is a technology for remediation of contaminated soils. In order to determine the optimal extraction conditions and to understand the effects of pressure, temperature, supercritical carbon dioxide flow rate, soil type, and extraction time on the extraction efficiency of SFE, extractions were performed on two flare pit soils at various pressures and temperatures. Chemicals in the study included diesel oil, SAE 10-30W motor oil, n-decane, hexadecane, tetratriacontane and pentacontane. The best extraction conditions were defined as conditions that result in a treated soil with a PHC concentration that meets the regulatory guidelines of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment in the Canada-wide standard for PHC is soil. The study results indicate that the efficiency of the SFE process is solvent-density dependent for the conditions studied. The highest extraction efficiency for both soils was obtained at conditions of 24.1 MPa and 40 degrees C. An increase in pressure at a fixed temperature led to an increase in the extraction efficiency while an increase in temperature at a fixed pressure led to a decrease in the extraction efficiency. The treated soils were observed to be lighter in colour, drier, and grainier than the soil prior to extraction. It was concluded that SFE is an effective method for remediating flare pit soils. 63 refs., 4 tabs., 5 figs.

  3. MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF SOLAR ACTIVE REGIONS THAT GOVERN LARGE SOLAR FLARES AND ERUPTIONS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Toriumi, Shin [National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588 (Japan); Schrijver, Carolus J. [Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center, 3251 Hanover Street, Palo Alto, CA 94304 (United States); Harra, Louise K. [UCL-Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Holmbury St Mary, Dorking, Surrey, RH5 6NT (United Kingdom); Hudson, Hugh [SUPA School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow (United Kingdom); Nagashima, Kaori, E-mail: shin.toriumi@nao.ac.jp [Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 3, D-37077 Göttingen (Germany)

    2017-01-01

    Solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), especially the larger ones, emanate from active regions (ARs). With the aim of understanding the magnetic properties that govern such flares and eruptions, we systematically survey all flare events with Geostationary Orbiting Environmental Satellite levels of ≥M5.0 within 45° from disk center between 2010 May and 2016 April. These criteria lead to a total of 51 flares from 29 ARs, for which we analyze the observational data obtained by the Solar Dynamics Observatory . More than 80% of the 29 ARs are found to exhibit δ -sunspots, and at least three ARs violate Hale’s polarity rule. The flare durations are approximately proportional to the distance between the two flare ribbons, to the total magnetic flux inside the ribbons, and to the ribbon area. From our study, one of the parameters that clearly determine whether a given flare event is CME-eruptive or not is the ribbon area normalized by the sunspot area, which may indicate that the structural relationship between the flaring region and the entire AR controls CME productivity. AR characterization shows that even X-class events do not require δ -sunspots or strong-field, high-gradient polarity inversion lines. An investigation of historical observational data suggests the possibility that the largest solar ARs, with magnetic flux of 2 × 10{sup 23} Mx, might be able to produce “superflares” with energies of the order of 10{sup 34} erg. The proportionality between the flare durations and magnetic energies is consistent with stellar flare observations, suggesting a common physical background for solar and stellar flares.

  4. Incidence and factors associated with flare-ups in a post graduate programme in the indian population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pamboo, Jaya; Hans, Manoj-Kumar; Kumaraswamy, Bangalore-Niranjan; Chander, Subhash; Bhaskaran, Sajeev

    2014-12-01

    The study had twin objectives: to assess the incidence of flare-ups (a severe problem requiring an unscheduled visit and treatment) among patients who received endodontic treatment in the Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics in Vyas Dental college and hospital, Jodhpur during a period of one year, and also to examine the correlation with pre-operative and operative variables. Data was collected from 1023 teeth from 916 patients who had received endodontic treatment over a 12- month period. Information was obtained for each patient treated, including pulp and peri-radicular diagnosis for the tooth, presence of pre-operatory pain, type of medication being used, type of instrumentation technique used and number of appointments needed to complete the root canal treatment. The results showed an incidence of 2.35% for flare-ups from 1023 endodontically treated teeth. Statistical analysis was done using the chi-square test. Flare-ups were found to be affected significantly by gender of patient, presence of radiolucent lesions, patients taking pre-operative analgesic or anti-inflammatory drugs and on type of instrumentation technique. In contrast, there was no correlation between flare-ups and age, different arch/tooth groups and single or multiple visit endodontics. Key words:Anti-inflammatory, flare-ups, instrumentation, prospective.

  5. VizieR Online Data Catalog: Flaring gamma-ray sources; LAT 7.4yr (2FAV) (Abdollahi+, 2017)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdollahi, S.; Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; Albert, A.; Baldini, L.; Ballet, J.; Barbiellini, G.; Bastieri, D.; Becerra Gonzalez, J.; Bellazzini, R.; Bissaldi, E.; Blandford, R. D.; Bloom, E. D.; Bonino, R.; Bottacini, E.; Bregeon, J.; Bruel, P.; Buehler, R.; Buson, S.; Cameron, R. A.; Caragiulo, M.; Caraveo, P. A.; Cavazzuti, E.; Cecchi, C.; Chekhtman, A.; Cheung, C. C.; Chiaro, G.; Ciprini, S.; Conrad, J.; Costantin, D.; Costanza, F.; Cutini, S.; D'Ammando, F.; de Palma, F.; Desai, A.; Desiante, R.; Digel, S. W.; di Lalla, N.; di Mauro, M.; di Venere, L.; Donaggio, B.; Drell, P. S.; Favuzzi, C.; Fegan, S. J.; Ferrara, E. C.; Focke, W. B.; Franckowiak, A.; Fukazawa, Y.; Funk, S.; Fusco, P.; Gargano, F.; Gasparrini, D.; Giglietto, N.; Giomi, M.; Giordano, F.; Giroletti, M.; Glanzman, T.; Green, D.; Grenier, I. A.; Grove, J. E.; Guillemot, L.; Guiriec, S.; Hays, E.; Horan, D.; Jogler, T.; Johannesson, G.; Johnson, A. S.; Kocevski, D.; Kuss, M.; La Mura, G.; Larsson, S.; Latronico, L.; Li, J.; Longo, F.; Loparco, F.; Lovellette, M. N.; Lubrano, P.; Magill, J. D.; Mal! Dera, S.; Manfreda, A.; Mayer, M.; Mazziotta, M. N.; Michelson, P. F.; Mitthumsiri, W.; Mizuno, T.; Monzani, M. E.; Morselli, A.; Moskalenko, I. V.; Negro, M.; Nuss, E.; Ohsugi, T.; Omodei, N.; Orienti, M.; Orlando, E.; Paliya, V. S.; Paneque, D.; Perkins, J. S.; Persic, M.; Pesce-Rollins, M.; Petrosian, V.; Piron, F.; Porter, T. A.; Principe, G.; Raino, S.; Rando, R.; Razzano, M.; Razzaque, S.; Reimer, A.; Reimer, O.; Sgro, C.; Simone, D.; Siskind, E. J.; Spada, F.; Spandre, G.; Spinelli, P.; Stawarz, L.; Suson, D. J.; Takahashi, M.; Tanaka, K.; Thayer, J. B.; Thompson, D. J.; Torres, D. F.; Torresi, E.; Tosti, G.; Troja, E.; Vianello, G.; Wood, K. S.

    2018-04-01

    To build the second catalog of flaring gamma-ray sources (2FAV) catalog, we apply the Fermi All-sky Variability Analysis (FAVA; Ackermann+ 2013, J/ApJ/771/57) to the first 387 weeks of Fermi observations, from Mission Elapsed Time (MET) 239557418 to 473615018, or Modified Julian Date (MJD) from 54682 (2008 August 4) to 57391 (2016 January 4). In this time range, a total of 7106 seed flares were found, roughly 18 per week. As for the previous catalog, FAVA uses weekly time bins. Two independent energy bands are used, 0.1-0.8GeV and 0.8-300GeV, to enhance the sensitivity to spectrally soft and hard flares, respectively. (2 data files).

  6. Radiative hazard of solar flares in the nearterrestrial cosmic space

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kolomenskij, A.V.; Petrov, V.M.; Zil', M.V.; Eremkina, T.M.

    1978-01-01

    Simulation of radiation enviroment due to solar cosmic rays was carried out in the near-terrestrial space. Systematized are the data on cosmic ray flux and spectra detected during 19-th and 20-th cycles of solar activity. 127 flares are considered with proton fluxes of more than 10 proton/cm 2 at energies higher than 30 MeV. Obtained are distribution functions of intervals between flares, flux distribution of flares and characteristic rigidity, and also distribution of magnetic disturbances over Dsub(st)-variation amplitude. The totality of these distributions presents the statistic model of radiation enviroment caused by solar flare protons for the period of maximum solar .activity. This model is intended for estimation of radiation hazard at manned cosmic flights

  7. Simulation of the charging process of the LISA test masses due to solar flares

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vocca, H; Grimani, C; Amico, P; Bosi, L; Marchesoni, F; Punturo, M; Travasso, F; Barone, M; Stanga, R; Vetrano, F; Vicere, A

    2004-01-01

    Cosmic-ray and solar high energy particles penetrate the LISA experiment test masses. Consequently, an electric charge accumulates in the bodies of the masses, generating spurious Coulomb forces between the masses and the surrounding electrodes. This process increases the noise level of the experiment. We have estimated the amount of charge deposited per second on the LISA test masses by solar flares and primary cosmic-ray protons at solar minimum. The simulation has been carried out with the Fluka Monte Carlo program. A simplified geometry for the experiment has been considered. We have found a net charging rate of 37 ± 1 e + /s for primary protons at solar minimum between 0.1 and 1000 GeV/n. The amount of charge released by a medium-strong solar flare, like that of 16 February 1984, is 10 732 ± 30 e + /s in the energy range 0.1-10 GeV/n. This value increases or decreases by approximately one order of magnitude for strong (weak) solar flares

  8. HOOKED FLARE RIBBONS AND FLUX-ROPE-RELATED QSL FOOTPRINTS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhao, Jie; Li, Hui [Key Laboratory of Dark Matter and Space Astronomy, Purple Mountain Observatory, CAS, Nanjing 210008 (China); Gilchrist, Stuart A.; Aulanier, Guillaume; Schmieder, Brigitte; Pariat, Etienne, E-mail: nj.lihui@pmo.ac.cn [LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ. Paris 06, Univ. Paris-Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-92195 Meudon (France)

    2016-05-20

    We studied the magnetic topology of active region 12158 on 2014 September 10 and compared it with the observations before and early in the flare that begins at 17:21 UT (SOL2014-09-10T17:45:00). Our results show that the sigmoidal structure and flare ribbons of this active region observed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory /Atmospheric Imaging Assembly can be well reproduced from a Grad–Rubin nonlinear force-free field extrapolation method. Various inverse-S- and inverse-J-shaped magnetic field lines, which surround a coronal flux rope, coincide with the sigmoid as observed in different extreme-ultraviolet wavelengths, including its multithreaded curved ends. Also, the observed distribution of surface currents in the magnetic polarity where it was not prescribed is well reproduced. This validates our numerical implementation and setup of the Grad–Rubin method. The modeled double inverse-J-shaped quasi-separatrix layer (QSL) footprints match the observed flare ribbons during the rising phase of the flare, including their hooked parts. The spiral-like shape of the latter may be related to a complex pre-eruptive flux rope with more than one turn of twist, as obtained in the model. These ribbon-associated flux-rope QSL footprints are consistent with the new standard flare model in 3D, with the presence of a hyperbolic flux tube located below an inverse-teardrop-shaped coronal QSL. This is a new step forward forecasting the locations of reconnection and ribbons in solar flares and the geometrical properties of eruptive flux ropes.

  9. HOOKED FLARE RIBBONS AND FLUX-ROPE-RELATED QSL FOOTPRINTS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao, Jie; Li, Hui; Gilchrist, Stuart A.; Aulanier, Guillaume; Schmieder, Brigitte; Pariat, Etienne

    2016-01-01

    We studied the magnetic topology of active region 12158 on 2014 September 10 and compared it with the observations before and early in the flare that begins at 17:21 UT (SOL2014-09-10T17:45:00). Our results show that the sigmoidal structure and flare ribbons of this active region observed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory /Atmospheric Imaging Assembly can be well reproduced from a Grad–Rubin nonlinear force-free field extrapolation method. Various inverse-S- and inverse-J-shaped magnetic field lines, which surround a coronal flux rope, coincide with the sigmoid as observed in different extreme-ultraviolet wavelengths, including its multithreaded curved ends. Also, the observed distribution of surface currents in the magnetic polarity where it was not prescribed is well reproduced. This validates our numerical implementation and setup of the Grad–Rubin method. The modeled double inverse-J-shaped quasi-separatrix layer (QSL) footprints match the observed flare ribbons during the rising phase of the flare, including their hooked parts. The spiral-like shape of the latter may be related to a complex pre-eruptive flux rope with more than one turn of twist, as obtained in the model. These ribbon-associated flux-rope QSL footprints are consistent with the new standard flare model in 3D, with the presence of a hyperbolic flux tube located below an inverse-teardrop-shaped coronal QSL. This is a new step forward forecasting the locations of reconnection and ribbons in solar flares and the geometrical properties of eruptive flux ropes.

