Detection of 3-Minute Oscillations in Full-Disk Ly$\alpha$ Emission During A Solar Flare

TL;DR

This study reports the detection of 3-minute chromospheric oscillations during a solar flare, indicating dynamic chromospheric response to energy injection, with implications for solar physics and planetary atmospheres.

Contribution

First detection of 3-minute oscillations in full-disk Lyα emission during a solar flare, linking chromospheric dynamics to flare energy processes.

Findings

3-minute oscillations observed during the flare's main phase

Oscillations are located at the chromospheric footpoints

A 120-second period linked to episodic electron energization

Abstract

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 Lyman-alpha (from GOES/EUVS) and Lyman continuum (from SDO/EVE) emission from the 2011 February 15 X-class flare (SOL2011-02-15T01:56) revealed a $\sim$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 1600\AA\ and 1700\AA\ 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 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.