Global Energetics of Solar Powerful Events on 2017 September 6

Abstract

Abstract Solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are thought to be the most powerful events on the Sun. They can release energy as high as ∼1032 erg in tens of minutes, and also can release solar energetic particles (SEPs) into interplanetary space. We explore global energy budgets of solar major eruptions that occurred on 2017 September 6, including the energy partition of a powerful solar flare, and the energy budget of the accompanying CME and SEPs. In the wavelength range shortward of ∼222 nm, a major contribution of the flare radiated energy is in the soft X-ray (SXR) 0.1–7 nm domain. The flare energy radiated at wavelengths of Lyα and mid-ultraviolet is larger than that radiated in the extreme ultraviolet wavelengths, but it is much less than that radiated in the SXR waveband. The total flare radiated energy could be comparable to the thermal and nonthermal energies. The energies carried by the major flare and its accompanying CME are roughly equal, and they are both powered by the magnetic free energy in the NOAA AR 12673. Moreover, the CME is efficient in accelerating SEPs, and the prompt component (whether it comes from the solar flare or the CME) contributes only a negligible fraction.