  Solar energetic particles (SEPs), including protons and heavy ions, are
believed to be accelerated either by CME shock or by magnetic reconnection. The
latter also produces solar flares, in which the white light flares (WLFs) are
among the most energetic ones. Magnetic reconnections occur in the corona and
the accelerated particles propagate both downward and upward along the magnetic
loops. The former is the source of flare emission and the latter is thought to
be SEPs. Therefore, a comparison between flare emission and SEP events provides
valuable constraint in determining the acceleration site of SEPs. We collect 43
SEP events, observed from 2010 to 2017, and investigate their correlation with
WL emission and SXR flus, observed by SDO/HMI and GOES, respectively. Our
preliminary results show: 1) Among 47 SEP events, 39 of which do not have
detectable flare emissions in white light and SXR. 2) Most strong WLFs are not
associated with SEPs. 3) No clear correlation is found between the proton flux
and the equivalent area, a quantity that measures the magnitude of WLF
emission. A straightforward speculation is that the acceleration process could
be different for SEPs and the energetic electrons powering WLFs in the events
analyzed.
