Thinkshop12

Thermal and Nonthermal Flare Components Deduced from X-ray Observations

Alexander Warmuth (Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP))

Abstract. We constrain energy release and transport processes in solar flares by means of a comprehensive characterization of the physical parameters of both the thermal plasma and the accelerated nonthermal electrons, using X-ray observations from RHESSI and GOES. This is done for a sample of 24 flares ranging from C to X-class events. We investigate the differences between thermal parameters as derived from RHESSI and GOES, as well as the relationship between thermal and nonthermal component. Finally, we compare the derived energetics to the bolometric radiated energy as measured by SORCE and SOHO/VIRGO. We find evidence for two plasma components: a cooler component (10-20 MK) evaporated from the chromosphere, and an additional hotter component (>20 MK) which is more consistent with direct in-situ heating of coronal plasma.

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