  In this Letter we report the detection of chromospheric 3-minute oscillations
in disk-integrated EUV irradiance observations during a solar flare. A wavelet
analysis of detrended Lyman-alpha (from GOES/EUVS) and Lyman continuum (from
SDO/EVE) emission from the 2011 February 15 X-class flare (SOL2011-02-15T01:56)
revealed a $\sim$3-minute period present during the flare's main phase. The
formation temperature of this emission locates this radiation to the flare's
chromospheric footpoints, and similar behaviour is found in the SDO/AIA
1600\AA\ and 1700\AA\ channels, which are dominated by chromospheric continuum.
The implication is that the chromosphere responds dynamically at its acoustic
cutoff frequency to an impulsive injection of energy. Since the 3-minute period
was not found at hard X-ray energies (50-100 keV) in RHESSI data we can state
that this 3-minute oscillation does not depend on the rate of energization of
non-thermal electrons. However, a second period of 120 s found in both hard
X-ray and chromospheric emission is consistent with episodic electron
energization on 2-minute timescales. Our finding on the 3-minute oscillation
suggests that chromospheric mechanical energy should be included in the flare
energy budget, and the fluctuations in the Lyman-alpha line may influence the
composition and dynamics of planetary atmospheres during periods of high
activity.