  10. Giant Rapid X-ray Flares in Extragalactic Globular Clusters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irwin, Jimmy

    2018-01-01

    There is only one known class of non-destructive, highly energetic astrophysical object in the Universe whose energy emission varies by more than a factor of 100 on time scales of less than a minute -- soft gamma repeaters/anomalous X-ray pulsars, whose flares are believed to be caused by the energy release from the cracking of a neutron star's surface by very strong magnetic fields. All other known violent, rapid explosions, including gamma-ray bursts and supernovae, are believed to destroy the object in the process. Here, we report the discovery of a second class of non-destructive, highly energetic rapidly flaring X-ray object located within two nearby galaxies with fundamentally different properties than soft gamma repeaters/anomalous X-ray pulsars. One source is located within a suspected globular cluster of the host galaxy and flared one time, while the other source is located in either a globular cluster of the host galaxy or the core of a stripped dwarf companion galaxy that flared on six occasions over a seven year time span. When not flaring, the sources appear as normal accreting neutron star or black hole X-ray binaries, indicating that the flare event does not significantly disrupt the host system. While the nature of these sources is still unclear, the discovery of these sources in decade-old archival Chandra X-ray Observatory data illustrates the under-utilization of X-ray timing as a means to discover new classes of explosive events in the Universe.

  11. Solar Flares Observed with the Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holman, Gordon D.

    2004-01-01

    Solar flares are impressive examples of explosive energy release in unconfined, magnetized plasma. It is generally believed that the flare energy is derived from the coronal magnetic field. However, we have not been able to establish the specific energy release mechanism(s) or the relative partitioning of the released energy between heating, particle acceleration (electrons and ions), and mass motions. NASA's RHESSI Mission was designed to study the acceleration and evolution of electrons and ions in flares by observing the X-ray and gamma-ray emissions these energetic particles produce. This is accomplished through the combination of high-resolution spectroscopy and spectroscopic imaging, including the first images of flares in gamma rays. RHESSI has observed over 12,000 solar flares since its launch on February 5, 2002. I will demonstrate how we use the RHESSI spectra to deduce physical properties of accelerated electrons and hot plasma in flares. Using images to estimate volumes, w e typically find that the total energy in accelerated electrons is comparable to that in the thermal plasma. I will also present flare observations that provide strong support for the presence of magnetic reconnection in a large-scale, vertical current sheet in the solar corona. RHESSI observations such as these are allowing us to probe more deeply into the physics of solar flares.

  12. Variations of the Hβ-emission line during a large flare on UV Ceti

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moffett, T.J.; Evans, D.S.; Ferland, G.

    1977-01-01

    Simultaneous high-speed photometry and photoelectric scanner observations of the Hβ-line were obtained for five flare events, one a major flare, on UV Ceti on 1975 January 6. The relative increase in the intensity of the Hβ-line during the large flare was much greater than the relative continuum rise as measured both by the scanner and by broad-band photometric observations. In Hβ the flare lasted nearly 30 times as long as in the continuum. Peak intensity in the Hβ-line occurred later than the continuum maximum. The possibility of using emission line observations to detect flare activity on early spectral-type stars (dK - dG) is discussed. Some speculations on the mechanism of flare production are indulged. (author)

  13. Discovery of decaHz flaring in SAX J1808.4-3658

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bult, P.

    2014-01-01

    We report on the discovery of strong decaHz flaring in the early decay of two out of five outbursts of the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658. The decaHz flaring switches on and, after ~3 days, off again, on a time scale of 1-2 hours. When the flaring is present, the total 0.05-10

  14. Bright x-ray flares in gamma-ray burst afterglows.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burrows, D N; Romano, P; Falcone, A; Kobayashi, S; Zhang, B; Moretti, A; O'brien, P T; Goad, M R; Campana, S; Page, K L; Angelini, L; Barthelmy, S; Beardmore, A P; Capalbi, M; Chincarini, G; Cummings, J; Cusumano, G; Fox, D; Giommi, P; Hill, J E; Kennea, J A; Krimm, H; Mangano, V; Marshall, F; Mészáros, P; Morris, D C; Nousek, J A; Osborne, J P; Pagani, C; Perri, M; Tagliaferri, G; Wells, A A; Woosley, S; Gehrels, N

    2005-09-16

    Gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows have provided important clues to the nature of these massive explosive events, providing direct information on the nearby environment and indirect information on the central engine that powers the burst. We report the discovery of two bright x-ray flares in GRB afterglows, including a giant flare comparable in total energy to the burst itself, each peaking minutes after the burst. These strong, rapid x-ray flares imply that the central engines of the bursts have long periods of activity, with strong internal shocks continuing for hundreds of seconds after the gamma-ray emission has ended.

  15. Modelling Quasi-Periodic Pulsations in Solar and Stellar Flares

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLaughlin, J. A.; Nakariakov, V. M.; Dominique, M.; Jelínek, P.; Takasao, S.

    2018-02-01

    Solar flare emission is detected in all EM bands and variations in flux density of solar energetic particles. Often the EM radiation generated in solar and stellar flares shows a pronounced oscillatory pattern, with characteristic periods ranging from a fraction of a second to several minutes. These oscillations are referred to as quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs), to emphasise that they often contain apparent amplitude and period modulation. We review the current understanding of quasi-periodic pulsations in solar and stellar flares. In particular, we focus on the possible physical mechanisms, with an emphasis on the underlying physics that generates the resultant range of periodicities. These physical mechanisms include MHD oscillations, self-oscillatory mechanisms, oscillatory reconnection/reconnection reversal, wave-driven reconnection, two loop coalescence, MHD flow over-stability, the equivalent LCR-contour mechanism, and thermal-dynamical cycles. We also provide a histogram of all QPP events published in the literature at this time. The occurrence of QPPs puts additional constraints on the interpretation and understanding of the fundamental processes operating in flares, e.g. magnetic energy liberation and particle acceleration. Therefore, a full understanding of QPPs is essential in order to work towards an integrated model of solar and stellar flares.

  16. A COLD FLARE WITH DELAYED HEATING

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fleishman, Gregory D.; Pal'shin, Valentin D.; Lysenko, Alexandra L.; Meshalkina, Natalia; Kashapova, Larisa K.; Altyntsev, Alexander T.

    2016-01-01

    Recently, a number of peculiar flares have been reported that demonstrate significant nonthermal particle signatures with low, if any, thermal emission, which implies a close association of the observed emission with the primary energy release/electron acceleration region. This paper presents a flare that appears “cold” at the impulsive phase, while displaying delayed heating later on. Using hard X-ray data from Konus- Wind , microwave observations by SSRT, RSTN, NoRH, and NoRP, context observations, and three-dimensional modeling, we study the energy release, particle acceleration, and transport, and the relationships between the nonthermal and thermal signatures. The flaring process is found to involve the interaction between a small loop and a big loop with the accelerated particles divided roughly equally between them. Precipitation of the electrons from the small loop produced only a weak thermal response because the loop volume was small, while the electrons trapped in the big loop lost most of their energy in the coronal part of the loop, which resulted in coronal plasma heating but no or only weak chromospheric evaporation, and thus unusually weak soft X-ray emission. The energy losses of the fast electrons in the big tenuous loop were slow, which resulted in the observed delay of the plasma heating. We determined that the impulsively accelerated electron population had a beamed angular distribution in the direction of the electric force along the magnetic field of the small loop. The accelerated particle transport in the big loop was primarily mediated by turbulent waves, which is similar to other reported cold flares.

  17. Physics of Coupled CME and Flare Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-12-21

    AFRL-RV-PS- AFRL-RV-PS- TR-2016-0162 TR-2016-0162 PHYSICS OF COUPLED CME AND FLARE SYSTEMS K. S. Balasubramaniam, et al. 21 December 2016 Final...30 Sep 2016 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Physics of Coupled CME and Flare Systems 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 61102F...objectives for this task were: (i) derive measureable physical properties and discernible structural circumstances in solar active regions that

  18. Magnetic Properties of Solar Active Regions that Govern Large Solar Flares and Eruptions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toriumi, Shin; Schrijver, Carolus J.; Harra, Louise; Hudson, Hugh S.; Nagashima, Kaori

    2017-08-01

    Strong flares and CMEs are often produced from active regions (ARs). In order to better understand the magnetic properties and evolutions of such ARs, we conducted statistical investigations on the SDO/HMI and AIA data of all flare events with GOES levels >M5.0 within 45 deg from the disk center for 6 years from May 2010 (from the beginning to the declining phase of solar cycle 24). Out of the total of 51 flares from 29 ARs, more than 80% have delta-sunspots and about 15% violate Hale’s polarity rule. We obtained several key findings including (1) the flare duration is linearly proportional to the separation of the flare ribbons (i.e., scale of reconnecting magnetic fields) and (2) CME-eruptive events have smaller sunspot areas. Depending on the magnetic properties, flaring ARs can be categorized into several groups, such as spot-spot, in which a highly-sheared polarity inversion line is formed between two large sunspots, and spot-satellite, where a newly-emerging flux next to a mature sunspot triggers a compact flare event. These results point to the possibility that magnetic structures of the ARs determine the characteristics of flares and CMEs. In the presentation, we will also show new results from the systematic flux emergence simulations of delta-sunspot formation and discuss the evolution processes of flaring ARs.

  19. Stellar flare oscillations: evidence for oscillatory reconnection and evolution of MHD modes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doyle, J. G.; Shetye, J.; Antonova, A. E.; Kolotkov, D. Y.; Srivastava, A. K.; Stangalini, M.; Gupta, G. R.; Avramova, A.; Mathioudakis, M.

    2018-04-01

    Here, we report on the detection of a range of quasi-periodic pulsations (20-120 s; QPPs) observed during flaring activity of several magnetically active dMe stars, namely AF Psc, CR Dra, GJ 3685A, Gl 65, SDSS J084425.9+513830, and SDSS J144738.47+035312.1 in the GALEX NUV filter. Based on a solar analogy, this work suggests that many of these flares may be triggered by external drivers creating a periodic reconnection in the flare current sheet or an impulsive energy release giving rise to an avalanche of periodic bursts that occur at time intervals that correspond to the detected periods, thus generating QPPs in their rising and peak phases. Some of these flares also show fast QPPs in their decay phase, indicating the presence of fast sausage mode oscillations either driven externally by periodic reconnection or intrinsically in the post-flare loop system during the flare energy release.

  20. HIGH-ENERGY NEUTRINOS FROM RECENT BLAZAR FLARES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Halzen, Francis; Kheirandish, Ali [Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center and Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 (United States)

    2016-11-01

    The energy density of cosmic neutrinos measured by IceCube matches the one observed by Fermi in extragalactic photons that predominantly originate in blazars. This has inspired attempts to match Fermi sources with IceCube neutrinos. A spatial association combined with a coincidence in time with a flaring source may represent a smoking gun for the origin of the IceCube flux. In 2015 June, the Fermi Large Area Telescope observed an intense flare from blazar 3C 279 that exceeded the steady flux of the source by a factor of 40 for the duration of a day. We show that IceCube is likely to observe neutrinos, if indeed hadronic in origin, in data that are still blinded at this time. We also discuss other opportunities for coincident observations that include a recent flare from blazar 1ES 1959+650 that previously produced an intriguing coincidence with AMANDA observations.

  1. Intralesional triamcinolone for flares of hidradenitis suppurativa (HS)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Riis, Peter Theut; Boer, Jurr; Prens, Errol P

    2016-01-01

    (triamcinolone acetonide 10 mg/mL) in the management of acute flares in HS. METHODS: This was a prospective case series evaluating the effect of intralesional corticosteroids for alleviation of acute flares in HS. Physician- and patient-reported outcomes were noted. RESULTS: Significant reductions in physician......-assessed erythema (median score from 2-1, P edema (median score from 2-1, P

  2. MR Persei - A new rotating, spotted flare star

    Science.gov (United States)

    Honeycutt, R. K.; Turner, G. W.; Vesper, D. N.; Schlegel, E. M.

