What Is the Spatial Relationship between Hard X-Ray Footpoints and Vertical Electric Currents in Solar Flares?

Details What Is the Spatial Relationship between Hard X-Ray Footpoints and Vertical Electric Currents in Solar Flares? What Is the Spatial Relationship between Hard X-Ray Footpoints and Vertical Electric Currents in Solar Flares?

Jun 1997

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997apj...482..490l&link_type=abstract

Astrophysical Journal v.482, p.490

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

24

Magnetohydrodynamics: Mhd, Sun: Flares, Sun: X-Rays, Gamma Rays

Scientific paper

We examine the spatial relationship between solar hard X-ray sources observed with the Hard X-Ray Telescope aboard Yohkoh and photospheric electric currents observed at Mees Solar Observatory. In 1993, Canfield et al. concluded that energetic electron precipitation tends to occur at the edge of sites of high vertical current. They did not, however, have a direct diagnostic of particle precipitation; they used H alpha Stark-wing emission as a proxy. In this paper, we analyze hard X-ray images and vector magnetograms of six flares of M/X X-ray class to reach two basic conclusions. First, we confirm that electron precipitation avoids sites of high vertical current density at photospheric levels, preferentially occurring adjacent to these current channels. Hence, we conclude that our observations rule out flare models in which nonthermal electrons are accelerated within the large-scale active-region current systems that are observed by present vector magnetographs. Second, at conjugate magnetic footpoints the stronger hard X-ray emission is associated with smaller vertical current density and weaker magnetic field. This result is consistent with a "cornucopia"-shaped magnetic morphology in which precipitating electrons are preferentially deflected away from the narrower footpoint by magnetic mirroring.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

What Is the Spatial Relationship between Hard X-Ray Footpoints and Vertical Electric Currents in Solar Flares? does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with What Is the Spatial Relationship between Hard X-Ray Footpoints and Vertical Electric Currents in Solar Flares?, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and What Is the Spatial Relationship between Hard X-Ray Footpoints and Vertical Electric Currents in Solar Flares? will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1472780