Acceleration of electrons and solar flares due to quasi-static electric field

The storage of flare energy, efficient acceleration of electrons and the trigger of the flares are suggested to be attributed to a quasi-static electric field caused by a gas motion near the photosphere without satisfying the frozen condition. The primary cause of the onset of flares would be the acceleration of electrons due to the electric field above a critical strength. The electrons excite plasma waves which make the conductivity lower by several orders in the lower corona, so that the electro-magnetic energy I ² L stored before the onset of the flare would be rapidly converted into the heat due to the ohmic loss in about 10 s.     

The Influence of Ion-Acoustic Turbulence on the Electron Acceleration in the Reconnecting Current Sheet

Through solving the single electron equation of motion and the Fokker-Planck equation including the terms of electric field strength and ion-acoustic turbulence, we study the influence of the ion-acoustic wave on the electron acceleration in turbulent reconnecting current sheets. It is shown that the ion-acoustic turbulence which causes plasma heating rather than particle acceleration should be considered. With typical parameter values, the acceleration time scale is around the order of 10^-6 s, the accelerated electrons may have approximately a power-law distribution in the energy range 20 ～100 keV and the spectral index is about 3～10, which is basically consistent with the observed hard X-ray spectra in solar flares.     

Multiperiodic irradiance changes caused by r-modes and g-modes

The acceleration of the influential 100 keV electrons in flares observed in hard X-rays and several radio emissions is unknown. Shock-waves and MHD turbulence, successfully applied to interprete interplanetary energetic particles, have recently been called in question concerning energetic flare electrons and ions. Other possible mechanisms are considered which are closely related to the primary flare energy release. In particular, runaway acceleration by the electric field of the reconnection current sheet, bulk heating by microturbulence, and cross-field ion currents due to bulk motion as a primary result of reconnection are reviewed. All three are likely to occur in some way. Their relative importance cannot be definitively assessed due to the lack of information on non-thermal, low energy protons.Proceedings of the Second CESRA Workshop on Particle Acceleration and Trapping in Solar Flares, held at Aubigny-sur-Nère (France), 23–26 June, 1986.     

Imaging X-ray Polarimeter for Solar Flares (IXPS)

We describe the design of a balloon-borne Imaging X-ray Polarimeter for Solar flares (IXPS). This novel instrument, a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) for photoelectric polarimetry, will be capable of measuring polarization at the few percent level in the 20?C50 keV energy range during an M- or X-class flare, and will provide imaging information at the ??10 arcsec level. The primary objective of such observations is to determine the directivity of nonthermal high-energy electrons producing solar hard X-rays, and hence to learn about the particle acceleration and energy release processes in solar flares. Secondary objectives include the separation of the thermal and nonthermal components of the flare X-ray emissions and the separation of photospheric albedo fluxes from direct emissions.     

Energies of Electrons Accelerated in Turbulent Reconnecting Current Sheets in Solar Flares

Yohkoh observations strongly suggest that electron acceleration in solar flares occurs in magnetic reconnection regions in the corona above the soft X-ray flare loops. Unfortunately, models for particle acceleration in reconnecting current sheets predict electron energy gains in terms of the reconnection electric field and the thickness of the sheet, both of which are extremely difficult to measure. It can be shown, however, that application of Ohm's law in a turbulent current sheet, combined with energy and Maxwell's equations, leads to a formula for the electron energy gain in terms of the flare power output, the magnetic field strength, the plasma density and temperature in the sheet, and its area. Typical flare parameters correspond to electron energies between a few tens of keV and a few MeV. The calculation supports the viewpoint that electrons that generate the continuum gamma-ray and hard X-ray emissions in impulsive solar flares are accelerated in a large-scale turbulent current sheet above the soft X-ray flare loops.     

First Images of Impulsive Millimeter Emission and Spectral Analysis of the 1994 August 18 Solar Flare

We present here the first images of impulsive millimeter emission of a flare. The flare on 1994 August 18 was simultaneously observed at millimeter (86 GHz), microwave (1-18 GHz), and soft and hard X-ray wavelengths. Images of millimeter, soft and hard X-ray emission show the same compact ( 8) source. Both the impulsive and the gradual phases are studied in order to determine the emission mechanisms. During the impulsive phase, the radio spectrum was obtained by combining the millimeter with simultaneous microwave emission. Fitting the nonthermal radio spectra as gyrosynchrotron radiation from a homogeneous source model with constant magnetic field yields the physical properties of the flaring source, that is, total number of electrons, power-law index of the electron energy distribution, and the nonthermal source size. These results are compared to those obtained from the hard X-ray spectra. The energy distribution of the energetic electrons inferred from the hard X-ray and radio spectra is found to follow a double power-law with slope 6–8 below 50 keV and 3–4 above those energies. The temporal evolution of the electron energy spectrum and its implication for the acceleration mechanism are discussed. Comparison of millimeter and soft X-ray emissions during the gradual phase implies that the millimeter emission is free-free radiation from the same hot soft X-ray emitting plasma, and further suggests that the flare source contains multiple temperatures.     