    1992-01-01

    Spectroscopy and photometry are used to show that MR Persei, an object originally classified as a dwarf nova, is in fact a flare star. The automated CCD photometry consists of sequences of exposures within a single night as well as long-term photometry over a five-month interval. One sequence shows a 30-min flare, accompanied by post-flare 'dips'. A 0.2 mag variation with a period of about one-half day is also seen in this sequence. The long-term photometry is used to refine the period to 0.45483 d, which we attribute to the rotation of a spotted star. Evidence for membership of MR Per in the young Alpha Per cluster is considered, and found to be inconclusive.

  3. A Study of Sympathetic Flaring Using a Full-Sun Event Catalog

    Science.gov (United States)

    Higgins, P. A.; Schrijver, C. J.; Title, A. M.; Bloomfield, D.; Gallagher, P.

    2013-12-01

    There has been a trove of papers published on the statistics of flare occurrence. These studies are trying to answer the question of whether or not subsequent solar flares are related. The majority of these works have not included both flare location information and the physical properties of the regions responsible for the eruptions, and none have taken advantage of full-Sun event coverage. Now that SDO/AIA is available and the STEREO spacecraft have progressed past 90 degrees from Earth's heliographic longitude, this new information is available to us. This work aims to quantify how common sympathetic events are, and how important they are in the forecasting of solar flares. A 3D plot of detected and clustered flare events for a full solar rotation, including the Valentine's Day Event of 2011. A full-Sun image in the EUV (304A) including both STEREO view points and AIA. The GOES X-ray light curves during the February period of 2011 are shown in the bottom panel. Detected flare events are indicated by the green dashed lines and the time stamp of this image is denoted by the red line.

  4. A New Relationship Between Soft X-Rays and EUV Flare Light Curves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thiemann, Edward

    2016-05-01

    Solar flares are the result of magnetic reconnection in the solar corona which converts magnetic energy into kinetic energy resulting in the rapid heating of solar plasma. As this plasma cools, it emits radiation at different EUV wavelengths when the dropping temperature passes a line’s temperature of formation. This results in a delay in the emissions from cooler EUV lines relative to hotter EUV lines. Therefore, characterizing how this hot plasma cools is important for understanding how the corresponding geo-effective extreme ultraviolet (EUV) irradiance evolves in time. I present a simple new framework in which to study flare cooling by using a Lumped Element Thermal Model (LETM). LETM is frequently used in science and engineering to simplify a complex multi-dimensional thermal system by reducing it to a 0-D thermal circuit. For example, a structure that conducts heat out of a system is simplified with a resistive element and a structure that allows a system to store heat is simplified with a capacitive element. A major advantage of LETM is that the specific geometry of a system can be ignored, allowing for an intuitive analysis of the major thermal processes. I show that LETM is able to accurately reproduce the temporal evolution of cooler flare emission lines based on hotter emission line evolution. In particular, it can be used to predict the evolution of EUV flare light curves using the NOAA X-Ray Sensor (XRS).

  5. Time-resolved UVES observations of a stellar flare on the planet host HD 189733 during primary transit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klocová, T.; Czesla, S.; Khalafinejad, S.; Wolter, U.; Schmitt, J. H. M. M.

    2017-11-01

    Context. HD 189733 is an exoplanetary system consisting of a transiting hot Jupiter and an active K2V-type main sequence star. Rich manifestations of a stellar activity, like photometric spots or chromospheric flares were repeatedly observed in this system in optical, UV and X-rays. Aims: We aim to use VLT/UVES high resolution (R = 60 000) echelle spectra to study a stellar flare. Methods: We have performed simultaneous analyses of the temporal evolution in several chromospheric stellar lines, namely, the Ca II H & K lines (3933, 3968 Å), H α (6563 Å), H β (4861 Å), H γ (4341 Å), H δ (4102 Å), H ɛ (3970 Å), the Ca II infrared triplet lines (8498, 8542 and 8662 Å), and He I D3 (5875.6 Å). Observations were carried out with a time resolution of approximately 1 min for a duration of four hours, including a complete planetary transit. Results: We determine the energy released during the flare in all studied chromospheric lines combined to be about 8.7 × 1031 erg, which puts this event at the upper end of flare energies observed on the Sun. Our analysis does not reveal any significant delay of the flare peak observed in the Balmer and Ca II H & K lines, although we find a clear difference in the temporal evolution of these lines. The He I D3 shows additional absorption possibly related to the flare event. Based on the flux released in Ca II H & K lines during the flare, we estimate the soft X-ray flux emission to be 7 × 1030 erg. Conclusions: The observed flare can be ranked as a moderate flare on a K-type star and confirms a rather high activity level of HD 189733 host star. The cores of the studied chromospheric lines demonstrate the same behavior and let us study the flare evolution. We demonstrate that the activity of an exoplanet host star can play an important role in the detection of exoplanet atmospheres, since these are frequently discovered as an additional absorption in the line cores. A possible star-planet interaction responsible for a flare

  6. Are Complex Magnetic Field Structures Responsible for the Confined X-class Flares in Super Active Region 12192?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Jun; Li, Ting; Chen, Huadong, E-mail: zjun@nao.cas.cn, E-mail: hdchen@nao.cas.cn [Key Laboratory of Solar Activity, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100012 (China)

    2017-08-10

    From 2014 October 19 to 27, six X-class flares occurred in super active region (AR) 12192. They were all confined flares and were not followed by coronal mass ejections. To examine the structures of the four flares close to the solar disk center from October 22 to 26, we firstly employ composite triple-time images in each flare process to display the stratified structure of these flare loops. The loop structures of each flare in both the lower (171 Å) and higher (131 Å) temperature channels are complex, e.g., the flare loops rooting at flare ribbons are sheared or twisted (enwound) together, and the complex structures were not destroyed during the flares. For the first flare, although the flare loop system appears as a spindle shape, we can estimate its structures from observations, with lengths ranging from 130 to 300 Mm, heights from 65 to 150 Mm, widths at the middle part of the spindle from 40 to 100 Mm, and shear angles from 16° to 90°. Moreover, the flare ribbons display irregular movements, such as the left ribbon fragments of the flare on October 22 sweeping a small region repeatedly, and both ribbons of the flare on October 26 moved along the same direction instead of separating from each other. These irregular movements also imply that the corresponding flare loops are complex, e.g., several sets of flare loops are twisted together. Although previous studies have suggested that the background magnetic fields prevent confined flares from erupting,based on these observations, we suggest that complex flare loop structures may be responsible for these confined flares.

  7. Lower atmosphere of solar flares; Proceedings of the Solar Maximum Mission Symposium, Sunspot, NM, Aug. 20-24, 1985

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Neidig, D.F.

    1986-01-01

    The topics discussed by the present conference encompass the chromospheric flare phenomenon, white light flares, UV emission and the flare transition region, the flare corona and high energy emissions, stellar flares, and flare energy release and transport. Attention is given to radiative shocks and condensation in flares, impulsive brightening of H-alpha flare points, the structure and response of the chromosphere to radiation backwarming during solar flares, the interpretation of continuum emissions in white light flares, and the radiation properties of solar plasmas. Also discussed are EUV images of a solar flare and C III intensity, an active region survey in H-alpha and X-rays, dynamic thermal plasma conditions in large flares, the evolution of the flare mechanism in dwarf stars, the evidence concerning electron beams in solar flares, the energetics of the nonlinear tearing mode, macroscopic electric fields during two-ribbon flares, and the low temperature signatures of energetic particles

  8. Prevention of Flares in Children with Atopic Dermatitis with Regular Use of an Emollient Containing Glycerol and Paraffin: A Randomized Controlled Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tiplica, George Sorin; Kaszuba, Andrzej; Malinauskienė, Laura; Konno, Pille; Boralevi, Franck; Garrigue, Eric; Saint-Aroman, Markéta; Delarue, Alain

    2017-05-01

    Emollients are part of the standard treatment for atopic dermatitis (AD), although there is limited evidence that regular use of emollients as management therapy reduces the frequency of flares and corticosteroid consumption. The objective of this study was to evaluate the benefit of emollient use in the management of mild to moderate AD in children by assessing the ability of two different emollients (particularly V0034CR) to prevent flares and to reduce the use of corticosteroids. In this randomized, open-label study, patients with a current flare were treated with a potent topical corticosteroid. After flare resolution, patients were centrally randomized to V0034CR emollient, reference emollient, or no emollient (1:1:1 ratio) for 12 weeks. New flares were medically assessed before being treated with a moderately potent corticosteroid. A total of 335 children 2 to 6 years of age were randomized. At 12 weeks, the percentage of patients with one or more flares was statistically significantly lower with V0034CR (35.1%) than without emollient (67.6%; p < 0.001). Fewer patients treated with V0034CR required any corticosteroids or immunosuppressants (23.6%) than patients with no emollient (43.3%) at 12 weeks. The difference was significant at all time points (p = 0.002). Patients treated with emollients had a longer time to first flare, fewer flares, higher complete remission rates, less corticosteroid consumption, lower Investigator Global Assessment scores, and lower Scoring Atopic Dermatitis scores than those who were not. V0034CR was well tolerated, with no specific safety concerns. Regular emollient use in children with mild to moderate AD reduces flares and corticosteroid consumption. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. OBSERVATIONS OF A SERIES OF FLARES AND ASSOCIATED JET-LIKE ERUPTIONS DRIVEN BY THE EMERGENCE OF TWISTED MAGNETIC FIELDS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lim, Eun-Kyung; Yurchyshyn, Vasyl; Kim, Sujin; Cho, Kyung-Suk; Kumar, Pankaj; Kim, Yeon-Han [Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, 776 Daedeokdae-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-348 (Korea, Republic of); Park, Sung-Hong [Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing (IAASARS), National Observatory of Athens, Penteli 15236 (Greece); Chae, Jongchul; Yang, Heesu; Cho, Kyuhyoun; Song, Donguk, E-mail: eklim@kasi.re.kr [Astronomy Program, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-747 (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-01-20

    We studied temporal changes of morphological and magnetic properties of a succession of four confined flares followed by an eruptive flare using the high-resolution New Solar Telescope (NST) operating at the Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO) and Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) magnetograms and Atmospheric Image Assembly (AIA) EUV images provided by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). From the NST/Hα and the SDO/AIA 304 Å observations we found that each flare developed a jet structure that evolved in a manner similar to evolution of the blowout jet: (1) an inverted-Y-shaped jet appeared and drifted away from its initial position; (2) jets formed a curtain-like structure that consisted of many fine threads accompanied by subsequent brightenings near the footpoints of the fine threads; and finally, (3) the jet showed a twisted structure visible near the flare maximum. Analysis of the HMI data showed that both the negative magnetic flux and the magnetic helicity have been gradually increasing in the positive-polarity region, indicating the continuous injection of magnetic twist before and during the series of flares. Based on these results, we suggest that the continuous emergence of twisted magnetic flux played an important role in producing successive flares and developing a series of blowout jets.

  10. Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging can play a role in predicting flare in juvenile idiopathic arthritis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nusman, Charlotte M., E-mail: c.m.nusman@amc.uva.nl [Department of Radiology, Academic Medical Center Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Department of Pediatric Hematology, Immunology, Rheumatology and Infectious Diseases, Emma Children’s Hospital, Academic Medical Center Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Hemke, Robert; Lavini, Cristina [Department of Radiology, Academic Medical Center Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Schonenberg-Meinema, Dieneke [Department of Pediatric Hematology, Immunology, Rheumatology and Infectious Diseases, Emma Children’s Hospital, Academic Medical Center Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Rossum, Marion A.J. van [Department of Pediatric Rheumatology, Reade Institute location Jan van Breemen, Doctor Jan van Breemenstraat 2, 1056 AB Amsterdam (Netherlands); Department of Pediatrics, Emma Children’s Hospital, Academic Medical Center Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Dolman, Koert M. [Department of Pediatric Rheumatology, Reade Institute location Jan van Breemen, Doctor Jan van Breemenstraat 2, 1056 AB Amsterdam (Netherlands); Department of Pediatrics, Sint Lucas Andreas Hospital, Jan Tooropstraat 164, 1061 AE, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Berg, J. Merlijn van den [Department of Pediatric Hematology, Immunology, Rheumatology and Infectious Diseases, Emma Children’s Hospital, Academic Medical Center Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Maas, Mario [Department of Radiology, Academic Medical Center Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Kuijpers, Taco W. [Department of Pediatric Hematology, Immunology, Rheumatology and Infectious Diseases, Emma Children’s Hospital, Academic Medical Center Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

    2017-03-15

    Highlights: • Subclinical synovitis is present in 40% of the inactive JIA patients. • One third of the inactive JIA patients flared during 2-year clinical follow-up. • DCE-MRI can play a role in predicting clinical flare in JIA patients. - Abstract: Purpose: The study was performed to determine whether conventional and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters of a previously affected target joint in patients with clinically inactive juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) have prognostic meaning for a flare of joint inflammation during follow-up. Material and methods: Thirty-two JIA patients with clinically inactive disease at the time of MRI of the knee were prospectively included. DCE-MRI provided both descriptive measures and time-intensity-curve shapes, representing functional properties of the synovium. Conventional MRI outcome measures included validated scores for synovial hypertrophy, bone marrow edema, cartilage lesions and bone erosions. During a 2-year period the patients were monitored by their pediatric rheumatologist and clinical flares were registered. Results: MRI analysis revealed synovial hypertrophy in 13 (39.4%) of the clinically inactive patients. Twelve patients (37.5%) had at least one flare during 2-year clinical follow-up. Persistently inactive and flaring patients differed significantly in the maximum enhancement of the synovium on the DCE-MRI (p < 0.05), whereas no difference was found between these two groups in any of the baseline scores of conventional MRI. Conclusions: Our prospective clinical follow-up study indicates that the assessment of ‘maximum enhancement’ upon DCE-MRI may be able to predict a clinical flare within 2 years in inactive JIA patients.

