GLOBAL ENERGETICS OF THIRTY-EIGHT LARGE SOLAR ERUPTIVE EVENTS

We have evaluated the energetics of 38 solar eruptive events observed by a variety of spacecraft instruments between 2002 February and 2006 December, as accurately as the observations allow. The measured energetic components include: (1) the radiated energy in the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 1-8 Å band, (2) the total energy radiated from the soft X-ray (SXR) emitting plasma, (3) the peak energy in the SXR-emitting plasma, (4) the bolometric radiated energy over the full duration of the event, (5) the energy in flare-accelerated electrons above 20 keV and in flare-accelerated ions above 1 MeV, (6) the kinetic and potential energies of the coronal mass ejection (CME), (7) the energy in solar energetic particles (SEPs) observed in interplanetary space, and (8) the amount of free (non-potential) magnetic energy estimated to be available in the pertinent active region. Major conclusions include: (1) the energy radiated by the SXR-emitting plasma exceeds, by about half an order of magnitude, the peak energy content of the thermal plasma that produces this radiation; (2) the energy content in flare-accelerated electrons and ions is sufficient to supply the bolometric energy radiated across all wavelengths throughout the event; (3) the energy contents of flare-accelerated electrons and ions are comparable; (4) the energy in SEPs is typically a few percent of the CME kinetic energy (measured in the rest frame of the solar wind); and (5) the available magnetic energy is sufficient to power the CME, the flare-accelerated particles, and the hot thermal plasma.