EXAMINING SOLAR FLARE SPECTRAL PARAMETER EVOLUTION TO PROBE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ELECTON BEAM

Abstract:

Our central objective is to address one of the outstanding problems in solar physics: identifying the physical mechanism that gives rise to solar flares. Our model of a solar flare involves the acceleration of electrons in a beam, via magnetic reconnection in the corona, toward the chromosphere releasing energy as radiation. The thermal and non-thermal emissions (8 keV – 1 MeV) are modeled respectively by a combination of the Thin Target Bremsstrahlung model with a broken power law component. We use the X-ray spectrum to analyze the electron beam characteristics and describe flare evolution . In this study we discuss the relationship between thermal and non-thermal emissions, we note that that the photon flux is dependent on both the spectral index of the electron distribution and the beam's thermal energy confirming previous observations (Reep et al. 2013) and we consider if the thin target model is an appropriate approximation of thick target bremsstrahlung.