  11. Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging can play a role in predicting flare in juvenile idiopathic arthritis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nusman, Charlotte M.; Hemke, Robert; Lavini, Cristina; Schonenberg-Meinema, Dieneke; Rossum, Marion A.J. van; Dolman, Koert M.; Berg, J. Merlijn van den; Maas, Mario; Kuijpers, Taco W.

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Subclinical synovitis is present in 40% of the inactive JIA patients. • One third of the inactive JIA patients flared during 2-year clinical follow-up. • DCE-MRI can play a role in predicting clinical flare in JIA patients. - Abstract: Purpose: The study was performed to determine whether conventional and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters of a previously affected target joint in patients with clinically inactive juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) have prognostic meaning for a flare of joint inflammation during follow-up. Material and methods: Thirty-two JIA patients with clinically inactive disease at the time of MRI of the knee were prospectively included. DCE-MRI provided both descriptive measures and time-intensity-curve shapes, representing functional properties of the synovium. Conventional MRI outcome measures included validated scores for synovial hypertrophy, bone marrow edema, cartilage lesions and bone erosions. During a 2-year period the patients were monitored by their pediatric rheumatologist and clinical flares were registered. Results: MRI analysis revealed synovial hypertrophy in 13 (39.4%) of the clinically inactive patients. Twelve patients (37.5%) had at least one flare during 2-year clinical follow-up. Persistently inactive and flaring patients differed significantly in the maximum enhancement of the synovium on the DCE-MRI (p < 0.05), whereas no difference was found between these two groups in any of the baseline scores of conventional MRI. Conclusions: Our prospective clinical follow-up study indicates that the assessment of ‘maximum enhancement’ upon DCE-MRI may be able to predict a clinical flare within 2 years in inactive JIA patients.

  12. Study of magnetic helicity injection in the active region NOAA 9236 producing multiple flare-associated coronal mass ejection events

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Sung-Hong; Cho, Kyung-Suk; Bong, Su-Chan; Kumar, Pankaj; Kim, Yeon-Han; Park, Young-Deuk; Kusano, Kanya; Chae, Jongchul; Park, So-Young

    2013-01-01

    To better understand a preferred magnetic field configuration and its evolution during coronal mass ejection (CME) events, we investigated the spatial and temporal evolution of photospheric magnetic fields in the active region NOAA 9236 that produced eight flare-associated CMEs during the time period of 2000 November 23-26. The time variations of the total magnetic helicity injection rate and the total unsigned magnetic flux are determined and examined not only in the entire active region but also in some local regions such as the main sunspots and the CME-associated flaring regions using SOHO/MDI magnetogram data. As a result, we found that (1) in the sunspots, a large amount of positive (right-handed) magnetic helicity was injected during most of the examined time period, (2) in the flare region, there was a continuous injection of negative (left-handed) magnetic helicity during the entire period, accompanied by a large increase of the unsigned magnetic flux, and (3) the flaring regions were mainly composed of emerging bipoles of magnetic fragments in which magnetic field lines have substantially favorable conditions for making reconnection with large-scale, overlying, and oppositely directed magnetic field lines connecting the main sunspots. These observational findings can also be well explained by some MHD numerical simulations for CME initiation (e.g., reconnection-favored emerging flux models). We therefore conclude that reconnection-favored magnetic fields in the flaring emerging flux regions play a crucial role in producing the multiple flare-associated CMEs in NOAA 9236.

  13. Hα and Hβ emission in a C3.3 solar flare: comparison between observations and simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zuccarello, F.; Simoes, P. J. D. A.; Capparelli, V.; Fletcher, L.; Romano, P.; Mathioudakis, M.; Cauzzi, G.; Carlsson, M.; Kuridze, D.; Keys, P.

    2017-12-01

    This work is based on the analysis of an extremely rare set of simultaneous observations of a C3.3 solar flare in the Hα and Hβ lines at high spatial and temporal resolution, which were acquired at the Dunn Solar Telescope. Images of the C3.3 flare (SOL2014-04-22T15:22) made at various wavelengths along the Hα line profile by the Interferometric Bidimensional Spectrometer (IBIS) and in the Hβ with the Rapid Oscillations in the Solar Atmosphere (ROSA) broadband imager are analyzed to obtain the intensity evolution. The analysis shows that Hα and Hβ intensity excesses in three identified flare footpoints are well correlated in time. In the stronger footpoints, the typical value of the the Hα/Hβ intensity ratio observed is ˜ 0.4 - 0.5, in broad agreement with values obtained from a RADYN non-LTE simulation driven by an electron beam with parameters constrained by observations. The weaker footpoint has a larger Hα/Hβ ratio, again consistent with a RADYN simulation but with a smaller energy flux.

  14. Spectropolarimetric Inversions of the Ca II 8542 Å Line in an M-class Solar Flare

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuridze, D.; Henriques, V. M. J.; Mathioudakis, M.; Rouppe van der Voort, L.; de la Cruz Rodríguez, J.; Carlsson, M.

    2018-06-01

    We study the M1.9-class solar flare SOL2015-09-27T10:40 UT using high-resolution full Stokes imaging spectropolarimetry of the Ca II 8542 Å line obtained with the CRISP imaging spectropolarimeter at the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope. Spectropolarimetric inversions using the non-LTE code NICOLE are used to construct semiempirical models of the flaring atmosphere to investigate the structure and evolution of the flare temperature and magnetic field. A comparison of the temperature stratification in flaring and nonflaring areas reveals strong heating of the flare ribbon during the flare peak. The polarization signals of the ribbon in the chromosphere during the flare maximum become stronger when compared to its surroundings and to pre- and post-flare profiles. Furthermore, a comparison of the response functions to perturbations in the line-of-sight magnetic field and temperature in flaring and nonflaring atmospheres shows that during the flare, the Ca II 8542 Å line is more sensitive to the lower atmosphere where the magnetic field is expected to be stronger. The chromospheric magnetic field was also determined with the weak-field approximation, which led to results similar to those obtained with the NICOLE inversions.

  15. A Novel Forecasting System for Solar Particle Events and Flares (FORSPEF)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Papaioannou, A; Anastasiadis, A; Sandberg, I; Tsiropoula, G; Tziotziou, K; Georgoulis, M K; Jiggens, P; Hilgers, A

    2015-01-01

    Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs) result from intense solar eruptive events such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and pose a significant threat for both personnel and infrastructure in space conditions. In this work, we present FORSPEF (Forecasting Solar Particle Events and Flares), a novel dual system, designed to perform forecasting of SEPs based on forecasting of solar flares, as well as independent SEP nowcasting. An overview of flare and SEP forecasting methods of choice is presented. Concerning SEP events, we make use for the first time of the newly re-calibrated GOES proton data within the energy range 6.0-243 MeV and we build our statistics on an extensive time interval that includes roughly 3 solar cycles (1984-2013). A new comprehensive catalogue of SEP events based on these data has been compiled including solar associations in terms of flare (magnitude, location) and CME (width, velocity) characteristics. (paper)

  16. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHROMOSPHERIC EVAPORATION AND MAGNETIC FIELD TOPOLOGY IN AN M-CLASS SOLAR FLARE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sadykov, Viacheslav M; Kosovichev, Alexander G [Department of Physics, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ 07102 (United States); Sharykin, Ivan N; Zimovets, Ivan V [Space Research Institute (IKI) of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117997 (Russian Federation); Dominguez, Santiago Vargas [Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Bogotá, Observatorio Astronómico, Carrera 45 # 26-85, Bogotá (Colombia)

    2016-09-01

    Chromospheric evaporation is observed as Doppler blueshift during solar flares. It plays a key role in the dynamics and energetics of solar flares; however, its mechanism is still unknown. In this paper, we present a detailed analysis of spatially resolved multi-wavelength observations of chromospheric evaporation during an M 1.0-class solar flare (SOL2014-06-12T21:12) using data from NASA’s Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph and HMI/ SDO (the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory), and high-resolution observations from VIS/NST (the Visible Imaging Spectrometer at the New Solar Telescope). The results show that the averaged over the flare region Fe xxi blueshift of the hot (10{sup 7} K) evaporating plasma is delayed relative to the C ii redshift of the relatively cold (10{sup 4} K) chromospheric plasma by about one minute. The spatial distribution of the delays is not uniform across the region and can be as long as two minutes in several zones. Using vector magnetograms from HMI, we reconstruct the magnetic field topology and the quasi-separatrix layer, and find that the blueshift delay regions as well as the H α flare ribbons are connected to the region of the magnetic polarity inversion line (PIL) and an expanding flux rope via a system of low-lying loop arcades with a height of ≲4.5 Mm. As a result, the chromospheric evaporation may be driven by the energy release in the vicinity of PIL, and has the observed properties due to a local magnetic field topology.

  17. Transition Region Emission and the Energy Input to Thermal Plasma in Solar Flares

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holman, Gordon D.; Holman, Gordon D.; Dennis, Brian R.; Haga, Leah; Raymond, John C.; Panasyuk, Alexander

    2005-01-01

    Understanding the energetics of solar flares depends on obtaining reliable determinations of the energy input to flare plasma. X-ray observations of the thermal bremsstrahlung from hot flare plasma provide temperatures and emission measures which, along with estimates of the plasma volume, allow the energy content of this hot plasma to be computed. However, if thermal energy losses are significant or if significant energy goes directly into cooler plasma, this is only a lower limit on the total energy injected into thermal plasma during the flare. We use SOHO UVCS observations of O VI flare emission scattered by coronal O VI ions to deduce the flare emission at transition region temperatures between 100,000 K and 1 MK for the 2002 July 23 and other flares. We find that the radiated energy at these temperatures significantly increases the deduced energy input to the thermal plasma, but by an amount that is less than the uncertainty in the computed energies. Comparisons of computed thermal and nonthermal electron energies deduced from RHESSI, GOES, and UVCS are shown.

  18. The Effect of Magnetic Topology on the Escape of Flare Particles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antiochos, S. K.; Masson, S.; DeVore, C. R.

    2012-01-01

    Magnetic reconnection in the solar atmosphere is believed to be the driver of most solar explosive phenomena. Therefore, the topology of the coronal magnetic field is central to understanding the solar drivers of space weather. Of particular importance to space weather are the impulsive Solar Energetic particles that are associated with some CME/eruptive flare events. Observationally, the magnetic configuration of active regions where solar eruptions originate appears to agree with the standard eruptive flare model. According to this model, particles accelerated at the flare reconnection site should remain trapped in the corona and the ejected plasmoid. However, flare-accelerated particles frequently reach the Earth long before the CME does. We present a model that may account for the injection of energetic particles onto open magnetic flux tubes connecting to the Earth. Our model is based on the well-known 2.5D breakout topology, which has a coronal null point (null line) and a four-flux system. A key new addition, however, is that we include an isothermal solar wind with open-flux regions. Depending on the location of the open flux with respect to the null point, we find that the flare reconnection can consist of two distinct phases. At first, the flare reconnection involves only closed field, but if the eruption occurs close to the open field, we find a second phase involving interchange reconnection between open and closed. We argue that this second reconnection episode is responsible for the injection of flare-accelerated particles into the interplanetary medium. We will report on our recent work toward understanding how flare particles escape to the heliosphere. This work uses high-resolution 2.5D MHD numerical simulations performed with the Adaptively Refined MHD Solver (ARMS).

  19. Solar Features - Solar Flares - Patrol

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The H-alpha Flare Patrol identifies time periods each day when the sun is being continuously monitored by select ground-based solar observatories.

