Trevor Bowen (October 26th)
Time: 1:30pm to 2:00pm
Room: Sci 217
Title: Observations On Solar Flares
Abstract:
We present observations of two solar flares as recorded by instruments on the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). Combining observations from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) and the Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE) Spectrometer provide a robust set of data for solar flare analysis. The two instruments together provide a unique look at the sun through global scale, fast cadence, high resolution images and spectral measurements. Our study compares two solar flares--occurring on 05/29/2011 and 06/21/2011--of similar GOES X-ray flux classification, but which differ in both time scale and morphology. We note striking differences between the two flares; particularly in the behavior of the 131Å, 304Å, and 335Å wavebands. The results of this study have implications for numeric simulations of flaring loops, and may help constrain certain free parameters in modeling flare dynamics. We show that for the long duration flare, both EVE lightcurves and the peak flare spectrum are successfully simulated by multi-threaded loop models. Furthermore, we show that these same models accurately reproduce the lightcurves of hotter AIA channels for both flare types.
