Statistical Analysis of Reconnection Inflows in Solar Flares Observed with SOHO EIT

Abstract

We report observations of reconnection inflows in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) Fe xn λ195 images with the Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). Yokoyama and colleagues reported the first example observed on 1999 March 18. We survey the EIT data from 1996 to 2000 and find six new inflow events. We measure the inflow velocity vinflow for each event and find that vinflow is about 2.6-38 km s-1. Furthermore, using the six EIT inflow events observed simultaneously with Yohkoh SXT (including the Yokoyama event), we calculate the reconnection rate as MA = vinflow/vA = 0.001-0.07. It is also found that the plasmoid ejection and/or coronal mass ejection (CME) are closely related to the inflow. The velocity of the CME exhibits a correlation with the inflow velocity. © 2006. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.