Beyond Traditional Flare Forecasting: A Data-driven Labeling Approach for High-fidelity Predictions

Jinsu Hong, Anli Ji, Chetraj Pandey, Berkay Aydin

Abstract: Solar flare prediction is a central problem in space weather forecasting. Existing solar flare prediction tools are mainly dependent on the GOES classification system, and models commonly use a proxy of maximum (peak) X-ray flux measurement over a particular prediction window to label instances. However, the background X-ray flux dramatically fluctuates over a solar cycle and often misleads both flare detection and flare prediction models during solar minimum, leading to an increase in false alarms. We aim to enhance the accuracy of flare prediction methods by introducing novel labeling regimes that integrate relative increases and cumulative measurements over prediction windows. Our results show that the data-driven labels can offer more precise prediction capabilities and complement the existing efforts.