  20. Planetary Protection: X-ray Super-Flares Aid Formation of "Solar Systems"

    Science.gov (United States)

    2005-05-01

    New results from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory imply that X-ray super-flares torched the young Solar System. Such flares likely affected the planet-forming disk around the early Sun, and may have enhanced the survival chances of Earth. By focusing on the Orion Nebula almost continuously for 13 days, a team of scientists used Chandra to obtain the deepest X-ray observation ever taken of this or any star cluster. The Orion Nebula is the nearest rich stellar nursery, located just 1,500 light years away. These data provide an unparalleled view of 1400 young stars, 30 of which are prototypes of the early Sun. The scientists discovered that these young suns erupt in enormous flares that dwarf - in energy, size, and frequency -- anything seen from the Sun today. Illustration of Large Flares Illustration of Large Flares "We don't have a time machine to see how the young Sun behaved, but the next best thing is to observe Sun-like stars in Orion," said Scott Wolk of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. "We are getting a unique look at stars between one and 10 million years old - a time when planets form." A key result is that the more violent stars produce flares that are a hundred times as energetic as the more docile ones. This difference may specifically affect the fate of planets that are relatively small and rocky, like the Earth. "Big X-ray flares could lead to planetary systems like ours where Earth is a safe distance from the Sun," said Eric Feigelson of Penn State University in University Park, and principal investigator for the international Chandra Orion Ultradeep Project. "Stars with smaller flares, on the other hand, might end up with Earth-like planets plummeting into the star." Animation of X-ray Flares from a Young Sun Animation of X-ray Flares from a "Young Sun" According to recent theoretical work, X-ray flares can create turbulence when they strike planet-forming disks, and this affects the position of rocky planets as they

  1. Coherent-phase or random-phase acceleration of electron beams in solar flares

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aschwanden, Markus J.; Benz, Arnold O.; Montello, Maria L.

    1994-01-01

    Time structures of electron beam signatures at radio wavelengths are investigated to probe correlated versus random behavior in solar flares. In particular we address the issue whether acceleration and injection of electron beams is coherently modulated by a single source, or whether the injection is driven by a stochastic (possibly spatially fragmented) process. We analyze a total of approximately = 6000 type III bursts observed by Ikarus (Zurich) in the frequency range of 100-500 MHz, during 359 solar flares with simultaneous greater than or = 25 keV hard X-ray emission, in the years 1890-1983. In 155 flares we find a total of 260 continuous type III groups, with an average number of 13 +/- 9 bursts per group, a mean duration of D = 12 +/- 14 s, a mean period of P = 2.0 +/- 1.2 s, with the highest burst rate at a frequency of nu = 310 +/- 120 MHz. Pulse periods have been measured between 0.5 and 10 s, and can be described by an exponential distribution, i.e., N(P) varies as e (exp -P/1.0s). The period shows a frequency dependence of P(nu)=46(exp-0.6)(sub MHz)s for different flares, but is invariant during a particular flare. We measure the mean period P and its standard deviation sigma (sub p) in each type III group, and quantify the degree of periodicity (or phase-coherence) by the dimensionless parameter sigma (sub p)P. The representative sample of 260 type III burst groups shows a mean periodicity of sigma (sub p/P) = 0.37 +/- 0.12, while Monte Carlo simulations of an equivalent set of truly random time series show a distinctly different value of sigma (sub p)P = 0.93 +/- 0.26. This result indicates that the injection of electron beams is coherently modulated by a particle acceleration source which is either compact or has a global organization on a timescale of seconds, in contrast to an incoherent acceleration source, which is stochastic either in time or space. We discuss the constraints on the size of the acceleration region resulting from electron beam

  2. Statistical relationship between the succeeding solar flares detected by the RHESSI satellite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balázs, L. G.; Gyenge, N.; Korsós, M. B.; Baranyi, T.; Forgács-Dajka, E.; Ballai, I.

    2014-06-01

    The Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager has observed more than 80 000 solar energetic events since its launch on 2002 February 12. Using this large sample of observed flares, we studied the spatiotemporal relationship between succeeding flares. Our results show that the statistical relationship between the temporal and spatial differences of succeeding flares can be described as a power law of the form R(t) ˜ tp with p = 0.327 ± 0.007. We discuss the possible interpretations of this result as a characteristic function of a supposed underlying physics. Different scenarios are considered to explain this relation, including the case where the connectivity between succeeding events is realized through a shock wave in the post Sedov-Taylor phase or where the spatial and temporal relationship between flares is supposed to be provided by an expanding flare area in the sub-diffusive regime. Furthermore, we cannot exclude the possibility that the physical process behind the statistical relationship is the reordering of the magnetic field by the flare or it is due to some unknown processes.

  3. Particle propagation, wave growth and energy dissipation in a flaring flux tube

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, S. M.; Melrose, D. B.; Dulk, G. A.

    1986-01-01

    Wave amplification by downgoing particles in a common flare model is investigated. The flare is assumed to occur at the top of a coronal magnetic flux loop, and results in the heating of plasma in the flaring region. The hot electrons propagate down the legs of the flux tube towards increasing magnetic field. It is simple to demonstrate that the velocity distributions which result in this model are unstable to both beam instabilities and cyclotron maser action. An explanation is presented for the propagation effects on the distribution, and the properties of the resulting amplified waves are explored, concentrating on cyclotron maser action, which has properties (emission in the z mode below the local gyrofrequency) quite different from maser action by other distributions considered in the context of solar flares. The z mode waves will be damped in the coronal plasma surrounding the flaring flux tube and lead to heating there. This process may be important in the overall energy budget of the flare. The downgoing maser is compared with the loss cone maser, which is more likely to produce observable bursts.

  4. Fusobacterium nucleatum in endodontic flare-ups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chávez de Paz Villanueva, Luis Eduardo

    2002-02-01

    The extent to which Fusobacterium nucleatum is recovered from root canals of teeth that present with an interappointment flare-up following endodontic instrumentation was investigated. Included in the study were 28 patients that sought emergency treatment after initiation of root canal therapy. Only non-painful teeth that had been treated because of a necrotic pulp and periapical inflammatory lesion were studied. Root canal samples for bacterial analysis were taken, transported to a bacteriological laboratory, and processed for a semiquantitative assessment of bacterial isolates. Bacterial findings were correlated with self-assessed pain intensity as recorded by means of a Visual Analogue Scale. Clinical presentation of swelling and presence of exudate in the treated root canals were also linked. Bacteria were recovered from all teeth examined. Gram-negative anaerobic coccoid rods (Prevotella species and Porphyromonas species) were frequent isolates. All teeth in patients who were reported to be in severe pain (Visual Analogue Scale > or = 6) displayed F nucleatum. Nine out of 10 of these teeth also had swelling and exudate in the root canals. Samples from the remaining patients that had teeth with less pain score showed a variable bacterial recovery. None of these teeth displayed F nucleatum. F nucleatum appears to be associated with the development of the most severe forms of interappointment endodontic flare-ups.

  5. The Natural History of Flare-Ups in Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP): A Comprehensive Global Assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pignolo, Robert J; Bedford-Gay, Christopher; Liljesthröm, Moira; Durbin-Johnson, Blythe P; Shore, Eileen M; Rocke, David M; Kaplan, Frederick S

    2016-03-01

    Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) leads to disabling heterotopic ossification (HO) from episodic flare-ups. However, the natural history of FOP flare-ups is poorly understood. A 78-question survey on FOP flare-ups, translated into 15 languages, was sent to 685 classically-affected patients in 45 countries (six continents). Five hundred patients or knowledgeable informants responded (73%; 44% males, 56% females; ages: 1 to 71 years; median: 23 years). The most common presenting symptoms of flare-ups were swelling (93%), pain (86%), or decreased mobility (79%). Seventy-one percent experienced a flare-up within the preceding 12 months (52% spontaneous; 48% trauma-related). Twenty-five percent of those who had received an intramuscular injection reported an immediate flare-up at the injection site, 84% of whom developed HO. Axial flare-ups most frequently involved the back (41.6%), neck (26.4%), or jaw (19.4%). Flare-ups occurred more frequently in the upper limbs before 8 years of age, but more frequently in the lower limbs thereafter. Appendicular flare-ups occurred more frequently at proximal than at distal sites without preferential sidedness. Seventy percent of patients reported functional loss from a flare-up. Thirty-two percent reported complete resolution of at least one flare-up and 12% without any functional loss (mostly in the head or back). The most disabling flare-ups occurred at the shoulders or hips. Surprisingly, 47% reported progression of FOP without obvious flare-ups. Worldwide, 198 treatments were reported; anti-inflammatory agents were most common. Seventy-five percent used short-term glucocorticoids as a treatment for flare-ups at appendicular sites. Fifty-five percent reported that glucocorticoids improved symptoms occasionally whereas 31% reported that they always did. Only 12% reported complete resolution of a flare-up with glucocorticoids. Forty-three percent reported rebound symptoms within 1 to 7 days after completing a course of

  6. Solar flare pion and neutron production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Forrest, D.J.; Vestrand, W.T.

    1992-01-01

    During cycle 21, the Gamma Ray Spectrometer on SMM observed three large flares with clear evidence for pion decay gamma rays and high energy neutrons. Two of these had an extended emission phase. The emission observed in these extended phases were clearly different from those observed in the impulsive phase. Compared to the impulsive phase, the extended phase emissions were strongly deficient in electron bremsstrahlung relative to the nuclear line emission in the 1.0-7.0 MeV band and appeared to have a reduced energetic neutron to pion gamma ray emission in the >10 MeV band. These changes can be produced either by a strong hardening of the accelerated ion spectrum together with a relative decrease in the energetic electron spectrum, or by a pronounced change in the geometry of the particle spectrum downwards towards the photosphere. The authors review the observational evidence in terms of these two possibilities. A dramatic change in the energetic particle geometry appears to offer the simplest explanation. If true these two flares represent the first clear evidence of strong particle geometry effects within individual flares

  7. UBV-photometry of flare stars in pleiades

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chavushyan, O.S.; Garibdzhanyan, A.T.

    1975-01-01

    The results are presented of UBV-photometry of 283 flare stars at the minimum of brightness in the Pleiad region. A new method has been developed and used of taking into account the background in photographic UBV-photometry with an iris microphotometer. The data obtained indicate that the flare Pleiad stars are located on both sides of the main sequence in the light-luminosity (V,B-V) diagram, while in the (U-B,B-V) diagram they are largely located above the main sequence

  8. Mental health, fatigue and function are associated with increased risk of disease flare following TNF inhibitor tapering in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: an exploratory analysis of data from the Optimizing TNF Tapering in RA (OPTTIRA) trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bechman, Katie; Sin, Fang En; Ibrahim, Fowzia; Norton, Sam; Matcham, Faith; Scott, David Lloyd; Cope, Andrew; Galloway, James

    2018-01-01

    Tapering of anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) therapy appears feasible, safe and effective in selected patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Depression is highly prevalent in RA and may impact on flare incidence through various mechanisms. This study aims to investigate if psychological states predict flare in patients' dose tapering their anti-TNF therapy. This study is a post-hoc analysis of the Optimizing TNF Tapering in RA trial, a multicentre, randomised, open-label study investigating anti-TNF tapering in RA patients with sustained low disease activity. Patient-reported outcomes (Health Assessment Questionnaire, EuroQol 5-dimension scale, Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy fatigue scale (FACIT-F), 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36)) were collected at baseline. The primary outcome was flare, defined as an increase in 28-joint count Disease Activity Score (DAS28) ≥0.6 and ≥1 swollen joint. Discrete-time survival models were used to identify patient-reported outcomes that predict flare. Ninety-seven patients were randomised to taper their anti-TNF dose by either 33% or 66%. Forty-one patients flared. Higher baseline DAS28 score was associated with flare (adjusted HR 1.96 (95% CI 1.18 to 3.24), p=0.01). Disability (SF-36 physical component score), fatigue (FACIT-F) and mental health (SF-36 mental health subscale (MH)) predicted flare in unadjusted models. In multivariate analyses, only SF-36 MH remained a statistically significant predictor of flare (adjusted HR per 10 units 0.74 (95% CI 0.60 to 0.93), p=0.01). Baseline DAS28 and mental health status are independently associated with flare in patients who taper their anti-TNF therapy. Fatigue and function also associate with flare but the effect disappears when adjusting for confounders. Given these findings, mental health and functional status should be considered in anti-TNF tapering decisions in order to optimise the likelihood of success. EudraCT Number: 2010-020738-24; ISRCTN: 28955701

  9. The Lived Experience of Lupus Flares: Features, Triggers, and Management in an Australian Female Cohort

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marline L. Squance

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Individuals living with lupus commonly experience daily backgrounds of symptoms managed to acceptable tolerance levels to prevent organ damage. Despite management, exacerbation periods (flares still occur. Varied clinical presentations and unpredictable symptom exacerbation patterns provide management and assessment challenges. Patient perceptions of symptoms vary with perceived impact, lifestyles, available support, and self-management capacity. Therefore, to increase our understanding of lupus’ health impacts and management, it was important to explore lupus flare characteristics from the patient viewpoint. Lupus flares in 101 Australian female patients were retrospectively explored with the use of a novel flare definition. Qualitative methods were used to explore patient-perceived flare symptoms, triggers, and management strategies adopted to alleviate symptom exacerbations. A mean of 29.9 flare days, with 6.8 discrete flares, was experienced. The study confirmed that patients perceive stress, infection, and UV light as flare triggers and identified new potential triggers of temperature and weather changes, work, and chemical exposure from home cleaning. The majority of flares were self-managed with patients making considered management choices without medical input. Barriers to seeking medical support included appointment timings and past negative experiences reflecting incongruence between clinician and patient views of symptom impact, assessment, and ultimately flare occurrence.

