Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Solar flares: The impulsive phase

  • Solar and Stellar Flares
  • Published:
Solar Physics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Only during the previous solar cycle have systematic observations begun to be made with the sensitivity and time resolution, and the continuous coverage required to catch the impulsive phase and measure the rapid variations present in many wavelength ranges. Observations in X-rays, gamma-rays, UV, Hα, and radio wavelengths all reveal rapid variations during the impulsive phase and have contributed to our understanding of the different phenomena involved. Results have been obtained from several spacecraft, from rocket and balloon flights, and from ground-based observations. These are reviewed in the context of a simple single loop flare model with a view to showing what results are consistent with this model and what the major problems are in our understanding of the impulsive phase. New instrumentation planned for observations during the present Cycle 22 will provide a concerted attack on the impulsive phase as part of the Max '91 program.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Acton, L. W., Canfield, R. C., Gunkler, T. A., Hudson, H. S., Kiplinger, A. L., and Leibacher, J. W.: 1982, Astrophys. J. 263, 409.

    Google Scholar 

  • Antonucci, E. and Dennis, B. R.: 1983, Solar Phys. 86, 67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Antonucci, E., Gabriel, A. H., Acton, L. W., Culhane, J. L., Doyle, J. G., Leibacher, J. W., Machado, M. E., and Orwig, L. E.: 1982, Solar Phys. 78, 107.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bai, T.: 1986, Astrophys. J. 308, 912.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bai, T. and Dennis, B. R.: 1985, Astrophys. J. 292, 699.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bai, T. and Ramaty, R.: 1979, Astrophys. J. 227, 1072.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bai, T., Dennis, B. R., Kiplinger, A. L., Orwig, L. E., and Frost, K. J.: 1983a, Solar Phys. 86, 409.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bai, T., Hudson, H. S., Pelling, R. M., Lin, R. P., Schwartz, R. A., and von Rosenvinge, T. T.: 1983b, Astrophys. J. 267, 433.

    Google Scholar 

  • Batchelor, D. A., Crannell, C. J., Wiehl, H. J., and Magun, A.: 1985, Astrophys. J. 295, 258.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benz, A. O.: 1985, Solar Phys. 96, 357.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benz, A. O.: 1987, Proc. 21st ESLAB Symposium, ESA SP-275, Bolkesjo, Norway, pp. 105–108.

  • Benz, A. O., Bernold, T. E. X., and Dennis, B. R.: 1983, Astrophys. J. 271, 355.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, J. C.: 1971, Solar Phys. 18, 489.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, J. C.: 1976, Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. London 281, 473.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, J. C., Melrose, D. B., and Spicer, D. S.: 1979, Astrophys. J. 228, 592.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, J. C., Smith, D. F., and Spicer, D. S.: 1981, in Stuart Jordan (ed.), The Sun as a Star, Monograph Series on Nonthermal Phenomena in Stellar Atmospheres, NASA SP-450, Washington, DC, p. 181.

  • Canfield, R. C. and Gunkler, T. A.: 1985, Astrophys. J. 288, 353.

    Google Scholar 

  • Canfield, R. C., Gunkler, T. A., and Ricchiazzi, P. J.: 1984, Astrophys. J. 282, 296.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheng, C.-C., Vanderveen, L., Orwig, L. E., and Tandberg-Hanssen, E.: 1988, Astrophys. J. 330, 480.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chupp, E. L.: 1984, Ann. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 22, 359.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chupp, E. L., Forest, D. J., and Suri, A. N.: 1975, in S. Kane (ed.), ‘Solar Gamma, X and EUV Radiations’, IAU Symp. 68, 341.

  • Chupp, E. L., Forrest, D. J., Higbie, P. R., Suri, A. N., Tsai, C., and Dunphy, R. P.: 1973, Nature 241, 333.

    Google Scholar 

  • Covington, A. E. and Harvey, G. A.: 1958, J. Roy. Astron. Soc. Can. 52, 2962.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dennis, B. R. and Canfield, R. C. (eds.): 1988, Max '91, Flare Research at the Next Solar Maximum, NASA, Greenbelt, MD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dennis, B. R., Chupp, E. L., Crannell, C. J., and 40 co-authors: 1986, An Advanced Payload for the Exploration of High Energy Processes on the Active Sun, Report of the Max '91 Science Study Committee, NASA, Greenbelt, MD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duijveman, A., Hoyng, P., and Machado, M. E.: 1982, Solar Phys. 81, 137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dulk, G. A. and Dennis, B. R.: 1982, Astrophys. J. 260, 844.

    Google Scholar 

  • Emslie, A. G. and Brown, J. C.: 1985, Astrophys. J. 295, 648.

    Google Scholar 

  • Emslie, A. G. and Nagai, F.: 1985, Astrophys. J. 288, 779.

    Google Scholar 

  • Emslie, A. G., Brown, J. C., and Machado, M. E.: 1981, Astrophys. J. 246, 337.

