The F-CHROMA grid of 1D RADYN flare models

¹ Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, PO Box 1029 Blindern, 0315 Oslo, Norway
e-mail: mats.carlsson@astro.uio.no
² Rosseland Centre for Solar Physics, University of Oslo, PO Box 1029 Blindern, 0315 Oslo, Norway
³ SUPA School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
⁴ NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 671, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
⁵ Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 25165 Ondřejov, Czech Republic
⁶ University of Wroclaw, Center of Scientific Excellence – Solar and Stellar Activity, Kopernika 11, 51-622 Wroclaw, Poland
⁷ National Solar Observatory, University of Colorado Boulder, 3665 Discovery Drive, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
⁸ Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, 2000 Colorado Ave, CO 80305, USA
⁹ Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado Boulder, 3665 Discovery Drive, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
¹⁰ Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland, UK
¹¹ Center for Radio Astronomy and Astrophysics Mackenzie, Engineering School, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo, Brazil

Received: 6 February 2023
Accepted: 22 March 2023

Abstract

Context. Solar flares are the result of the sudden release of magnetic energy in the corona. Much of this energy goes into accelerating charged particles to high velocity. These particles travel along the magnetic field and the energy is dissipated when the density gets high enough, primarily in the solar chromosphere. Modelling this region is difficult because the radiation energy balance is dominated by strong, optically thick spectral lines.

Aims. Our aim is to provide the community with realistic simulations of a flaring loop with an emphasis on the detailed treatment of the chromospheric energy balance. This will enable a detailed comparison of existing and upcoming observations with synthetic observables from the simulations, thereby elucidating the complex interactions in a flaring chromosphere.

Methods. We used the 1D radiation hydrodynamics code RADYN to perform simulations of the effect of a beam of electrons injected at the apex of a solar coronal loop. A grid of models was produced, varying the total energy input, the steepness, and low-energy cutoff of the beam energy spectrum.

Results. The full simulation results for a grid of models are made available online. Some general properties of the simulations are discussed.