Solar microflares: a case study on temperatures and the Fe XVIII emission

Abstract: In this paper, we discuss the temperature distribution and evolution of a microflare, simultaneously observed by Hinode XRT, EIS, and SDO AIA. We find using EIS lines that during peak emission the distribution is nearly isothermal and peaked around 4.5 MK. This temperature is in good agreement with that obtained from the XRT filter ratio, validating the use of XRT to study these small events, invisible by full-Sun X-ray monitors such as GOES. The increase in the estimated Fe XVIII emission in the AIA 94 {\AA} band can mostly be explained with the small temperature increase from the background temperatures. The presence of Fe XVIII emission does not guarantee that temperatures of 7 MK are reached, as is often assumed. We also revisit with new atomic data the temperatures measured by a SoHO SUMER observation of an active region which produced microflares, also finding low temperatures (3 - 4 MK) from an Fe XVIII / Ca XIV ratio.