Hard X-ray bursts from flares behind the solar limb

The determination of the location of the region of origin of hard X-rays is important in evaluating the importance of 10–100 keV electrons in solar flares and in understanding flare particle acceleration. At present only limb-occulted events are available to give some information on the height of X-ray emission. In fifteen months of OSO-7 operation, nine major soft X-ray events had no reported correlated Hα flare. We examine the hard X-ray spectra of eight of these events with good candidate X-ray flare producing active regions making limb transit at the time of the soft X-ray bursts. All eight bursts had significant X-ray emission in the 30–44 keV range, but only one had flux at the 3σ level above 44 keV. The data are consistent with most X-ray emission occurring in the lower chromosphere, but some electron trapping at high altitudes is necessary to explain the small nonthermal fluxes observed.     

Electron acceleration in solar flares

We present observations of an intense solar flare hard X-ray burst on 1980 June 27, made with a balloon-borne array of liquid nitrogen-cooled germanium detectors which provided unprecedented spectral resolution (≲1 keV FWHM). The hard X-ray spectra throughout the impulsive phase burst fitted well to a double power-law form, and emission from an isothermal 10⁸–10⁹K plasma can be specifically excluded. The temporal variations of the spectrum indicate that the hard X-ray burst is made up of two superposed components: individual spikes lasting ∼3–15 s, whch have a hard spectrum and a break energy of 30–65 keV; and a slowly varying component characterized by a soft spectrum with a constant low-energy slope and a break energy which increases from 25 keV to ≳100 keV through the event. The double power-law shape indicates that acceleration by DC electric fields parallel to the magnetic field, similar to that occurring in the Earth's auroral zone, may be the source of the energetic electrons which produce the hard X-ray emission. The total potential drop required for flares is typically ∼10² kV compared to ∼10 kV for auroral substorms.

     

Energetics and morphology of powerful impulsive solar flares

We have studied the energetics of two impulsive solar flares of X-ray class X1.7 by assuming the electrons accelerated in several episodes of energy release to be the main source of plasma heating and reached conclusions about their morphology. The time profiles of the flare plasma temperature, emission measure, and their derivatives, and the intensity of nonthermal X-ray emission are compared; images of the X-ray sources and magnetograms of the flare region at key instants of time have been constructed. Based on a spectral analysis of the hard X-ray emission from RHESSI data and GOES observations of the soft X-ray emission, we have estimated the spatially integrated kinetic power of nonthermal electrons and the change in flare-plasma internal energy by taking into account the heat losses through thermal conduction and radiation and determined the parameters needed for thermal balance. We have established that the electrons accelerated at the beginning of the events with a relatively soft spectrum directly heat up the coronal part of the flare loops, with the increase in emission measure and hard X-ray emission from the chromosphere being negligible. The succeeding episodes of electron acceleration with a harder spectrum have virtually no effect on the temperature rise, but they lead to an increase in emission measure and hard X-ray emission from the footpoints of the flare loops.     

Transfer of Energy, Potential, and Current by Alfvén Waves in Solar Flares

Alfvén waves play three related roles in the impulsive phase of a solar flare: they transport energy from a generator region to an acceleration region; they map the cross-field potential (associated with the driven energy release) from the generator region onto the acceleration region; and within the acceleration region they damp by setting up a parallel electric field that accelerates electrons and transfers the wave energy to them. The Alfvén waves may also be regarded as setting up new closed-current loops, with field-aligned currents that close across field lines at boundaries. A model is developed for large-amplitude Alfvén waves that shows how Alfvén waves play these roles in solar flares. A picket-fence structure for the current flow is incorporated into the model to account for the “number problem” and the energy of the accelerated electrons.     

Simultaneous observations of second and sub-second time structures in H α , radio and hard X-ray data due to the periodical particle acceleration and MHD waves in the November 1, 2004 flare

