X-ray observations of the impulsive phase of solar flares with the Yohkoh satellite

This thesis starts with an overview of the physics of the solar corona, concentrating on X-ray emission and the plasma dynamics associated with the impulsive or rise phase of solar flares. The Yohkoh satellite is described, with a section on each major instrument on board. Analysis techniques used in the thesis are then introduced, with a section of soft X-ray spectroscopy and on the application of the Maximum Entropy Method image reconstruction technique to data from the Hard X-ray Telescope on Yohkoh. The instrumental effect known as fixed pattern noise is described, leading to a numerical model of the BCS digitisation process, which is used both to understand the limits of the detector, and to correct the data in a limited way. Alternative methods for the avoidance of fixed pattern noise are evaluated. The analysis of a solar flare with unusually large soft X-ray blue shifts is then performed. Physical parameters of the plasma during the initial stages of the flare are derived, which are used in an energy balance calculation. Agreement is found between the energy in nonthermal electrons and that contained in the coronal plasma, supporting the nonthermal beam driven chromospheric evaporation theory of impulsive flares. The location of superhot plasma in two impulsive flares and one hot thermal flare is then investigated. Superhot plasma is found to be located close to the chromosphere, and related to the nonthermal burst in the two impulsive flares. Superhot plasma in the hot thermal flare is distributed uniformly throughout the loop. The differences are explained as being due to the different energy transport processes active in each type of flare.