Statistical Properties of Soft X-ray emission of solar flares

TL;DR

This study analyzes the statistical properties of soft X-ray emissions, plasma temperature, and emission measure in solar flares from 2002 to 2017, revealing patterns in flare evolution and loop dynamics.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive statistical analysis of flare properties using GOES data and introduces classifications based on timing of temperature and emission measure maxima.

Findings

Over 96% of flares show sequential T, SXR, and EM maxima.

Timing differences correlate with flare class and loop length.

T-controlled flares tend to develop in longer loops.

Abstract

We present a statistical analysis of properties of Soft X-Ray (SXR) emission, plasma temperature (T), and emission measure (EM), derived from GOES observations of flares in 2002-2017. The temperature and emission measures are obtained using the TEBBS algorithm (Ryan et al. 2012), which delivers reliable results together with uncertainties even for weak B-class flare events. More than 96% of flares demonstrate a sequential appearance of T, SXR, and EM maxima, in agreement with the expected behavior of the chromospheric evaporation process. The relative number of such flares increases with increasing the SXR flux maximum. The SXR maximum is closer in time to the T maximum for B-class flares than for >=C-class flares, while it is very close to the EM maximum for M- and X-class flares. We define flares as "T-controlled" if the time interval between the SXR and T maxima is at least two times shorter than the interval between the EM and SXR maxima, and as "EM-controlled" if the time interval between the EM and SXR maxima is at least two times shorter than the interval between the SXR and T maxima. For any considered flare class range, the T-controlled events compared to EM-controlled events have: a) higher EM but lower T; b) longer durations and shorter relative growth times; c) longer FWHM and characteristic decay times. Interpretation of these statistical results based on analysis of a single loop dynamics suggests that for flares of the same class range, the T-controlled events can be developed in longer loops than the EM-controlled events.