Second and sub-second structures were simultaneously detected in optical, radio and hard X-ray (HXR) band, respectively by the GanYu Station of Purple Mountain Observatory, Nobeyama Radio Observatory, and RHESSI satellite in the November 1, 2004 flare (Ji et al., in Astrophys. J. 636:L173, 2006), which may be contributed to the energy transport of the continuous heat flux from the hot corona or chromosphere evaporation and of the accelerated electrons. The linear correlations between the amplitudes of these fluctuations and their flare emissions, and those between the cross-correlation coefficients of the fluctuations at two H _α kernels, or two radio frequencies, or two X-ray energies and their flare emissions may support the causal relationship of the flare and these time structures. While, the cross-correlations of the fluctuations at three different bands suggest that the fluctuations are caused by the common thermal or nonthermal processes in the flare. Moreover, some new features of the fluctuations are reported in the flare: (1) The sub-second fluctuations in radio and HXR bands have a same timescale, which is evidently larger than that in H-alpha band. The difference may be explained by the downward movements of nonthermal electrons or the upward motion of chromosphere evaporation. (2) The power-law distributions of the amplitudes of the second and the sub-second structures are obtained at optical, radio and HXR bands with different indices. (3) The peak-to-peak correspondence of Stokes I and V components in the sub-second structures at radio band suggests that they may be resulted from a periodical particle acceleration and particle injection in this event. However, the second structures may be caused by the modulations of Alfvén waves with an upward speed of 10³ km/s.     

Thermal electrons runaway from a hot plasma during a flare in the reverse-current model and their X-ray bremsstrahlung

The behaviour of the thermal electrons escaping from a hot plasma to a cold one during a solar flare is investigated. We suppose that the direct current of fast electrons is compensated by the reverse current of the thermal electrons in ambient plasma. It is shown that the direct current strength is determined only by the regular energy losses due to Coulomb collisions. The reverse-current electric field and the distribution function of fast electrons are found in the form of an approximate analytical solution to the self-consistent kinetic problem of the dynamics of a beam of escaping thermal electrons and its associated reverse current.The reverse-current electric field in solar flares leads to a significant reduction of the convective heat flux carried by fast electrons escaping from the high-temperature plasma to the cold one. The spectrum and polarization of hard X-ray bremsstrahlung, and its spatial distribution along flare loops are calculated and can be used for diagnostics of flare plasmas and escaping electrons.Send offprint requests to B. V. Somov.     

Polarization of hard X-rays from solar flares

The polarization of hard solar X-radiation (> 10 keV) is calculated on the assumption that electrons get a non-isotropic velocity distribution in the initial phase of a flare. The brems-strahlung generated by nonthermal electrons spiralling around magnetic field lines with discrete pitch angles is considerably polarized if observed at approximately right angles to the magnetic field. In the energy range from 10 to 50 keV the degree of polarization is not strongly dependent on the photon energy. For pitch-angle distributions of the form sin² and cos², the polarization has opposite signs; it decreases appreciably at high photon energies. The observation of X-ray polarization will be useful in deducing the physical conditions in flares.     

The emission and propagation of ∼ 40keV solar flare electrons

Observations of prompt 40 keV solar flare electron events by the IMP series of satellites in the period August, 1966 to December, 1967 are tabulated along with prompt energetic solar proton events in the period 1964–1967. The interrelationship of the various types of energetic particle emission by the sun, including relativistic energy electrons reported by Cline and McDonald (1968) are investigated. Relativistic energy electron emission is found to occur only during proton events. The solar optical, radio and X-ray emission associated with these various energetic particle emissions as well as the propagation characteristics of each particle species are examined in order to study the particle acceleration and emission mechanisms in a solar flare. Evidence is presented for two separate particle acceleration and/or emission mechanisms, one of which produces 40 keV electrons and the other of which produces solar proton and possibly relativistic energy electrons. It is found that solar flares can be divided into three categories depending on their energetic particle emission: (1) small flares with no accompanying energetic phenomena either in particles, radio or X-ray emission; (2) small flares which produce low energy electrons and which are accompanied by type III and microwave radio bursts and energetic ( 20 keV) X-ray bursts; and (3) major solar flare eruptions characterized by energetic solar proton production and type II and IV radio bursts and accompanied by intense microwave and X-ray emission and relativistic energy electrons.     

Observations of the December 6, 2006 solar flare: Electron acceleration and plasma heating

The flare plasma temperature calculated from GOES-11 (1.5–12.4 and 3.1–24.8 keV) data is compared with the solar nonthermal fluxes in various energy ranges in the December 6, 2006 event. Particle acceleration and plasma heating episodes took place in the pre-flare and impulsive phases; a hard (ACS SPI > 150 keV) X-ray emission was observed 5 min before the onset of the GOES X-ray flare and was not accompanied by a temperature rise. A close correlation has been found between the flare plasma temperature and the hard X-ray intensity. The temperature delayed by 0.4 min turned out to be directly proportional to the logarithm of the ACS SPI count rate within the first 3 min of the impulsive phase. This shows that the accelerated electrons responsible for the X-ray emission were the main plasma heating source in the pre-flare and impulsive phases. The correlation between the temperature and the hard X-ray intensity disappears after the observation of a resonance peak at a frequency of 245 MHz. Significant electron fluxes may no longer be able to effectively heat the expanding plasma when its density in the interaction region reaches ∼10⁹ cm⁻³. The observations of the July 23, 2002 and December 5, 2006 events confirm the trends found.     