  10. Sgr A* flares: tidal disruption of asteroids and planets?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zubovas, K.; Nayakshin, S.; Markoff, S.

    2012-01-01

    It is theoretically expected that a supermassive black hole (SMBH) in the centre of a typical nearby galaxy disrupts a solar-type star every ∼105 yr, resulting in a bright flare lasting for months. Sgr A*, the resident SMBH of the Milky Way, produces (by comparison) tiny flares that last only hours

  11. Solar flare leaves sun quaking

    Science.gov (United States)

    1998-05-01

    Dr. Alexander G. Kosovichev, a senior research scientist from Stanford University, and Dr. Valentina V. Zharkova from Glasgow (United Kingdom) University found the tell-tale seismic signature in data on the Sun's surface collected by the Michelson Doppler Imager onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft immediately following a moderate-sized flare on July 9, 1996. "Although the flare was a moderate one, it still released an immense amount of energy," said Dr. Craig Deforest, a researcher with the SOHO project. "The energy released is equal to completely covering the Earth's continents with a yard of dynamite and detonating it all at once." SOHO is a joint project of the European Space Agency and NASA. The finding is reported in the May 28 issue of the journal Nature, and is the subject of a press conference at the spring meeting of the American Geophysical Union in Boston, Mass., May 27. The solar quake that the science team recorded looks much like ripples spreading from a rock dropped into a pool of water. But over the course of an hour, the solar waves traveled for a distance equal to 10 Earth diameters before fading into the fiery background of the Sun's photosphere. Unlike water ripples that travel outward at a constant velocity, the solar waves accelerated from an initial speed of 22,000 miles per hour to a maximum of 250,000 miles per hour before disappearing. "People have looked for evidence of seismic waves from flares before, but they didn't have a theory so they didn't know where to look," says Kosovichev. Several years ago Kosovichev and Zharkova developed a theory that can explain how a flare, which explodes in space above the Sun's surface, can generate a major seismic wave in the Sun's interior. According to the currently accepted model of solar flares, the primary explosion creates high-energy electrons (electrically charged subatomic particles). These are funneled down into a magnetic flux tube, an invisible tube of magnetic

  12. Solar flares at submillimeter wavelengths

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Krucker, S.; Gimenez de Castro, C.G.; Hudson, H. S.; Trottet, G.; Bastian, T.S.; Hales, A.S.; Kašparová, Jana; Klein, K. L.; Kretzschmar, M.; Luethi, T.; Mackinnon, A.; Pohjolainen, S.; White, S.M.

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 21, č. 1 (2013), 58/1-58/45 ISSN 0935-4956 Institutional support: RVO:67985815 Keywords : Sun * flares * radio observations Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics Impact factor: 13.312, year: 2013

  13. SUPPRESSION OF PARALLEL TRANSPORT IN TURBULENT MAGNETIZED PLASMAS AND ITS IMPACT ON THE NON-THERMAL AND THERMAL ASPECTS OF SOLAR FLARES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bian, Nicolas H.; Kontar, Eduard P. [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ (United Kingdom); Emslie, A. Gordon, E-mail: n.bian@physics.gla.ac.uk, E-mail: emslieg@wku.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY 42101 (United States)

    2016-06-20

    The transport of the energy contained in electrons, both thermal and suprathermal, in solar flares plays a key role in our understanding of many aspects of the flare phenomenon, from the spatial distribution of hard X-ray emission to global energetics. Motivated by recent RHESSI observations that point to the existence of a mechanism that confines electrons to the coronal parts of flare loops more effectively than Coulomb collisions, we here consider the impact of pitch-angle scattering off turbulent magnetic fluctuations on the parallel transport of electrons in flaring coronal loops. It is shown that the presence of such a scattering mechanism in addition to Coulomb collisional scattering can significantly reduce the parallel thermal and electrical conductivities relative to their collisional values. We provide illustrative expressions for the resulting thermoelectric coefficients that relate the thermal flux and electrical current density to the temperature gradient and the applied electric field. We then evaluate the effect of these modified transport coefficients on the flare coronal temperature that can be attained, on the post-impulsive-phase cooling of heated coronal plasma, and on the importance of the beam-neutralizing return current on both ambient heating and the energy loss rate of accelerated electrons. We also discuss the possible ways in which anomalous transport processes have an impact on the required overall energy associated with accelerated electrons in solar flares.

  14. Study of the behaviour of the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) during solar flares

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aggarwal, Malini; Astafyeva, Elvira

    2014-05-01

    A solar flare occurring in the sun's chromosphere is observed in various wavebands (radio to x-rays). The response of the solar flare which causes sudden changes in the earth's ionosphere is not yet well understood though investigations suggested that its impact depends on the size and location of occurrence of solar flare on sun. Considering this, we have carried an investigation to study the response of two strong and gradual solar flares: 2 Apr 2001 (X20, limb) and 7 Feb 2010 (M6.4, disk) on the earth's equatorial-low latitude regions using multi-technique observations of satellite and ground-based instruments. We found a weakening of strength of equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) in total electron content during both the flares as observed by TOPEX, JASON-1 and JASON-2 altimeter measurements. The H component of the geomagnetic field also shows a sudden change at equatorial and low latitude stations in the sunlit hemisphere during the flare. The observations of ionosonde at low-latitudes indicate a strong absorption of higher-frequency radio signals. The detail response of these flare on EIA of the earth's ionosphere will be presented and discussed.

  15. Lithographic measurement of EUV flare in the 0.3-NA Micro Exposure Tool optic at the Advanced Light Source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cain, Jason P.; Naulleau, Patrick; Spanos, Costas J.

    2005-01-01

    The level of flare present in a 0.3-NA EUV optic (the MET optic) at the Advanced Light Source at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is measured using a lithographic method. Photoresist behavior at high exposure doses makes analysis difficult. Flare measurement analysis under scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical microscopy is compared, and optical microscopy is found to be a more reliable technique. In addition, the measured results are compared with predictions based on surface roughness measurement of the MET optical elements. When the fields in the exposure matrix are spaced far enough apart to avoid influence from surrounding fields and the data is corrected for imperfect mask contrast and aerial image proximity effects, the results match predicted values quite well. The amount of flare present in this optic ranges from 4.7% for 2 (micro)m features to 6.8% for 500 nm features

  16. Intracanal medications and antibiotics in the control of interappointment flare-ups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rimmer, A

    1991-12-01

    Acute exacerbation of symptoms, or "flare-up," after the debridement of the root canals and provisional restoration is a well-known postoperative complication of endodontic treatment. In this clinical study, various types of intracanal medications were compared for their ability to decrease interappointment flare-ups. The result showed that use of intracanal medicaments containing anti-inflammatory agents in combination with the administration of prophylactic systematic antibiotics was the most effective method of controlling interappointment flare-ups.

  17. Twin Screw Extruder Production of MTTP Decoy Flares SERDP WP-1240

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Campbell, Carol

    2005-01-01

    The objective of this effort is to develop an environmentally acceptable decoy flare formulation and process to produce aircraft decoy flares without the use of HAP or Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC...

  18. Using natural language processing and machine learning to identify gout flares from electronic clinical notes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Chengyi; Rashid, Nazia; Wu, Yi-Lin; Koblick, River; Lin, Antony T; Levy, Gerald D; Cheetham, T Craig

    2014-11-01

    Gout flares are not well documented by diagnosis codes, making it difficult to conduct accurate database studies. We implemented a computer-based method to automatically identify gout flares using natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) from electronic clinical notes. Of 16,519 patients, 1,264 and 1,192 clinical notes from 2 separate sets of 100 patients were selected as the training and evaluation data sets, respectively, which were reviewed by rheumatologists. We created separate NLP searches to capture different aspects of gout flares. For each note, the NLP search outputs became the ML system inputs, which provided the final classification decisions. The note-level classifications were grouped into patient-level gout flares. Our NLP+ML results were validated using a gold standard data set and compared with the claims-based method used by prior literatures. For 16,519 patients with a diagnosis of gout and a prescription for a urate-lowering therapy, we identified 18,869 clinical notes as gout flare positive (sensitivity 82.1%, specificity 91.5%): 1,402 patients with ≥3 flares (sensitivity 93.5%, specificity 84.6%), 5,954 with 1 or 2 flares, and 9,163 with no flare (sensitivity 98.5%, specificity 96.4%). Our method identified more flare cases (18,869 versus 7,861) and patients with ≥3 flares (1,402 versus 516) when compared to the claims-based method. We developed a computer-based method (NLP and ML) to identify gout flares from the clinical notes. Our method was validated as an accurate tool for identifying gout flares with higher sensitivity and specificity compared to previous studies. Copyright © 2014 by the American College of Rheumatology.

  19. High-resolution Observations of Flares in an Arch Filament System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Yingna; Liu, Rui; Li, Shangwei; Cao, Wenda; Ahn, Kwangsu; Ji, Haisheng

    2018-03-01

    We study five sequential solar flares (SOL2015-08-07) occurring in Active Region 12396 observed with the Goode Solar Telescope (GST) at the Big Bear Solar Observatory, complemented by Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph and SDO observations. The main flaring region is an arch filament system (AFS) consisting of multiple bundles of dark filament threads enclosed by semicircular flare ribbons. We study the magnetic configuration and evolution of the active region by constructing coronal magnetic field models based on SDO/HMI magnetograms using two independent methods, i.e., the nonlinear force-free field (NLFFF) extrapolation and the flux rope insertion method. The models consist of multiple flux ropes with mixed signs of helicity, i.e., positive (negative) in the northern (southern) region, which is consistent with the GST observations of multiple filament bundles. The footprints of quasi-separatrix layers (QSLs) derived from the extrapolated NLFFF compare favorably with the observed flare ribbons. An interesting double-ribbon fine structure located at the east border of the AFS is consistent with the fine structure of the QSL’s footprint. Moreover, magnetic field lines traced along the semicircular footprint of a dome-like QSL surrounding the AFS are connected to the regions of significant helicity and Poynting flux injection. The maps of magnetic twist show that positive twist became dominant as time progressed, which is consistent with the injection of positive helicity before the flares. We hence conclude that these circular shaped flares are caused by 3D magnetic reconnection at the QSLs associated with the AFS possessing mixed signs of helicity.

  20. Stellar CME candidates: towards a stellar CME-flare relation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paraskevi Moschou, Sofia; Drake, Jeremy J.; Cohen, Ofer; Alvarado-Gomez, Julian D.; Garraffo, Cecilia

    2018-06-01

    For decades the Sun has been the only star that allowed for direct CME observations. Recently, with the discovery of multiple extrasolar systems, it has become imperative that the role of stellar CMEs be assessed in the context of exoplanetary habitability. Solar CMEs and flares show a higher association with increasing flaring energy, with strong flares corresponding to large and fast CMEs. As argued in earlier studies, extrasolar environments around active stars are potentially dominated by CMEs, as a result of their extreme flaring activity. This has strong implications for the energy budget of the system and the atmospheric erosion of orbiting planets.Nevertheless, with current instrumentation we are unable to directly observe CMEs in even the closest stars, and thus we have to look for indirect techniques and observational evidence and signatures for the eruption of stellar CMEs. There are three major observational techniques for tracing CME signatures in other stellar systems, namely measuring Type II radio bursts, Doppler shifts in UV/optical lines or transient absorption in the X-ray spectrum. We present observations of the most probable stellar CME candidates captured so far and examine the different observational techniques used together with their levels of uncertainty. Assuming that they were CMEs, we try to asses their kinematic and energetic characteristics and place them in an extension of the well-established solar CME-flare energy scaling law. We finish by discussing future observations for direct measurements.

