Optical Continuum Light Curves and Bolometric Energy Estimates of Solar White-light Flares

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Authors: CAI Yingjie, Yijun Hou, Ding Hengkai, Ting Li, Jifeng Liu
Cited by: 2
References: 34

Abstract

Abstract Solar white-light flares (WLFs) are solar flares exhibiting enhanced emission in the optical continuum. They are critical for understanding energy release and transport mechanisms in solar flares and for conducting comparative studies with stellar WLFs. However, the scarcity of accurately and reliably measured optical continuum light curves for solar WLFs significantly hampers related studies. Based on the optimized solar WLF identification method, we construct a dataset of optical continuum light curves for 70 solar WLFs using 6173 Å continuum intensity images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory. Moreover, for each solar WLF event, we also provide the location of the white-light emission enhancement signals and key parameters including bolometric energies and durations derived from both the traditional fixed-temperature blackbody model and the refined variable-temperature blackbody model. This dataset will serve as a valuable resource for future statistical investigations of solar WLFs and for comparative studies between solar and stellar flares.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics Stellar planetary and galactic studies Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae

Publication details

Journal / source
Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Publisher
IOP Publishing
Volume
26
Issue
4
Pages
047001–047001
Publication date
19 January 2026