A TRACE White Light and RHESSI Hard X-ray Study of Flare Energetics

We investigate the formation of the White Light continuum during solar flares and its relationship to energy deposition by electron beams. We analyse 7 flares showing clear co-spatial RHESSI and TRACE footpoints, and characterise the TRACE WL luminosity under simplifying assumptions. This can be compared with the electron beam energy flux based on the thick-target HXR yield. In all cases we find that there is insufficient energy at in the high energy (>50keV) part of the electron population to power the WL flux, but there is sufficient energy in electrons above 15-20keV, which is where the bulk of the beam energy resides. Such electrons cannot penetrate deep into the chromosphere.