Multi-episode Chromospheric Evaporation Observed in a Solar Flare

Abstract

With observations of the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph ( IRIS ), we study chromospheric heating and evaporation during an M1.6 flare SOL2015-03-12T11:50. At the flare ribbons, the Mg ii  2791.59 Å line shows quasi-periodic short-duration red-wing enhancement, which is likely related to repetitive chromospheric condensation as a result of episodic heating. On the contrary, the Si iv  1402.77 Å line reveals a persistent red-wing asymmetry in both the impulsive and decay phases, suggesting that this line responds to both cooling downflows and chromospheric condensation. The first two episodes of red-wing enhancement occurred around 11:42 UT and 11:45 UT, when two moving brightenings indicative of heating fronts crossed the IRIS slit. The greatly enhanced red wings of the Si iv  and Mg ii  lines at these occasions are accompanied by an obvious increase in the line intensities and the HXR flux, suggesting two episodes of energy injection into the lower atmosphere in the form of nonthermal electrons. The Mg ii  k/h ratio has a small value of ∼1.2 at the ribbons and decreases to ∼1.1 at these two occasions. Correspondingly, the Fe xxi  1354 Å line reveals two episodes of chromospheric evaporation, which is characterized as a smooth decrease of the blueshift from ∼300 km s −1 to nearly zero within ∼3 minutes. The Fe xxi  1354 Å line is entirely blueshifted in the first episode, while it appears to contain a nearly stationary component and a blueshifted component in the second episode. Additional episodes of blueshifted Fe xxi  emission are found around the northern ribbon in the decay phase, though no obvious response is detected in the Si iv  and Mg ii  emission. We have also examined the Fe xxi emission at the flare loop top and identified a secondary component with a ∼200 km s −1 redshift, which possibly results from the downward moving reconnection outflow. Our analysis also yields a rest wavelength of 1354.0878 ± 0.0072 Å for this Fe xxi line.