Abstract

A test of the hypothesis that flares derive their energy from large scale current systems inferred from active region vector magnetograms is proposed. The test involves a statistical comparison of the flarerelated change in coronal magnetic energy (based on the magnetohydrodynamic virial theorem) and an independent measure of the energy of the flare. A simulation suggests that — assuming the hypothesis is correct—the test requires around 50 flares with energy greater than 510²³ J to return a significant result. Existing archives of vector magnetograms should provide sufficient data for such a study.