Abstract
Some models for flare statistics predict or assume that there is a relationship between the times between flares and the energy of flares. This question is examined observationally using the WATCH solar X-ray burst catalogue. A rank correlation test applied to the data finds strong evidence for a correlation between the time since the last event, t b, and the size (peak count rate) of an event, and for a correlation between the time to the next event, t a, and the size of an event. A more sophisticated statistical test, taking into account a probable bias in event selection, does not support the hypothesis that event size depends on t b or t a.
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Wheatland, M. DO SOLAR FLARES EXHIBIT AN INTERVAL–SIZE RELATIONSHIP?. Solar Physics 191, 381–389 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005240712931
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005240712931