Speaker
Description
First Name: Ritesh
Last Name: Patel
Affiliation: Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, USA
All Authors: Ritesh Patel, Momchil Molnar, Prakhar Singh, Vaibhav Pant, Dan Seaton, Ryan French, Amir Caspi, Pradeep Chitta, Arpit Kumar Shrivastav, Don Hassler, David Berghmans
Abstract: We present unprecedented observations of fine substructures within a flare ribbon in the solar corona. During its perihelion on September 30, 2024, Solar Orbiter observed a M7.7-class flare using its suite of instruments from a distance of 0.29 AU. We analyze the physical properties of small-scale downflowing features embedded within the flare ribbons. These structures have widths on the order of a few hundred kilometers, making them among the smallest features identified during magnetic reconnection in the solar corona. The downflows exhibit velocities ranging from 30 to 100 km/s, while the corresponding flare ribbon—along with the embedded substructures—moved laterally at approximately 5.3 km/s, increasing more than threefold as the flare progressed. This acceleration coincided with enhanced X-ray emission observed by STIX. Notably, the presence of relatively cool plasma (~1 MK) within the downflowing features during the flare’s rise phase provides new insights into the complex dynamics of magnetic reconnection in the solar atmosphere.