High-Energy Aspects of Solar Flares: Overview of the Volume

In this introductory chapter, we provide a brief summary of the successes and remaining challenges in understanding the solar flare phenomenon and its attendant implications for particle acceleration mechanisms in astrophysical plasmas. We also provide a brief overview of the contents of the other chapters in this volume, with particular reference to the well-observed flare of 2002 July 23Comment: This is the introductory article for a monograph on the physics of solar flares, inspired by RHESSI observations. The individual articles are to appear in Space Science Reviews (2011

Prominence seismology using small amplitude oscillations

Quiescent prominences are thin slabs of cold, dense plasma embedded in the much hotter and rarer solar corona. Although their global shape is rather irregular, they are often characterised by an internal structure consisting of a large number of thin, parallel threads piled together. Prominences often display periodic disturbances mostly observed in the Doppler displacement of spectral lines and with an amplitude typically of the order of or smaller than 2--3 km s$^{-1}$, a value which seems to be much smaller than the characteristic speeds of the prominence plasma (namely the Alfv\'en and sound velocities). Two particular features of these small amplitude prominence oscillations is that they seem to damp in a few periods and that they seem not to affect the whole prominence structure. In addition, in high spatial resolution observations, in which threads can be discerned, small amplitude oscillations appear to be clearly associated to these fine structure constituents. Prominence seismology tries to bring together the results from these observations (e.g. periods, wavelengths, damping times) and their theoretical modeling (by means of the magnetohydrodynamic theory) to gain insight into physical properties of prominences that cannot be derived from direct observation. In this paper we discuss works that have not been described in previous reviews, namely the first seismological application to solar prominences and theoretical advances on the attenuation of prominence oscillations

Electric current circuits in astrophysics

Cosmic magnetic structures have in common that they are anchored in a dynamo, that an external driver converts kinetic energy into internal magnetic energy, that this magnetic energy is transported as Poynting fl ux across the magnetically dominated structure, and that the magnetic energy is released in the form of particle acceleration, heating, bulk motion, MHD waves, and radiation. The investigation of the electric current system is particularly illuminating as to the course of events and the physics involved. We demonstrate this for the radio pulsar wind, the solar flare, and terrestrial magnetic storms

Recent Advances in Understanding Particle Acceleration Processes in Solar Flares

We review basic theoretical concepts in particle acceleration, with particular emphasis on processes likely to occur in regions of magnetic reconnection. Several new developments are discussed, including detailed studies of reconnection in three-dimensional magnetic field configurations (e.g., current sheets, collapsing traps, separatrix regions) and stochastic acceleration in a turbulent environment. Fluid, test-particle, and particle-in-cell approaches are used and results compared. While these studies show considerable promise in accounting for the various observational manifestations of solar flares, they are limited by a number of factors, mostly relating to available computational power. Not the least of these issues is the need to explicitly incorporate the electrodynamic feedback of the accelerated particles themselves on the environment in which they are accelerated. A brief prognosis for future advancement is offered.Comment: This is a chapter in a monograph on the physics of solar flares, inspired by RHESSI observations. The individual articles are to appear in Space Science Reviews (2011

An Observational Overview of Solar Flares

We present an overview of solar flares and associated phenomena, drawing upon a wide range of observational data primarily from the RHESSI era. Following an introductory discussion and overview of the status of observational capabilities, the article is split into topical sections which deal with different areas of flare phenomena (footpoints and ribbons, coronal sources, relationship to coronal mass ejections) and their interconnections. We also discuss flare soft X-ray spectroscopy and the energetics of the process. The emphasis is to describe the observations from multiple points of view, while bearing in mind the models that link them to each other and to theory. The present theoretical and observational understanding of solar flares is far from complete, so we conclude with a brief discussion of models, and a list of missing but important observations.Comment: This is an article for a monograph on the physics of solar flares, inspired by RHESSI observations. The individual articles are to appear in Space Science Reviews (2011

Flare energetics: Analysis of a large flare on YZ CMi observed simultaneously in the ultraviolet, optical and radio

. The results of coordinated observations of the dMe star YZ CMi at optical, UV and radio wavelengths during 3 - 7 February 1983 are presented. YZ CMi showed repeated optical flaring with the largest flare having a magnitude of 3.8 in the Uband. This flare coincided with an IUE exposure which permits a comparison of the emission measure curves of YZ CMi in its flaring and quiescent state. During the flare a downward shift of the transition zone is observed while the radiative losses in the range 10 4 \Gamma 10 7 K strongly increase. The optical flare is accompanied with a radio flare at 6 cm, while at 20 cm no emission is detected. The flare is interpreted in terms of optically thick synchrotron emission. We present a combined interpretation of the optical/radio flare and show that the flare can be interpreted within the context of solar two-ribbon/whitelight flares. Special attention is paid to the bombardment of dMe atmospheres by particle beams. We show that the characteristic t..

Science objectives of the ozone monitoring instrument

The Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) flies on NASA's Earth Observing System AURA satellite, launched in July 2004. OMI is an ultraviolet/visible (UV/VIS) nadir solar backscatter spectrometer, which provides nearly global coverage in one day, with a spatial resolution of 13 kmtimes24 km. Trace gases measured include O/sub 3/, NO/sub 2/, SO/sub 2/, HCHO, BrO, and OClO. In addition OMI measures aerosol characteristics, cloud top heights and cloud coverage, and UV irradiance at the surface. OMI's unique capabilities for measuring important trace gases with daily global coverage and a small footprint will make a major contribution to our understanding of stratospheric and tropospheric chemistry and climate change along with Aura's other three instruments. OMI's high spatial resolution enables detection of air pollution at urban scales. Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer and differential optical absorption spectroscopy heritage algorithms, as well as new ones developed by the international (Dutch, Finnish, and U.S.) OMI science team, are used to derive OMI's advanced backscatter data products. In addition to providing data for Aura's prime objectives, OMI will provide near-real-time data for operational agencies in Europe and the U.S. Examples of OMI's unique capabilities are presented in this pape

The ozone monitoring instrument

The Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) flies on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Earth Observing System Aura satellite launched in July 2004. OMI is a ultraviolet/visible (UV/VIS) nadir solar backscatter spectrometer, which provides nearly global coverage in one day with a spatial resolution of 13 km x 24 km. Trace gases measured include O3, NO2, SO2, HCHO, BrO, and OClO. In addition, OMI will measure aerosol characteristics, cloud top heights, and UV irradiance at the surface. OMI's unique capabilities for measuring important trace gases with a small footprint and daily global coverage will be a major contribution to our understanding of stratospheric and tropospheric chemistry and climate change. OMI's high spatial resolution is unprecedented and will enable detection of air pollution on urban scale resolution. In this paper, the instrument and its performance will be discussed

The ozone monitoring instrument

The Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) flies on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Earth Observing System Aura satellite launched in July 2004. OMI is a ultraviolet/visible (UV/VIS) nadir solar backscatter spectrometer, which provides nearly global coverage in one day with a spatial resolution of 13 km x 24 km. Trace gases measured include O3, NO2, SO2, HCHO, BrO, and OClO. In addition, OMI will measure aerosol characteristics, cloud top heights, and UV irradiance at the surface. OMI's unique capabilities for measuring important trace gases with a small footprint and daily global coverage will be a major contribution to our understanding of stratospheric and tropospheric chemistry and climate change. OMI's high spatial resolution is unprecedented and will enable detection of air pollution on urban scale resolution. In this paper, the instrument and its performance will be discussed