The effect of a solar flare on chromospheric oscillations

Oscillations in the solar atmosphere have long been observed both in quiet conditions and during solar flares. The chromosphere is known for its 3-min signals, which are strong over sunspot umbrae, and have periods determined by the chromosphere's acoustic cut-off frequency. A small number of observations have shown the chromospheric signals to be affected by energetic events such as solar flares, however the link between flare activity and these oscillations remains unclear. In this work, we present evidence of changes to the oscillatory structure of the chromosphere over a sunspot which occurs during the impulsive phase of an M1 flare. Using imaging data from the CRISP instrument across the H alpha and Ca II 8542 angstrom spectral lines, we employed a method of fitting models to power spectra to produce maps of where there is evidence of oscillatory signals above a red-noise background. Comparing results taken before and after the impulsive phase of the flare, we found that the oscillatory signals taken after the start of the flare differ in two ways: the locations of oscillatory signals had changed and the typical periods of the oscillations had tended to increase (in some cases increasing from <100 s to similar to 200 s). Both of these results can be explained by a restructuring of the magnetic field in the chromosphere during the flare activity, which is backed up by images of coronal loops showing clear changes to magnetic connectivity. These results represent one of the many ways that active regions can be affected by solar flares.

Automated summary

The study found changes in the oscillatory structure of the chromosphere over a sunspot during the impulsive phase of an M1 flare, with oscillatory signals shifting in position and tending to increase in period. These results may be explained by a restructuring of the magnetic field in the chromosphere during flare activity.