  1. PROBING THE FLARE ATMOSPHERES OF M DWARFS USING INFRARED EMISSION LINES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schmidt, Sarah J.; Kowalski, Adam F.; Hawley, Suzanne L.; Hilton, Eric J.; Wisniewski, John P.; Tofflemire, Benjamin M., E-mail: sjschmidt@astro.washington.edu [Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, National Research Council of Canada (Canada)

    2012-01-20

    We present the results of a campaign to monitor active M dwarfs using infrared spectroscopy, supplemented with optical photometry and spectroscopy. We detected 16 flares during nearly 50 hr of observations on EV Lac, AD Leo, YZ CMi, and VB 8. The three most energetic flares also showed infrared emission, including the first reported detections of P{beta}, P{gamma}, He I {lambda}10830, and Br{gamma} during an M dwarf flare. The strongest flare ({Delta}u = 4.02 on EV Lac) showed emission from H{gamma}, H{delta}, He I {lambda}4471, and Ca II K in the UV/blue and P{beta}, P{gamma}, P{delta}, Br{gamma}, and He I {lambda}10830 in the infrared. The weaker flares ({Delta}u = 1.68 on EV Lac and {Delta}U = 1.38 on YZ CMi) were only observed with photometry and infrared spectroscopy; both showed emission from P{beta}, P{gamma}, and He I {lambda}10830. The strongest infrared emission line, P{beta}, occurred in the active mid-M dwarfs with a duty cycle of {approx}3%-4%. To examine the most energetic flare, we used the static NLTE radiative transfer code RH to produce model spectra based on a suite of one-dimensional model atmospheres. Using a hotter chromosphere than previous one-dimensional atmospheric models, we obtain line ratios that match most of the observed emission lines.

  2. FLARE-GENERATED TYPE II BURST WITHOUT ASSOCIATED CORONAL MASS EJECTION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Magdalenic, J.; Marque, C.; Zhukov, A. N. [Solar-Terrestrial Center of Excellence, SIDC, Royal Observatory of Belgium, Avenue Circulaire 3, B-1180 Brussels (Belgium); Vrsnak, B. [Hvar Observatory, Faculty of Geodesy, Kaciceva 26, HR-10000 Zagreb (Croatia); Veronig, A., E-mail: Jasmina.Magdalenic@oma.be [IGAM/Kanzelhoehe Observatory, Institut of Physics, Universitaet Graz, Universitaetsplatz 5, A-8010 Graz (Austria)

    2012-02-20

    We present a study of the solar coronal shock wave on 2005 November 14 associated with the GOES M3.9 flare that occurred close to the east limb (S06 Degree-Sign E60 Degree-Sign ). The shock signature, a type II radio burst, had an unusually high starting frequency of about 800 MHz, indicating that the shock was formed at a rather low height. The position of the radio source, the direction of the shock wave propagation, and the coronal electron density were estimated using Nancay Radioheliograph observations and the dynamic spectrum of the Green Bank Solar Radio Burst Spectrometer. The soft X-ray, H{alpha}, and Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager observations show that the flare was compact, very impulsive, and of a rather high density and temperature, indicating a strong and impulsive increase of pressure in a small flare loop. The close association of the shock wave initiation with the impulsive energy release suggests that the impulsive increase of the pressure in the flare was the source of the shock wave. This is supported by the fact that, contrary to the majority of events studied previously, no coronal mass ejection was detected in association with the shock wave, although the corresponding flare occurred close to the limb.

  3. Non-Local Diffusion of Energetic Electrons during Solar Flares

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bian, N. H.; Emslie, G.; Kontar, E.

    2017-12-01

    The transport of the energy contained in suprathermal electrons in solar flares plays a key role in our understanding of many aspects of flare physics, from the spatial distributions of hard X-ray emission and energy deposition in the ambient atmosphere to global energetics. Historically the transport of these particles has been largely treated through a deterministic approach, in which first-order secular energy loss to electrons in the ambient target is treated as the dominant effect, with second-order diffusive terms (in both energy and angle) generally being either treated as a small correction or even neglected. Here, we critically analyze this approach, and we show that spatial diffusion through pitch-angle scattering necessarily plays a very significant role in the transport of electrons. We further show that a satisfactory treatment of the diffusion process requires consideration of non-local effects, so that the electron flux depends not just on the local gradient of the electron distribution function but on the value of this gradient within an extended region encompassing a significant fraction of a mean free path. Our analysis applies generally to pitch-angle scattering by a variety of mechanisms, from Coulomb collisions to turbulent scattering. We further show that the spatial transport of electrons along the magnetic field of a flaring loop can be modeled as a Continuous Time Random Walk with velocity-dependent probability distribution functions of jump sizes and occurrences, both of which can be expressed in terms of the scattering mean free path.

  4. Magnetohydrodynamic and thermal processes in solar flare energy build-up and release

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tend, W. van.

    1979-01-01

    A solar flare can be described as an instability in the upper solar atmosphere that converts 10 28 ergs to 10 32 ergs of magnetic energy into other forms of energy, mainly kinetic energy. The solar flare gives rise to a wealth of observable phenomena. The author develops a fairly simple model to explain many of these apparently very diverse features of solar flares. (Auth.)

  5. VizieR Online Data Catalog: Bayesian method for detecting stellar flares (Pitkin+, 2014)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pitkin, M.; Williams, D.; Fletcher, L.; Grant, S. D. T.

    2015-05-01

    We present a Bayesian-odds-ratio-based algorithm for detecting stellar flares in light-curve data. We assume flares are described by a model in which there is a rapid rise with a half-Gaussian profile, followed by an exponential decay. Our signal model also contains a polynomial background model required to fit underlying light-curve variations in the data, which could otherwise partially mimic a flare. We characterize the false alarm probability and efficiency of this method under the assumption that any unmodelled noise in the data is Gaussian, and compare it with a simpler thresholding method based on that used in Walkowicz et al. We find our method has a significant increase in detection efficiency for low signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) flares. For a conservative false alarm probability our method can detect 95 per cent of flares with S/N less than 20, as compared to S/N of 25 for the simpler method. We also test how well the assumption of Gaussian noise holds by applying the method to a selection of 'quiet' Kepler stars. As an example we have applied our method to a selection of stars in Kepler Quarter 1 data. The method finds 687 flaring stars with a total of 1873 flares after vetos have been applied. For these flares we have made preliminary characterizations of their durations and and S/N. (1 data file).

  6. Effect of Particle Acceleration Process on the Flare Characteristics of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    R. Narasimhan (Krishtel eMaging) 1461 1996 Oct 15 13:05:22

    J. Astrophys. Astr. (2002) 23, 95–99. Effect of Particle Acceleration Process on the Flare Characteristics of. Blazars. S. Bhattacharyya, S. Sahayanathan & C. L. Kaul Nuclear Research Laboratory,. Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400 085, India. Abstract. Following the kinetic equation approach, we study the flare.

  7. The Atmospheric Response to High Nonthermal Electron Beam Fluxes in Solar Flares. I. Modeling the Brightest NUV Footpoints in the X1 Solar Flare of 2014 March 29

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kowalski, Adam F. [Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, 2000 Colorado Ave, Boulder, CO 80305 (United States); Allred, Joel C.; Daw, Adrian [NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 671, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Cauzzi, Gianna [INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, I-50125 Firenze (Italy); Carlsson, Mats, E-mail: Adam.Kowalski@lasp.colorado.edu [Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, PO Box 1029 Blindern, NO-0315 Oslo (Norway)

    2017-02-10

    The 2014 March 29 X1 solar flare (SOL20140329T17:48) produced bright continuum emission in the far- and near-ultraviolet (NUV) and highly asymmetric chromospheric emission lines, providing long-sought constraints on the heating mechanisms of the lower atmosphere in solar flares. We analyze the continuum and emission line data from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) of the brightest flaring magnetic footpoints in this flare. We compare the NUV spectra of the brightest pixels to new radiative-hydrodynamic predictions calculated with the RADYN code using constraints on a nonthermal electron beam inferred from the collisional thick-target modeling of hard X-ray data from Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager . We show that the atmospheric response to a high beam flux density satisfactorily achieves the observed continuum brightness in the NUV. The NUV continuum emission in this flare is consistent with hydrogen (Balmer) recombination radiation that originates from low optical depth in a dense chromospheric condensation and from the stationary beam-heated layers just below the condensation. A model producing two flaring regions (a condensation and stationary layers) in the lower atmosphere is also consistent with the asymmetric Fe ii chromospheric emission line profiles observed in the impulsive phase.

  8. Thermal and Nonthermal Emissions of a Composite Flare Derived from NoRH and SDO Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jeongwoo; White, Stephen M.; Jing, Ju; Liu, Chang; Masuda, Satoshi; Chae, Jongchul

    2017-12-01

    Differential emission measure (DEM) derived from the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lines of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on board the Solar Dynamic Observatory is used in the analysis of a solar flare observed by the Nobeyama Radioheliograph (NoRH). The target was a composite event consisting of an impulsive flare, SOL2015-06-21T01:42 (GOES class M2.0), and a gradual flare, SOL2015-06-21T02:36 (M2.6), for which separation of thermal plasma heating from nonthermal particle acceleration was of major interest. We have calculated the thermal free-free intensity maps with the AIA-derived DEM and compared them against the observed NoRH maps to attribute the difference to the nonthermal component. In this way, we were able to locate three distinct sources: the major source with thermal and nonthermal components mixed, a nonthermal source devoid of thermal particles, and a thermal source lacking microwave emission. Both the first and the second nonthermal sources produced impulsively rising 17 GHz intensities and moved away from the local magnetic polarization inversion lines in correlation with the flare radiation. In contrast, the thermal sources stay in fixed locations and show temporal variations of the temperature and emission measure uncorrelated with the flare radiation. We interpret these distinct properties as indicating that nonthermal sources are powered by magnetic reconnection and thermal sources passively receive energy from the nonthermal donor. The finding of these distinct properties between thermal and nonthermal sources demonstrates the microwave and EUV emission measure combined diagnostics.

  9. Proton Flares in Solar Activity Complexes: Possible Origins and Consequences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isaeva, E. S.; Tomozov, V. M.; Yazev, S. A.

    2018-03-01

    Solar flares observed during the 24th solar-activity cycle and accompanied by fluxes of particles detected at the Earth's orbit with intensities exceeding 10 particles cm-2 s-1 and energies of more than 10 MeV per particle mainly occurred in activity complexes (82% of cases), with 80% of these occurring no more than 20 heliographic degrees from the nearest coronal holes. The correlation between the X-ray classes of flares and the proton fluxes detected at the Earth's orbit is weak. The work presented here supports the hypothesis that the leakage of particles into the heliosphere is due to the existence of long-lived magnetic channels, which facilitate the transport of flare-accelerated particles into the boundary regions of open magnetic structures of coronal holes. The possible contribution of exchange reconnection in the formation of such channels and the role of exchange reconnection in the generation of flares are discussed.

  10. LONG-TERM MONITORING OF MRK 501 FOR ITS VERY HIGH ENERGY {gamma} EMISSION AND A FLARE IN 2011 OCTOBER

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bartoli, B.; Catalanotti, S. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita di Napoli ' Federico II' , Complesso Universitario di Monte Sant' Angelo, via Cinthia, I-80126 Napoli (Italy); Bernardini, P.; Bleve, C. [Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica ' E. De Giorgi' dell' Universita del Salento, via per Arnesano, I-73100 Lecce (Italy); Bi, X. J.; Cao, Z.; Chen, S. Z.; Chen, Y. [Key Laboratory of Particle Astrophysics, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 918, 100049 Beijing (China); Bolognino, I. [Dipartimento di Fisica Nucleare e Teorica dell' Universita di Pavia, via Bassi 6, I-27100 Pavia (Italy); Branchini, P.; Budano, A. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Roma Tre, via della Vasca Navale 84, I-00146 Roma (Italy); Calabrese Melcarne, A. K. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare-CNAF, Viale Berti-Pichat 6/2, I-40127 Bologna (Italy); Camarri, P. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita di Roma ' Tor Vergata' , via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, I-00133 Roma (Italy); Cardarelli, R. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Roma Tor Vergata, via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, I-00133 Roma (Italy); Cattaneo, C. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pavia, via Bassi 6, I-27100 Pavia (Italy); Chen, T. L. [Tibet University, 850000 Lhasa, Xizang (China); Creti, P. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Lecce, via per Arnesano, I-73100 Lecce (Italy); Cui, S. W. [Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050016, Hebei (China); Dai, B. Z. [Yunnan University, 2 North Cuihu Rd., 650091 Kunming, Yunnan (China); D' Ali Staiti, G., E-mail: chensz@ihep.ac.cn [Dipartimento di Fisica e Tecnologie Relative, Universita degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Edificio 18, I-90128 Palermo (Italy); Collaboration: ARGO-YBJ Collaboration; and others

    2012-10-10

    As one of the brightest active blazars in both X-ray and very high energy {gamma}-ray bands, Mrk 501, is very useful for physics associated with jets from active galactic nuclei. The ARGO-YBJ experiment has monitored Mrk 501 for {gamma}-rays above 0.3 TeV since 2007 November. The largest flare since 2005 was observed from 2011 October and lasted until about 2012 April. In this paper, a detailed analysis of this event is reported. During the brightest {gamma}-ray flaring episodes from 2011 October 17 to November 22, an excess of the event rate over 6{sigma} is detected by ARGO-YBJ in the direction of Mrk 501, corresponding to an increase of the {gamma}-ray flux above 1 TeV by a factor of 6.6 {+-} 2.2 from its steady emission. In particular, the {gamma}-ray flux above 8 TeV is detected with a significance better than 4{sigma}. Based on time-dependent synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) processes, the broadband energy spectrum is interpreted as the emission from an electron energy distribution parameterized with a single power-law function with an exponential cutoff at its high-energy end. The average spectral energy distribution for the steady emission is well described by this simple one-zone SSC model. However, the detection of {gamma}-rays above 8 TeV during the flare challenges this model due to the hardness of the spectra. Correlations between X-rays and {gamma}-rays are also investigated.

