Chromospheric Condensation and Quasi-periodic Pulsations in a Circular-ribbon Flare

TL;DR

This study presents multiwavelength observations of a circular-ribbon solar flare, revealing chromospheric condensation, its dynamics, and associated quasi-periodic pulsations driven by nonthermal electrons, advancing understanding of flare energy release processes.

Contribution

First detailed analysis linking chromospheric condensation dynamics with quasi-periodic pulsations and nonthermal electron acceleration in a circular-ribbon flare.

Findings

Chromospheric condensation speeds peaked at 45-52 km/s.

Condensation decay timescales were 3-4 minutes.

Detected quasi-periodic pulsations with periods of 32-42 seconds.

Abstract

In this paper, we report our multiwavelength observations of the C3.1 circular-ribbon flare SOL2015-10-16T10:20 in AR 12434. The flare consisted of a circular flare ribbon (CFR), an inner flare ribbon (IFR) inside, and a pair of short parallel flare ribbons (PFRs). During the impulsive phase of the flare, "two-step" raster observations of \textit{IRIS} with a cadence of 6 s and an exposure time of 2 s show plasma downflow at the CFR in the Si {\sc iv} $\lambda$1402.77 line, suggesting chromospheric condensation. The downflow speeds first increased rapidly from a few km s$^{-1}$ to the peak values of 45$-$52 km s$^{-1}$, before decreasing gradually to the initial levels. The decay timescales of condensation were 3$-$4 minutes, indicating ongoing magnetic reconnection. Interestingly, the downflow speeds are positively correlated with logarithm of the Si {\sc iv} line intensity and time derivative of the \textit{GOES} soft X-ray (SXR) flux in 1$-$8 {\AA}. The radio dynamic spectra are characterized by a type \Rmnum{3} radio burst associated with the flare, which implies that the chromospheric condensation was most probably driven by nonthermal electrons. Using an analytical expression and the peak Doppler velocity, we derived the lower limit of energy flux of the precipitating electrons, i.e., 0.65$\times$10$^{10}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$. The Si {\sc iv} line intensity and SXR derivative show quasi-periodic pulsations with periods of 32$-$42 s.