Hard X-ray and ultraviolet emission during the 2011 June 7 solar flare

TL;DR

This study analyzes the complex relationship between X-ray and UV emissions during the 2011 June 7 solar flare, revealing unusual footpoint motions, weak correlations with flare properties, and the significance of quasi-periodic pulsations for understanding magnetic reconnection.

Contribution

It provides detailed observations of X-ray and UV emissions, highlighting unusual footpoint motions and the role of quasi-periodic pulsations, challenging existing 3D flare reconnection models.

Findings

Unusual reversal of footpoint motion during the flare

Weak correlation between hard X-ray flux and flare properties

Quasi-periodic pulsations linked to unobserved reconnection region properties

Abstract

The relationship between X-ray and UV emission during flares, particularly in the context of quasi-periodic pulsations, remains unclear. To address this, we study the impulsive X-ray and UV emission during the eruptive flare of 2011 June 7 utilising X-ray imaging from RHESSI and UV 1700A imaging from SDO/AIA. This event is associated with quasi-periodic pulsations in X-ray and possibly UV emission, as well as substantial parallel and perpendicular motion of the hard X-ray footpoints. The motion of the footpoints parallel to the flare ribbons is unusual; it is shown to reverse direction on at least two occasions. However, there is no associated short-timescale motion of the UV bright regions. Additionally, we find that the locations of the brightest X-ray and UV regions are different, particularly during the early portion of the flare impulsive phase, despite their integrated emission being strongly correlated in time. Correlation analysis of measured flare properties, such as the footpoint separation, flare shear, photospheric magnetic field and coronal reconnection rate, reveals that - in the impulsive phase - the 25 - 50 keV hard X-ray flux is only weakly correlated with these properties, in contrast to previous studies. We characterise this event in terms of long-term behaviour, where the X-ray nonthermal, thermal, and UV emission sources appear temporally and spatially consistent, and short-term behaviour, where the emission sources are inconsistent and quasi-periodic pulsations are a dominant feature requiring explanation. We suggest that the short timescale behaviour of hard X-ray footpoints, and the nature of the observed quasi-periodic pulsations, is determined by fundamental, as-yet unobserved properties of the reconnection region and particle acceleration sites. This presents a challenge for current three-dimensional flare reconnection models.