  11. Flare Ribbon Expansion and Energy Release Ayumi Asai , Takaaki ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    2001-04-10

    1Nobeyama Solar Radio Observatory, Minamisaku, Nagano, 384-1305, Japan. ... X2.3 solar flare which occurred on April 10, 2001. .... In the right panel of. Fig. 3, we show the temporal variation of the physical parameters, such as Bp, vf , ˙ , and S along a slit line. Here, we defined vf as the speed of the flare-ribbon ...

  12. Are All Flare Ribbons Simply Connected to the Corona?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Judge, Philip G. [High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307-3000 (United States); Paraschiv, Alin; Lacatus, Daniela; Donea, Alina [Monash Center for Astrophysics, School of Mathematical Science, Monash University, Victoria 3800 (Australia); Lindsey, Charlie, E-mail: judge@ucar.edu, E-mail: alina.donea@monash.edu, E-mail: alin.paraschiv@monash.edu, E-mail: daniela.lacatus@monash.edu, E-mail: indsey@cora.nwra.com [Northwest Research Associates, 3380 Mitchell Lane, Boulder, CO 80301 (United States)

    2017-04-01

    We consider the observational basis for the belief that flare ribbons in the chromosphere result from energy transport from the overlying corona. We study ribbons of small flares using magnetic and intensity data from the Hinode , Solar Dynamics Observatory , and IRIS missions. While most ribbons appear connected to the corona and overlie regions of significant vertical magnetic field, we examine one ribbon with no clear evidence for such connections. Evolving horizontal magnetic fields seen with Hinode suggest that reconnection with preexisting fields below the corona can explain the data. The identification of just one, albeit small, ribbon, with no apparent connection to the corona, leads us to conclude that at least two mechanisms are responsible for the heating that leads to flare ribbon emission.

  13. Relationship between the start times of flares and CMEs to the time of potential radiation hazards

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, G.; Zheng, Y.; Kuznetsova, M. M.

    2013-12-01

    Solar flares, short-term outbursts of energy of the Sun, and coronal mass ejections (CME), massive bursts of solar matter, are two solar phenomena that are known to increase solar energetic particles in space. Increased solar energetic particles cause immense radiation that poses a serious threat to astronauts in space, radio communication signals, and passengers on high-latitude flights on the Earth. The relationship between the start times of flares and CMEs to the time of potential radiation hazards was investigated to determine how much warning time is available. Additionally, this project compared the difference between these relationships for four energy levels of solar energetic particles: proton flux exceeding 10 MeV, 30 MeV, 50 MeV and 100 MeV. This project gathered data of 22 recent SEP events between 2010 and 2012 and the parameters of associated CMEs and flares. Through the use of IDL (Interactive Data Language) programming, thorough analysis was conducted, including 2-sample t-tests and Kruskal-Wallis tests for 2 or more samples. The average lead time to warn humans of possible radiation hazard from the detection of a flare and a CME occurrence was found to be around 12 to 20 hours. The lead time was the greatest for the lowest energy level, though the differences in energy levels and that between the lead times for CME and flares were found to be statistically insignificant with p-values exceeding the alpha value of 0.20.

  14. Comparison of mild and microdose GnRH agonist flare protocols on IVF outcome in poor responders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karimzadeh, Mohammad Ali; Mashayekhy, Mehri; Mohammadian, Farnaz; Moghaddam, Fatemeh Mansoori

    2011-05-01

    To compare the IVF outcome of clomiphene citrate/gonadotropin/antagonist (mild protocol) and microdose GnRH agonist flare protocols for poor responders undergoing in vitro fertilization. 159 poor responder patients were randomized and ovarian stimulation was performed with clomiphene citrate, gonadotropin and antagonist (group I) or microdose GnRH agonist flare (group II) protocols. Main outcome was clinical pregnancy rate and secondary outcomes were doses of gonadotropin administration and duration of stimulation. There were no significant differences in age, causes of infertility, basal FSH, BMI, duration of infertility, E(2) level on the day of hCG injection in both groups. Although the cancellation, fertilization, and clinical pregnancy rates were similar in both groups, the endometrial thickness, number of retrieved oocytes, mature oocytes and implantation rate were significantly higher in mild protocol. The doses of gonadotropin administration and duration of stimulation were significantly lower in mild protocol. We recommend mild protocol in assisted reproductive technology cycles for poor responders based on our results regarding less doses of used gonadotropin and a shorter duration of stimulation.

  15. DOES A SCALING LAW EXIST BETWEEN SOLAR ENERGETIC PARTICLE EVENTS AND SOLAR FLARES?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kahler, S. W.

    2013-01-01

    Among many other natural processes, the size distributions of solar X-ray flares and solar energetic particle (SEP) events are scale-invariant power laws. The measured distributions of SEP events prove to be distinctly flatter, i.e., have smaller power-law slopes, than those of the flares. This has led to speculation that the two distributions are related through a scaling law, first suggested by Hudson, which implies a direct nonlinear physical connection between the processes producing the flares and those producing the SEP events. We present four arguments against this interpretation. First, a true scaling must relate SEP events to all flare X-ray events, and not to a small subset of the X-ray event population. We also show that the assumed scaling law is not mathematically valid and that although the flare X-ray and SEP event data are correlated, they are highly scattered and not necessarily related through an assumed scaling of the two phenomena. An interpretation of SEP events within the context of a recent model of fractal-diffusive self-organized criticality by Aschwanden provides a physical basis for why the SEP distributions should be flatter than those of solar flares. These arguments provide evidence against a close physical connection of flares with SEP production.

  16. Flare stars and Pascal distribution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muradian, R.

    1994-07-01

    Observed statistics of stellar flares are described by Pascal or Negative Binomial Distribution. The analogy with other classes of chaotic production mechanisms such as hadronic particle multiplicity distributions and photoelectron counts from thermal sources is noticed. (author). 12 refs

  17. Radio Spectral Imaging of Reflective MHD Waves during the Impulsive Phase of a Solar Flare

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, S.; Chen, B.; Reeves, K.

    2017-12-01

    We report a new type of coherent radio bursts observed by the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) in 1-2 GHz during the impulsive phase of a two-ribbon flare on 2014 November 1, which we interpret as MHD waves reflected near the footpoint of flaring loops. In the dynamic spectrum, this burst starts with a positive frequency drift toward higher frequencies until it slows down near its highest-frequency boundary. Then it turns over and drifts toward lower frequencies. The frequency drift rate in its descending and ascending branch is between 50-150 MHz/s, which is much slower than type III radio bursts associated with fast electron beams but close to the well-known intermediate drift bursts, or fiber bursts, which are usually attributed to propagating whistler or Alfvenic waves. Thanks to VLA's unique capability of imaging with spectrometer-like temporal and spectral resolution (50 ms and 2 MHz), we are able to obtain an image of the radio source at every time and frequency in the dynamic spectrum where the burst is present and trace its spatial evolution. From the imaging results, we find that the radio source firstly moves downward toward one of the flaring ribbons before it "bounces off" at the lowest height (corresponding to the turnover frequency in the dynamic spectrum) and moves upward again. The measured speed in projection is at the order of 1-2 Mm/s, which is characteristic of Alfvenic or fast-mode MHD waves in the low corona. We conclude that the radio burst is emitted by trapped nonthermal electrons in the flaring loop carried along by a large-scale MHD wave. The waves are probably launched during the eruption of a magnetic flux rope in the flare impulsive phase.

  18. Differences of serum procalcitonin levels between bacterial infection and flare in systemic lupus erythematosus patients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patrick, J.; Marpaung, B.; Ginting, Y.

    2018-03-01

    Differentiate bacterial infections from flare in SLE patients is difficult to do because clinical symptoms of infection is similar to flare. SLE patients with infection require antibiotic therapy with decreased doses of immunosuppressant while in flare diseases require increased immunosuppressant. Procalcitonin (PCT), a biological marker, increased in serum patients with bacterial infections and expected to be a solution of problem. The aim of this study was to examine the function of PCT serum as marker to differentiate bacterial infection and flare in SLE patients. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Adam Malik Hospital from January-July 2017. We examined 80 patients SLE flare (MEX-SLEDAI>5), screen PCT and culture according to focal infection. Data were statistically analyzed. 80 SLE patients divided into 2 groups: bacterial infection group (31 patients) and non-infection/flare group (49 patients). Median PCT levels of bacterial infection group was 1.66 (0.04-8.45)ng/ml while flare group was 0.12 (0.02-0.81)ng/ml. There was significant difference of serum Procalcitonin level between bacterial infection and flare group in SLE patients (p=0.001). Procalcitonin serum levels can be used as a biomarker to differentiate bacterial infections and flare in SLE patients.

  19. Observations of solar flare transition zone plasmas from the Solar Maximum Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, C.-C.; Bruner, E. C.; Tandberg-Hanssen, E.; Woodgate, B. E.; Shine, R. A.; Kenny, P. J.; Henze, W.; Poletto, G.

    1982-01-01

    The spatial and temporal evolution of the Si IV and O IV intensity, density and mass motions in preflare and flare transition zone plasmas are studied for the case of the April 8, 1980 flare. It is found that: (1) the UV flare observed in the Si IV and O IV lines is unambiguously identified as occurring in a low-lying, preexisting transition zone loop which spanned the magnetic neutral line separating a larger leader spot and a newly emerged, isolated spot of opposite polarity; (2) at the onset of the flare, the easternmost footpoint, which was anchored in an isolated spot region of high longitudinal magnetic field gradient, showed sudden, impulsive brightening with large intensity increases; and (3) the release flare energy was transported by way of large-scale connecting field lines to other parts of the active region, producing the hot plasma and H-alpha kernels observed near the trailing spot.

  20. Sunspot splitting triggering an eruptive flare

    Science.gov (United States)

    Louis, Rohan E.; Puschmann, Klaus G.; Kliem, Bernhard; Balthasar, Horst; Denker, Carsten

    2014-02-01

    Aims: We investigate how the splitting of the leading sunspot and associated flux emergence and cancellation in active region NOAA 11515 caused an eruptive M5.6 flare on 2012 July 2. Methods: Continuum intensity, line-of-sight magnetogram, and dopplergram data of the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager were employed to analyse the photospheric evolution. Filtergrams in Hα and He I 10830 Å of the Chromospheric Telescope at the Observatorio del Teide, Tenerife, track the evolution of the flare. The corresponding coronal conditions were derived from 171 Å and 304 Å images of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly. Local correlation tracking was utilized to determine shear flows. Results: Emerging flux formed a neutral line ahead of the leading sunspot and new satellite spots. The sunspot splitting caused a long-lasting flow towards this neutral line, where a filament formed. Further flux emergence, partly of mixed polarity, as well as episodes of flux cancellation occurred repeatedly at the neutral line. Following a nearby C-class precursor flare with signs of interaction with the filament, the filament erupted nearly simultaneously with the onset of the M5.6 flare and evolved into a coronal mass ejection. The sunspot stretched without forming a light bridge, splitting unusually fast (within about a day, complete ≈6 h after the eruption) in two nearly equal parts. The front part separated strongly from the active region to approach the neighbouring active region where all its coronal magnetic connections were rooted. It also rotated rapidly (by 4.9° h-1) and caused significant shear flows at its edge. Conclusions: The eruption resulted from a complex sequence of processes in the (sub-)photosphere and corona. The persistent flows towards the neutral line likely caused the formation of a flux rope that held the filament. These flows, their associated flux cancellation, the emerging flux, and the precursor flare all contributed to the destabilization of the flux rope. We