Non-thermal energy release in the post-impulsive phase of the May 9, 2021 event

¹ LIRA, Paris Observatory, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Cité, 5 place Jules Janssen 92195 Meudon, France
² Key Laboratory of Solar Activity, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
³ School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
⁴ Observatoire Radioastronomique de Nançay, Paris Observatory, CNRS, Université d’Orléans, 18330 Nançay, France

^⋆ Corresponding authors: mhzhang@nao.cas.cn, nicole.vilmer@obspm.fr

Received: 19 December 2024
Accepted: 21 March 2025

Abstract

Context. In the standard model of solar flares, a magnetic flux rope erupts and gets ejected from the Sun. The current sheets that form in its wake are the seat of magnetic reconnection, which is thought to power energy release throughout the long-lasting decay phase of the thermal X-ray emission. This model has been broadly tested with plasma diagnostics at soft X-ray, EUV, and Hα wavelengths.

Aims. The primary aim of the present investigation is to shed light on the acceleration of non-thermal electrons in the post-impulsive phase through hard X-ray (HXR) radiation and radio spectroscopic imaging at decimeter-to-meter wavelengths. We focus our study on the case of a C4.0 class flare on May 9, 2021.

Methods. This event was fully observed by multiple instruments from three different vantage points in space. We analyzed the spectrum and the source configuration of X-ray emission with the Spectrometer-Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) on board the Solar Orbiter spacecraft, complemented by the Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor (GBM) aboard the Fermi mission, and the radio emission with Nançay Radioheliograph (NRH) and the ORFEES spectrograph. The extreme ultraviolet images from both Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO-A) and Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) were applied to trace the evolution of thermal plasma and coronal magnetic structures.

Results. The radio spectrum at decimeter-to-meter wavelengths shows broadband continuum emission (type IV burst), which is a well-known radio signature of time-extended electron acceleration in eruptive flares. Both moving and stationary radio sources were identified. Energetic electrons were observed in X-rays up to 20 keV, displaying a significant correlation with the time evolution of the stationary type IV radio burst during the long duration decay phase, which lasted over 50 minutes. The X-ray photon spectral index is relatively steep with a value of around – 7.5 and the integrated electron flux above 30 keV is on the order of 1.6 × 10³² electron s⁻¹.

Conclusions. This case study provides for the first time evidence that HXR emission accompanies the onset of a stationary type IV radio burst. It ties together several pieces of evidence to support that non-thermal electrons are released into large-scale magnetic flux ropes during the post-impulsive phase of eruptive solar flares. The energies of the non-thermal electrons inferred from the X-ray spectral analysis confirm indirect estimates from radio observations. Electron acceleration processes appear as a significant signature of post-impulsive energy release, with energies in the range from several to tens of kiloelectron volts (keV).