Magnetic fields,bremsstrahlung and synchrotron emission in the flare of 24 October 1969

An impulsive flare October 24, 1969 produced two bursts with virtually identical time profiles of 8800 MHz emission and X-rays above 48 keV. The two spikes of hard X-rays correspond in time to the times of sharp brightening and expansion in the H flare. The first burst was not observed at frequencies below 3000 MHz. This cut off is ascribed to plasma cutoff above the low-lying flare.A model of the flare based on H observations at Big Bear shows that the density of electrons with energy above 10 keV is 5 × 10⁷ if the field density is 10¹¹. The observed radio flux would be produced by this electron distribution with the observed field of 200 G. The H emission accompanying the hard electron acceleration is presumed due to excitation of the field atoms by the hard electrons.     

Reverse-current effect in present-day models of solar flares: Theory and high-accuracy observations

We propose an accurate analytical model for the source of hard X-ray emission from a flare in the form of a “thick target” with a reverse current to explain the results of present-day observations of solar flares onboard the GOES, Hinode, RHESSI, and TRACE satellites. The model, one-dimensional in coordinate space and two-dimensional in velocity space, self-consistently takes into account the fact that the beam electrons lose the kinetic energy of their motion along the magnetic field almost without any collisions under the action of the reverse-current electric field. Some of the electrons return from the emission source to the acceleration region without losing the kinetic energy of their transverse motion. Based on the observed hard X-ray bremsstrahlung spectrum, the model allows the injection spectrum of accelerated electrons to be reconstructed with a high accuracy. As an example, we consider the white-light flare of December 6, 2006, which was observed with a high spatial resolution in the optical wavelength range at the main maximum of hard X-ray emission. Within the framework of our model, we show that to explain the hard X-ray spectrum, the flux density of the energy transferred by electrons with energies above 18 keV was ～3 × 10¹³ erg cm^?2 s^?1. This exceeds the habitual values typical of the classical model of a thick target without a reverse current by two orders of magnitude. The electron density in the beam is also very high: ～10¹¹ cm^?3. A more careful consideration of plasma processes in such dense electron beams is needed when the physical parameters of a flare are calculated.     

Observations of Double-Periodic X-Ray Emission in Interacting Systems of Solar Flare Loops

We investigate the M1.8 solar flare of 20 October 2002. The flare was accompanied by quasi-periodic pulsations (QPP) of both thermal and nonthermal hard X-ray emissions (HXR) observed by RHESSI in the 3?–?50 keV energy range. Analysis of the HXR time profiles in different energy channels made with the Lomb periodogram has indicated two statistically significant time periods of about 16 and 36 s. The 36 s QPP were observed only in the nonthermal HXR emission in the impulsive phase of the flare. The 16 s QPP were found in thermal and nonthermal HXR emission both in the impulsive and in the decay phases of the flare. Imaging analysis of the flare region, the determined time periods of the QPP, and the estimated physical parameters of the flare loops allowed us to interpret the observed QPP in terms of MHD oscillations excited in two spatially separated, but interacting systems of flaring loops.     

RHESSI Observations of the Neupert Effect in Three Solar Flares

Previous observations show that in many solar flares there is a causal correlation between the hard X-ray flux and the derivative of the soft X-ray flux. This so-called Neupert effect is indicative of a strong link between the primary energy release to accelerate particles and plasma heating. It suggests a flare model in which the hard X-rays are electron – ion bremsstrahlung produced by energetic electrons as they lose their energy in the lower corona and chromosphere and the soft X-rays are thermal bremsstrahlung from the “chromospheric evaporation” plasma heated by those same electrons. Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) observes in a broad energy band and its high spectral resolution and coverage of the low-energy range allow us to separate the thermal continuum from the nonthermal component, which gives us an opportunity to investigate the Neupert effect. In this paper, we use the parameters derived from RHESSI observations to trace the primary energy release and the plasma response: The hard X-ray flux or spectral hardness is compared with the derivative of plasma thermal energy in three impulsive flares on 10 November 2002 and on 3 and 25 August 2005. High correlations show that the Neupert effect does hold for the two hard X-ray peaks of the 10 November 2002 flare, for the first peaks of the 3 August 2005 flare, and for the beginning period of the 25 August 2005 flare.     

Ion-acoustic waves in non-Maxwellian magnetospheric electron-positron-ion plasma

Using Boltzmann-Vlasov kinetic model for nonthermal distributed electron-positron-ion plasma of our Earth’s magnetosphere and the solar wind streaming plasma can drive ion-acoustic waves unstable. It is found that the growth rate increases with the decrease of spectral index and increases with the streaming velocity of the solar wind. The numerical results are also presented by choosing some suitable parameters of magnetospheric plasma.