Advertisement
Title: "Characterization of White-Light Enhancements in Solar Flares: A Combined Observational and Modeling Approach"
Solar flares are sudden brightenings of localized regions in the atmosphere of the Sun. They accelerate particles, like electrons and protons, and heat the solar plasma to several millions of degrees. The enormous amounts of radiation released in these events, combined with associated phenomena, have a major influence on space weather around our planet Earth, and it is therefore of vital importance for us to understand the mechanisms behind them.
This work investigates solar flares with emissions in the visible light (termed white-light flares, or WLFs for short). These emissions challenge the standard flare model used in solar physics. We use a combination of simulations and observations to determine the mechanisms behind these emissions. We also identify a simple way to deduce these mechanisms from observations.
Our results show intensity enhancements caused primarily by free electrons attaching to ionized hydrogen atoms, sending out light at visible wavelengths. These emissions come from the chromosphere, the layer above the visible solar surface. Some additional enhancements appear in the lower layers during the later stages of the flare evolution. With our simulations, we are able to account for the discrepancy in intensity between simulated and observed flares.
Image Credit: Sascha Ornig
********************************************
Trial Lecture: "Why can stellar superflares be so much more powerful than solar flares?"
Time and place: Oct. 6, 2026 10:15 AM–11:00 AM, Aud. 209, Svein Rosselands Hus
More information can be found on this webpage: https://www.mn.uio.no/astro/english/research/news-and-events/events/disputations/2026/Sascha_Ornig
Advertisement
Event venue
Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, Sognsveien 77B, 0855 Oslo, Norge, Oslo, Norway
Tickets
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.