Hot Plasma Flows and Oscillations in the Loop-top Region During the September 10 2017 X8.2 Solar Flare

TL;DR

This study analyzes plasma motions and oscillations above flare loops during the 2017 X8.2 solar flare, revealing dynamic flows, damped oscillations, and non-thermal emissions indicative of magnetic reconnection effects.

Contribution

It provides new observations of plasma flows and oscillations in the loop-top region, linking them to magnetic reconnection outflows during a major solar flare.

Findings

Initial blue shifts of 20-60 km/s observed in hot plasma lines.

Damped Doppler velocity oscillations with ~400 s periods.

Presence of non-thermal emissions indicating particle acceleration.

Abstract

In this study, we investigate motions in the hot plasma above the flare loops during the 2017 September 10 X8.2 flare event. We examine the region to the south of the main flare arcade, where there is data from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), and the Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) on Hinode. We find that there are initial blue shifts of 20--60 km/s observed in this region in the Fe XXI line in IRIS and the Fe XXIV line in EIS, and that the locations of these blue shifts move southward along the arcade over the course of about 10 min. The cadence of IRIS allows us to follow the evolution of these flows, and we find that at each location where there is an initial blue shift in the Fe XXIV line, there are damped oscillations in the Doppler velocity with periods of ~400 s. We conclude that these periods are independent of loop length, ruling out magnetoacoustic standing modes as a possible mechanism. Microwave observations from the Expanded Owens Valley Solar Array (EOVSA) indicate that there are non-thermal emissions in the region where the Doppler shifts are observed, indicating that accelerated particles are present. We suggest that the flows and oscillations are due to motions of the magnetic field that are caused by reconnection outflows disturbing the loop-top region.