Paper detail

Statistical properties of superflares on solar-type stars with Kepler data

Superflares are flares that release total energy 10$\sim$10$^{4}$ times greater than that of the biggest solar flares with energy of $\sim$10$^{32}$ erg. We searched superflares on solar-type stars (G-type main sequence stars) using the Kepler 30-min (long) and 1-min (short) cadence data. We found more than 1500 superflares on 279 stars from 30-min cadence data (Q0-6) and 187 superflares on 23 stars from 1-min cadence data (Q0-17). The bolometric energy of detected superflares ranges from the order of 10$^{32}$ erg to 10$^{36}$ erg. Using these data, we found that the occurrence frequency ($dN/dE$) of superflares is expressed as a power-law function of flare energy ($E$) with the index of -1.5 for $10^{33}<E<10^{36}$erg. Most of the superflare stars show quasi-periodic light variations with the amplitude of a few percent, which can be explained by the rotation of the star with large starspots. The bolometric energy released by flares is consistent with the magnetic energy stored around such large starspots. Furthermore, our analyses indicate that the occurrence frequency of superflares depends on the rotation period, and that the flare frequency increases as the rotation period decreases. However, the energy of the largest flares observed in a given period bin does not show any clear correlation with the rotation period. We also found that the duration of superflares increases with the flare energy as $E^{0.39+/-0.03}$. This can be explained if we assume the time-scale of flares is determined by the Alfv$\acute{\rm{e}}$n time.