Remote oscillatory responses to a solar flare

Abstract

The processes governing energy storage and release in the Sun are both related to the solar magnetic field. We demonstrate the existence of a magnetic connection between the energy released by a flare and increased oscillatory power in the lower solar atmosphere. The oscillatory power in active regions tends to increase in response to explosive events at other locations, but not in the active region itself. We carry out timing studies and show that this effect is probably caused by a large-scale magnetic connection between the regions, instead of a globally-propagating wave. We show that oscillations tend to exist in longer-lived wave trains with short periods (P < 200 s) at the time of a flare. These wave trains may be mechanisms by which flare energy can be redistributed throughout the solar atmosphere. © 2013. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.