Abstract
We observed the large post-flare loop system, which developed after the X 3.9 flare of 25 June 1992 at 20∶11 UT, in Hα with the Multichannel Subtractive Double Pass Spectrograph at Pic-du-Midi and in X-rays with the it Yohkoh/SXT instrument. Following the long-term development of cool and hot plasmas, we have determined the emission measure of the cool plasma and, for the first time, the temporal evolution of the hot-loop emission measure and temperature during the entire gradual phase. Thus, it was possible to infer the temporal variation of electron densities, leading to estimates of cooling times. A gradual decrease of the hot-loop emission measure was observed, from 4 × 1030 cm−5 at 23∶00 UT on 25 June 1992 to 3 × 1028 cm−5 at 13∶10 UT on 26 June 1992. During the same period, the temperature decreased only slowly from 7.2 to 6.0 × 106 K. Using recent results of NLTE modeling of prominence-like plasmas, we also derive the emission measure of cool Hα loops and discuss their temperature and ionisation degree. During two hours of Hα observations (11–13 hours after the flare) the averaged emission measure does not show any significant change, though the amount of visible cool material decreases and the volume of the loops increases. The emission measure in Hα, after correction for the Doppler-brightening effect, is slightly lower than in soft X-rays. Since the hot plasma seems to be more spatially extended, we arrive at electron densities in the range n suphoinfe ≤ n supcoolinfe ∼ 2 × 1010 cm−3 at the time of the Hα observations.
These results are consistent with the post-flare loop model proposed by Forbes, Malherbe, and Priest (1989). The observed slow decrease of the emission measure could be due to an increase of the volume of the loops and a gradual decrease of the chromospheric ablation driven by the reconnection, which seems to remain effective continuously for more than 16 hours. The cooling time for hot loops to cool down to 104 K and to appear in Hα would be only a few minutes at the beginning of the gradual phase but could be as long as 2 hours at the end, several hours later.
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Schmieder, B., Heinzel, P., Van Driel-Gesztelyi, L. et al. Post-flare loops of 26 June 1992. Sol Phys 165, 303–328 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00149716
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00149716