A Solar Magnetic-fan Flaring Arch Heated by Non-thermal Particles and Hot Plasma from an X-ray Jet Eruption

TL;DR

This study investigates a solar flare involving a magnetic fan arch heated by non-thermal particles and hot plasma from an X-ray jet, revealing impulsive heating from low atmospheric reconnection rather than above the arch.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the heating mechanism of a magnetic-fan flaring arch, emphasizing low atmospheric reconnection over the standard model's reconnection above the arch.

Findings

Temperature exceeds 10^7 K at loop-top during flare

Redshifts and non-thermal velocities increase with height

Electron density rises from 0.3 to 1.3 x 10^9 cm^-3

Abstract

We have investigated an M1.3 limb flare, which develops as a magnetic loop/arch that fans out from an X-ray jet. Using Hinode/EIS, we found that the temperature increases with height to a value of over 10$^{7}$ K at the loop-top during the flare. The measured Doppler velocity (redshifts of 100$-$500 km s$^{-1}$) and the non-thermal velocity ($\geq$100 km s$^{-1}$) from Fe XXIV also increase with loop height. The electron density increases from $0.3\times10^{9}$ cm$^{-3}$ early in the flare rise to $1.3\times10^{9}$ cm$^{-3}$ after the flare peak. The 3-D structure of the loop derived with STEREO/EUVI indicates that the strong redshift in the loop-top region is due to upflowing plasma originating from the jet. Both hard X-ray and soft X-ray emission from RHESSI were only seen as footpoint brightenings during the impulsive phase of the flare, then, soft X-ray emission moves to the loop-top in the decay phase. Based on the temperature and density measurements and theoretical cooling models, the temperature evolution of the flare arch is consistent with impulsive heating during the jet eruption followed by conductive cooling via evaporation and minor prolonged heating in the top of the fan loop. Investigating the magnetic field topology and squashing factor map from SDO/HMI, we conclude that the observed magnetic-fan flaring arch is mostly heated from low atmospheric reconnection accompanying the jet ejection, instead of from reconnection above the arch as expected in the standard flare model.