A comparison of the height distributions of solar flare hard X-rays in thick target and thermal models

The height structure of hard X-ray bremsstrahlung emission in solar flares is computed for two different models of bremsstrahlung production: emission from a descending beam of nonthermal electrons, and thermal emission from a coronally confined hot plasma. It is shown how these models give rise to hard X-ray spatial distributions which are distinguishable by current instrumentation, and that, therefore, the models may be distinguished by such spatially resolved hard X-ray measurements

Data acquisition and analysis: Solar vector magnetosphere

Magnetic shear was observed in several active regions prior to flaring activity. However, certain flares were observed with no apparent shear present. A more detailed investigation of such events is required

On the importance of reverse current ohmic losses in electron-heated solar flare atmospheres

The passage of a beam of nonthermal electrons through the flaring solar atmosphere is considered, paying particular attention to the requirement that the beam be stable to the generation of plasma turbulence. The ratio is computed of energy losses due to reverse current ohmic heating, and heating by Coulomb collisions, respectively, for the greatest flux which can pass stably through the atmosphere. It is demonstrated that this ratio is determined by the low energy cutoff of the beam, by the electron temperature of the ambient atmosphere, and by the electron to ion temperature ratio. It is also independent of the atmospheric density

Theoretical motivation for high spatial resolution, hard X-ray observations during solar flares

The important role played by hard X-ray radiation as a diagnostic of impulsive phase energy transport mechanism is reviewed. It is argued that the sub-arc second resolution offered by an instrument such as the Pinhole/Occulter Facility (P/OF) can greatly increase our understanding of such mechanisms

Hard x ray imaging graphics development and literature search

This report presents work performed between June 1990 and June 1991 and has the following objectives: (1) a comprehensive literature search of imaging technology and coded aperture imaging as well as relevant topics relating to solar flares; (2) an analysis of random number generators; and (3) programming simulation models of hard x ray telescopes. All programs are compatible with NASA/MSFC Space Science LAboratory VAX Cluster and are written in VAX FORTRAN and VAX IDL (Interactive Data Language)

Temperature minimum heating in solar flares by resistive dissipation of Alfven waves

The possibility that the strong heating produced at temperature-minimum levels during solar flares is due to resistive dissipation of Alfven waves generated by the primary energy release process in the corona is studied. It is shown how, for suitable parameters, these waves can carry their energy essentially undamped into the temperature-minimum layers and can then produce a degree of heating consistent with observations

The Specific Acceleration Rate in Loop-structured Solar Flares -- Implications for Electron Acceleration Models

We analyze electron flux maps based on RHESSI hard X-ray imaging spectroscopy data for a number of extended coronal loop flare events. For each event, we determine the variation of the characteristic loop length $L$ with electron energy $E$, and we fit this observed behavior with models that incorporate an extended acceleration region and an exterior "propagation" region, and which may include collisional modification of the accelerated electron spectrum inside the acceleration region. The models are characterized by two parameters: the plasma density $n$ in, and the longitudinal extent $L_0$ of, the acceleration region. Determination of the best-fit values of these parameters permits inference of the volume that encompasses the acceleration region and of the total number of particles within it. It is then straightforward to compute values for the emission filling factor and for the {\it specific acceleration rate} (electrons s$^{-1}$ per ambient electron above a chosen reference energy). For the 24 events studied, the range of inferred filling factors is consistent with a value of unity. The inferred mean value of the specific acceleration rate above $E_0=20$ keV is $\sim10^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$, with a 1$\sigma$ spread of about a half-order-of-magnitude above and below this value. We compare these values with the predictions of several models, including acceleration by large-scale, weak (sub-Dreicer) fields, by strong (super-Dreicer) electric fields in a reconnecting current sheet, and by stochastic acceleration processes

A Classification Scheme For Turbulent Acceleration Processes In Solar Flares

We establish a classification scheme for stochastic acceleration models involving low-frequency plasma turbulence in a strongly magnetized plasma. This classification takes into account both the properties of the accelerating electromagnetic field, and the nature of the transport of charged particles in the acceleration region. We group the acceleration processes as either resonant, non-resonant or resonant-broadened, depending on whether the particle motion is free-streaming along the magnetic field, diffusive or a combination of the two. Stochastic acceleration by moving magnetic mirrors and adiabatic compressions are addressed as illustrative examples. We obtain expressions for the momentum-dependent diffusion coefficient $D(p)$, both for general forms of the accelerating force and for the situation when the electromagnetic force is wave-like, with a specified dispersion relation $\omega=\omega(k)$. Finally, for models considered, we calculate the energy-dependent acceleration time, a quantity that can be directly compared with observations of the time profile of the radiation field produced by the accelerated particles, such as during solar flares.Comment: 45 pages, submitted to Astrophysical Journa

Impulsive phase solar flare X-ray polarimetry

The pioneering observational work in solar flare X-ray polarimetry was done in a series of satellite experiments by Tindo and his collaborators in the Soviet Union; initial results showed high levels of polarization in X-ray flares (up to 40%), although of rather low statistical significance, and these were generally interpreted as evidence for strong beaming of suprathermal electrons in the flare energy release process. However, the results of the polarimeter flown by the Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory as part of the STS-3 payload on the Space Shuttle by contrast showed very low levels of polarization. The largest value (observed during the impulsive phase of a single event) was 3.4% + or - 2.2%. At the same time but independent of the observational work, Leach and Petrosian (1983) showed that the high levels of polarization in the Tindo results were difficult to understand theoretically, since the electron beam is isotropized on an energy loss timescale. A subsequent comparison by Leach, Emslie, and Petrosian (1985) of the impulsive phase STS-3 result and the above theoretical treatment shows that the former is consistent with several current models and that a factor of approximately 3 improvement in sensitivity is needed to distinguish properly among the possibilities

The role of diffusion in the transport of energetic electrons during solar flares

The transport of the energy contained in suprathermal electrons in solar flares plays a key role in our understanding of many aspects of flare physics, from the spatial distributions of hard X-ray emission and energy deposition in the ambient atmosphere to global energetics. Historically the transport of these particles has been largely treated through a deterministic approach, in which first-order secular energy loss to electrons in the ambient target is treated as the dominant effect, with second-order diffusive terms (in both energy and angle) being generally either treated as a small correction or even neglected. We here critically analyze this approach, and we show that spatial diffusion through pitch-angle scattering necessarily plays a very significant role in the transport of electrons. We further show that a satisfactory treatment of the diffusion process requires consideration of non-local effects, so that the electron flux depends not just on the local gradient of the electron distribution function but on the value of this gradient within an extended region encompassing a significant fraction of a mean free path. Our analysis applies generally to pitch-angle scattering by a variety of mechanisms, from Coulomb collisions to turbulent scattering. We further show that the spatial transport of electrons along the magnetic field of a flaring loop can be modeled rather effectively as a Continuous Time Random Walk with velocity-dependent probability distribution functions of jump sizes and occurrences, both of which can be expressed in terms of the scattering mean free path.Comment: 11 pages, to be published in Astrophysical Journa