    Google Scholar 

  • Emslie, A. G., Phillips, K. J. H., and Dennis, B. R.: 1986, Solar Phys. 103, 89.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, G. H.: 1987, Astrophys. J. 317, 502.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forrest, D. J.: 1983, in M. L. Burns, A. K. Harding, and R. Ramaty (eds.), Positron-Electron Pairs in Astrophysics, AIP, New York, p. pp3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gurman, J. B.: 1987, NASA's Solar Maximum Mission: A Look at a New Sun, NASA, Greenbelt, MD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hagyard, M. J., Moore, R. L., and Emslie, A. G.: 1984, Adv. Space Res. 4, 71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrison, R. A.: 1986, Astron. Astrophys. 162, 283.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrison, R. A., Waggett, P. W., Bentley, R. D., Phillips, K. J. H., Bruner, M., Dryer, M., and Simnett, G. M.: 1985, Solar Phys. 97, 387.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henoux, J. C.: 1975, Solar Phys. 42, 219.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henoux, J.-C, Chambe, G., Feautrier, N., and Sahal, S.: 1988, Nature (submitted).

  • Heristchi, D.: 1986, Astrophys. J. 311, 474.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holman, G. D.: 1985, Astrophys. J. 293, 584.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holman, G. D.: 1986, in A. I. Poland (ed.), Coronal and Prominence Plasmas, NASA CP-2442, Greenbelt, MD, p. 297.

  • Holman, G. D. and Kundu, M. R.: 1985, Astrophys. J. 292, 291.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoyng, P., Brown, J. C., and van Beek, H. F.: 1976, Solar Phys. 48, 197.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoyng, P., Marsh, K., Zirin, H., and Dennis, B. R.: 1983, Astrophys. J. 268, 865.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahler, S. W. and Kreplin, R. W.: 1971, Astrophys. J. 168, 531.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahler, S., Spicer, D., Uchida, Y., and Zirin, H.: 1980, in P. Sturrock (ed.), Solar Flares, A Monograph from the Skylab Solar Workshop II, University Press, Boulder, CO, pp. 83–114.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahler, S. W., Moore, R. L., Kane, S. R., and Zirin, H.: 1988, Astrophys. J. 328, 824.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kane, S. R.: 1969, Astrophys. J. 157, L139.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kane, S. R.: 1981, Astrophys. J. 247, 1113.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kane, S. R.: 1983, Solar Phys. 86, 355.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kane, S. R., Fenimore, E. E., Klebesadel, R. W., and Laros, J. G.: 1988, Astrophys. J. 326, 1017.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kiplinger, A. L., Dennis, B. R., Frost, K. J., and Orwig, L. E.: 1983, Astrophys. J. 273, 783.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kosugi, T., Dennis, B. R., and Kai, K.: 1988, Astrophys. J. 324, 1118.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kundu, M. R. and Lang, K. R.: 1985, Science 228, 9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kurokawa, H., Hanaoka, Y., Shibata, K., and Uchida, Y.: 1987, Solar Phys. 108, 251.

    Google Scholar 

  • Langer, S. H. and Petrosian, V.: 1977, Astrophys. J. 215, 666.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leach, J. and Petrosian, V.: 1983, Astrophys. J. 269, 715.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lin R. P. and Hudson, H. S.: 1976, Solar Phys. 50, 153.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lin, R. P. and Schwartz, R. A.: 1987, Astrophys. J. 312, 462.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lin, R. P., Schwartz, R. A., Pelling, R. M., and Hurley, K. C.: 1981, Astrophys. J. 251, L109.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lin, R. P., Schwartz, R. A., Kane, S. R., Pelling, R. M., and Hurley, K. C.: 1984, Astrophys. J. 283, 421.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lu, E. T. and Petrosian, V.: 1988, Astrophys. J. 327, 405.

    Google Scholar 

  • Machado, M. E. and Mauas, P. J.: 1987, in B. R. Dennis, L. E. Orwig, and A. L. Kiplinger (eds.), Rapid Fluctuations in Solar Flares, NASA CP-2449, Greenbelt, MD, p. 271.

  • Machado, M. E., Duijveman, A., and Dennis, B. R.: 1982, Solar Phys. 79, 85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mariska, J. T. and Poland, A. I.: 1985, Solar Phys. 96, 317.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martens, P. C. H.: 1988, Astrophys. J. 330, L131.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, R. L.: 1988, Astrophys. J. 324, 1132.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, R. L., Hagyard, M. J., and Davis, J. M.: 1987, Solar Phys. 113, 347.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, R. L., Hurford, G. J., Jones, J. P., and Kane, S. R.: 1984, Astrophys. J. 276, 379.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, R. J. and Ramaty, R.: 1984, Adv. Space Res. 4, 127.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neupert, W. M.: 1968, Astrophys. J. 153, L59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ohki, K., Takakura, T., Tsuneta, S., and Nitta, N.: 1983, Solar Phys. 86, 301.

    Google Scholar 

  • Orrall, F. Q. and Zirker, J. B.: 1976, Astrophys. J. 208, 618.

