First joint X-ray solar microflare observations with NuSTAR and Solar Orbiter/STIX

TL;DR

This study presents the first joint spectral and imaging analysis of microflares using NuSTAR and Solar Orbiter/STIX, revealing thermal and non-thermal properties and instrument calibration consistency.

Contribution

It introduces a pile-up correction method for bright microflares and demonstrates combined spectral and imaging analysis from two instruments for the first time.

Findings

Microflares exhibit temperatures of 9-11 MK.

Non-thermal powers range from 10^{25} to 10^{26} erg s^{-1}.

Instrument calibration between NuSTAR and STIX is consistent within 6-28%.

Abstract

We present the first joint spectral and imaging analysis of hard X-ray (HXR) emission from 3 microflares observed by the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope ARray (NuSTAR) and Solar Orbiter/Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX). We studied 5 joint spectra from GOES A7, B1 and B6 class microflares from active region AR12765 on 2020 June 6 and 7. As these events are very bright for NuSTAR, resulting in extremely low (<1%) livetime, we introduce a pile-up correction method. All five joint spectra were fitted with an isothermal model finding temperatures in the 9-11 MK range. Furthermore, three joint spectra required an additional non-thermal thick-target model finding non-thermal powers of $10^{25}$-$10^{26}$ erg s$^{-1}$. All the fit parameters were within the ranges expected for HXR microflares. The fit results give a relative scaling of STIX and NuSTAR mostly between 6-28% (one outlier at 52%) suggesting each instrument are well calibrated. In addition to spectral analysis, we performed joint HXR imaging of the June 6 and one of the June 7 microflares. In NuSTAR's field of view (FOV), we observed two separate non-thermal sources connected by an elongated thermal source during the June 6 microflares. In STIX's FOV (44 degrees W with respect to NuSTAR), we imaged thermal emission from the hot flare loops which when reprojected to an Earth viewpoint matches the thermal sources seen with NuSTAR and in the hotter EUV channels with the Solar Dynamic Observatory's Atmospheric Imaging Assembly.