Atmospheric imaging assembly observations of hot flare plasma

Abstract

We present observations of hot plasma from solar eruptions recorded by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on the Solar Dynamics Observatory. AIA is the first narrowband instrument capable of taking images of hot plasma in the 5-15 MK range. We find that there are hot structures above flare loops, and that they are typically more diffuse and nebulous than the well-defined flare loops. Because of the narrowband response, high sensitivity, and high spatial resolution of AIA, these supra-arcade structures are visible in exquisite detail, particularly in the 131 Å and 94 Å channels. In one event, a C4.9 flare observed on 2010 November 3, hot plasma is seen to outline an erupting plasmoid and possibly a current sheet. We compare hot plasma observed with AIA to structures observed with the X-Ray Telescope on the Hinode mission and find that the plasma imaged in AIA contains more fine detail. These new AIA observations show that supra-arcade flare structures and coronal mass ejections are highly structured not only in space and time, but also in temperature. This thermal structuring is expected, based on modeling efforts, but has now been imaged directly for the first time over a large range of temperatures. © 2011. The American Astronomical Society.