    Google Scholar 

  • Orwig, L. E. and Woodgate, B. E.: 1986, in D. F. Neidig (ed.), The Lower Atmosphere in Solar Flares, Proc. NSO/SMM Symposium, Sunspot, NM, pp. 306–317.

  • Parker, E. N.: 1988, Astrophys. J. 330, 474.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poland, A. I., Machado, M. E., Wolfson, C. J., Frost, K. J., Woodgate, B. E., Shine, R. A., Kenny, P. J., and Cheng, C.-C.: 1982, Solar Phys. 78, 201.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poland, A. I., Orwig, L. E., Mariska, J. T., Nakatsuka, R. S., and Auer, L. H.: 1984, Astrophys. J. 280, 457.

    Google Scholar 

  • Priest, E. R., Gaizauskas, V., Hagyard, M. J., Schmahl, E. J., and Webb, D. F.: 1986, in M. R.Kundu and B. E. Woodgate (eds.), Energetic Phenomena on the Sun, NASA CP-2439, Greenbelt, MD, pp. 1–1.

  • Prince, T. A., Ling, J. C, Mahoney, W. A., Riegler, G. R., and Jacobson, A. S.: 1982, Astrophys. J. 255, L81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramaty, R. and Murphy, R. J.: 1984, in S. Woosley (ed.), High Energy Transients in Astrophysics, AIP, New York, p. 628.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramaty, R. and Murphy, R. J.: 1987, Space Sci. Rev. 45, 213.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmahl, E. J., Kundu, M. R., and Dennis, B. R.: 1985, Astrophys. J. 299, 1017.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, R. A.: 1984, ‘High Resolution Hard X-Ray Spectra of Solar and Cosmic Sources’, Ph.D. Thesis, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Share, G. H., Chupp, E. L., Forrest, D. J., and Rieger, E.: 1983, in M. L. Burns, A. K. Harding, and R. Ramatay (eds.), Positron-Electron Pairs in Astrophysics, AIP, New York, p. 15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simnett, G. M.: 1986, Solar Phys. 106, 165.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Simnett, G. M. and Dennis, B. R.: 1987, in B. R. Dennis, L. E. Orwig, and A. L. Kiplinger (eds.), Rapid Fluctuations in Solar Flares, NASA CP-2449, Greenbelt, MD, p. 123.

  • Simnett, G. M. and Harrison, R. A.: 1985, Solar Phys. 99, 291.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, D. F. and Lilliequist, C. G.: 1979, Astrophys. J. 232, 582.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spicer, D. S. and Sudan, R. N.: 1984, Astrophys. J. 280, 448.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, R. T.: 1978, Solar Phys. 58, 121.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sturrock, P. A., Kaufmann, P., Moore, R. L., and Smith, D. F.: 1984, Solar Phys. 94, 341.

    Google Scholar 

  • Švestka, Z.: 1976, Solar Flares, D. Reidel Publ. Co., Dordrecht, Holland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tanaka, K., Watanabe, T., and Nitta, N.: 1984, Astrophys. J. 282, 793.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trubnikov, B. A.: 1965, Particle Interactions in a Fully Ionized Plasma, Consultants Bureau, New York, Vol. 1.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vestrand, W. T., Forrest, D. J., Chupp, E. L., Rieger, E., and Share, G. H.: 1987, Astrophys. J. 322, 1010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vilmer, N., Kane, S. R., and Trottet, G.: 1982, Astron. Astrophys. 108, 306.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vlahos, L., Machado, M. E., Ramaty, R., Murphy, R. J., and 23 co-authors: 1986, in M. R. Kundu and B. E. Woodgate (eds.), Energetic Phenomena on the Sun, NASA CP-2439, Greenbelt, MD, pp 2-1.

  • Webb, D. F., Holman, G. D., Davis, J. M., Kundu, M. R., and Shevgaonkar, R. K.: 1987, Astrophys. J. 315, 716.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu, S. T., de Jager, C., Dennis, B. R., Hudson, H. S., Simnett, G. M., Strong, K. T., Bentley, R. D., and Bornmann, P. L.: 1986, in M. R. Kundu and B. E. Woodgate (eds.), Energetic Phenomena on the Sun, The SMM Flare Workshop Proceedings, NASA CP-2439, Greenbelt, MD.

  • Zarro, D. M., Canfield, R. C., Strong, K. T., and Metcalf, T. R.: 1988, Astrophys. J. 324, 582.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Solar Physics Branch, Laboratory for Astronomy and Solar Physics, Goddard Space Flight Center, 20771, Greenbelt, MD, U.S.A.

    Brian R. Dennis

  2. STX Corporation, 20706, Lanham, MD, U.S.A.

    Richard A. Schwartz

Authors
  1. Brian R. Dennis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Richard A. Schwartz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Dennis, B.R., Schwartz, R.A. Solar flares: The impulsive phase. Sol Phys 121, 75–94 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00161688

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00161688

Keywords

Search

Navigation