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The Optical Depth of White-light Flare Continuum

The white-light continuum emission of a solar flare remains a puzzle as regards its height of formation and its emission mechanism(s). This continuum and its extension into the near-UV contain the bulk of the energy radiated by a flare, and so its explanation is a high priority. We describe a method...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Astrophysical journal 2010-10, Vol.722 (2), p.1514-1521
Main Authors: Potts, Hugh, Hudson, Hugh, Fletcher, Lyndsay, Diver, Declan
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:The white-light continuum emission of a solar flare remains a puzzle as regards its height of formation and its emission mechanism(s). This continuum and its extension into the near-UV contain the bulk of the energy radiated by a flare, and so its explanation is a high priority. We describe a method to determine the optical depth of the emitting layer and apply it to the well-studied flare of 2002 July 15, making use of MDI pseudo-continuum intensity images. We find the optical depth of the visible continuum in all flare images, including an impulsive ribbon to be small, consistent with the observation of Balmer and Paschen edges in other events.
ISSN:0004-637X
1538-4357
DOI:10.1088/0004-637X/722/2/1514