Mass Motions and Plasma Properties in the 10^7 K Flare Solar Corona

In the present work, we analyze Solar Ultraviolet Measurement of Emitted Radiation (SUMER) observations of a solar limb flare that occurred on 1999 May 9. The analyzed data cover a time span of around 6.4 hr, during which an M-7.6 flare erupted and decayed in the field of view. Two selected regions along the SUMER slit have been considered for quantitative analysis. The main purpose of the present analysis is to measure the mass motions and the nonthermal velocities of the postflare plasmas and their temporal evolution. To achieve this we use lines having formation temperatures in the 2.5 × 10^6 to 2 × 10^7 K range from which we derive net mass motions and nonthermal velocities and compare them with the properties of the surrounding plasma not affected by the flare activity. To understand the physical conditions of the flaring plasma and of the surrounding material, we derive electron temperature, electron density, and emission measures of the emitting plasma. We find that bulk motions, initially of the order of several hundreds of kilometers per second in both directions, decay within 10 minutes from the flare onset; nonthermal velocities decay to preflare values of around 30 km s^-1 in less than 2 hr from the maximum value of around 100 km s^-1 at flare onset. The measured electron density does not seem to change during activity, while the flare plasma temperature steadily decays to preflare values. The temperature evolution is consistent with a radiatively cooling plasma, although the uncertainties associated to the measurement of the variation of thermal energy of the flare plasma prevent a definitive conclusion on possible continuous heating of the flaring plasma.