Solar Burst Submillimeter Wave Emission Components Associated To Microwaves, Uv, X- And γ- Rays Continuum In Time And Space

KAUFMANN, PIERRE; TROTTET, G.; GIMÉNEZ DE CASTRO, C.; RAULIN, J.; GARY, D.; FERNANDEZ, G.; GODOY, R.; LEVATO, H.; MARUN, A.; PEREYRA, P.

Honolulu, Hawai

Congreso; American Astronomical Society Meeting 210; 2007

American Astronomical Society

The solar burst spectral component peaking somewhere in the terahertz (THz) range, along with, but distinct from, the well-known microwave component, bring new observational and theoretical possibilities to explore the flaring physical processes. The solar event of December 6, 2006, 18:30 UT, exhibited a particularly well-defined double spectral structure, with the THz spectral component detected at 212 and 405 GHz by SST and microwaves (1-18 GHz) by OVSA. The burst was observed by instruments in satellites at high energies, UV by TRACE, soft X-rays by GOES, X- to γ- rays by RHESSI. Although the event occupied an extended area at optical and UV wavelengths, showing various brightnings along several arcminutes, the hard X-ray emission region is restricted (within a region 30? x 50?) showing three sources at low energies (< 150 keV) and a single source above 300 keV. At submillimeter-waves, a precursor was observed, followed by a rapid impulsive event and a post-burst long-enduring component. This post-burst component was also accompanied by the largest flux-density decimeter burst ever reported, reaching 1 million solar flux units. The submillimeter impulsive burst centroid position at 212 GHz was clearly displaced from the precursor component by almost 1 arc-minute. The maximum limit sizes, estimated at 212 GHz, were of the order or smaller than the beam-sizes (4?). The microwave spectra for the precursor and long-enduring burst components peak at about 5-10 GHz. The submillimeter precursor spectrum might be optically thick emission of the cold chromospheric plasma. Despite the complexity in space, time and spectra of the superimposed impulsive and post-impulsive emission, it was remarkable that the THz impulsive component had its closer counterpart only in the higher energy X- and γ- rays ranges, suggesting that they are part of the same physical process, produced by a source of continuously accelerated high-energy particles.