Accession Number:
ADA581624
Title:
Global Energetics of Thirty-Eight Large Solar Eruptive Events
Descriptive Note:
Journal article
Corporate Author:
CALIFORNIA INST OF TECH PASADENA
Personal Author(s):
Report Date:
2012-10-17
Pagination or Media Count:
20.0
Abstract:
We have evaluated the energetics of 38 solar eruptive events observed by a variety of spacecraft instruments between 2002 February and 2006 December, as accurately as the observations allow. The measured energetic components include 1 the radiated energy in the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 1 8 band, 2 the total energy radiated from the soft X-ray SXR emitting plasma, 3 the peak energy in the SXR-emitting plasma, 4 the bolometric radiated energy over the full duration of the event, 5 the energy in flare-accelerated electrons above 20 keV and in flare-accelerated ions above 1MeV, 6 the kinetic and potential energies of the coronal mass ejection CME, 7 the energy in solar energetic particles SEPs observed in interplanetary space, and 8 the amount of free non-potential magnetic energy estimated to be available in the pertinent active region. Major conclusions include 1 the energy radiated by the SXR-emitting plasma exceeds, by about half an order of magnitude, the peak energy content of the thermal plasma that produces this radiation 2 the energy content in flare-accelerated electrons and ions is sufficient to supply the bolometric energy radiated across all wavelengths throughout the event 3 the energy contents of flare-accelerated electrons and ions are comparable 4 the energy in SEPs is typically a few percent of the CME kinetic energy measured in the rest frame of the solar wind and 5 the available magnetic energy is sufficient to power the CME, the flare-accelerated particles, and the hot thermal plasma.
Descriptors:
Subject Categories:
- Astrophysics
- Government and Political Science
- Physical Chemistry