Lindsay Glesener

Precision Measurements of the Nucleon Strange Form Factors at Q**2 ~ 0.1-GeV**2

We report new measurements of the parity-violating asymmetry A_PV in elastic scattering of 3 GeV electrons off hydrogen and 4He targets with~6.0 degrees. The 4He result is A_PV = (+6.40 +/- 0.23 (stat) +/- 0.12 (syst)) x10^-6. The hydrogen result is A_PV = (-1.58 +/- 0.12 (stat) +/- 0.04 (syst)) x10^-6. These results significantly improve constraints on the electric and magnetic strange form factors G_E^s and G_M^s. We extract G_E^s = 0.002 +/- 0.014 +/- 0.007 at= 0.077 GeV^2, and G_E^s + 0.09 G_M^s = 0.007 +/- 0.011 +/- 0.006 at= 0.109 GeV^2, providing new limits on the role of strange quarks in the nucleon charge and magnetization distributions.

RADIO IMAGING OF SHOCK-ACCELERATED ELECTRONS ASSOCIATED WITH AN ERUPTING PLASMOID ON 2010 NOVEMBER 3

We present observations of a metric type II solar radio burst that occurred on the 3rd of November 2010 in association with an erupting plasmoid. The eruption was well observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory and the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager, while the burst occurred in the frequency range of the Nancay Radioheliograph (NRH). Such events, where the type II emission occurs in the NRH frequency range, allowing us to image the burst, are infrequent. Combining these data sets, we find that the type II is located ahead of the hot (∼11 MK) core of the plasmoid, which is surrounded by a well-defined envelope of cool (few MK) plasma. Using two methods, we determine the propagation velocity of the shock: (1) fitting the type II emission observed in PHOENIX and HUMAIN radio spectrogram data; (2) direct imaging of the type II source location using NRH observations. We use LASCO C2 polarized brightness images to normalize our coronal density model. However, we find that information from imaging is required in order to fine-tune this normalization. We determine a shock propagation velocity between 1900 km s −1 and 2000 km s −1 . This is faster than the plasmoid observed at extreme-ultraviolet wavelengths by AIA (v = 670-1440 km s −1 , where the cooler plasma propagates faster than the hot core). The positioning of the type II, ahead of the plasmoid, suggests that the electrons are accelerated in a piston-driven shock.

First Images from the Focusing Optics X-Ray Solar Imager

The Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager (FOXSI) sounding rocket payload flew for the first time on 2012 November 2, producing the first focused images of the Sun above 5 keV. To enable hard X-ray (HXR) imaging spectroscopy via direct focusing, FOXSI makes use of grazing-incidence replicated optics combined with fine-pitch solid-state detectors. On its first flight, FOXSI observed several targets that included active regions, the quiet Sun, and a GOES-class B2.7 microflare. This Letter provides an introduction to the FOXSI instrument and presents its first solar image. These data demonstrate the superiority in sensitivity and dynamic range that is achievable with a direct HXR imager with respect to previous, indirect imaging methods, and illustrate the technological readiness for a spaceborne mission to observe HXRs from solar flares via direct focusing optics.

Particle acceleration by a solar flare termination shock

Electron acceleration in solar flares Magnetic reconnection during a solar flare releases energy into the Suns atmosphere, some of which is converted into accelerated particles in the plasma. Chen et al. combined radio and ultraviolet observations of a solar flare to identify the termination shock region where electrons are accelerated to relativistic speeds. They confirmed these results with magneto-hydrodynamic simulations. This improved knowledge of the mechanism behind flares improves our understanding of the solar wind and space weather. Science, this issue p. 1238 The termination shock within a solar flare accelerates electrons to relativistic speeds. Solar flares—the most powerful explosions in the solar system—are also efficient particle accelerators, capable of energizing a large number of charged particles to relativistic speeds. A termination shock is often invoked in the standard model of solar flares as a possible driver for particle acceleration, yet its existence and role have remained controversial. We present observations of a solar flare termination shock and trace its morphology and dynamics using high-cadence radio imaging spectroscopy. We show that a disruption of the shock coincides with an abrupt reduction of the energetic electron population. The observed properties of the shock are well reproduced by simulations. These results strongly suggest that a termination shock is responsible, at least in part, for accelerating energetic electrons in solar flares.

Electron acceleration associated with solar jets

This paper investigates the solar source region of supra-thermal (few keV up to the MeV range) electron beams observed near Earth by combining in situ measurements of the three-dimensional Plasma and Energetic Particles experiment on the WIND spacecraft with remote-sensing hard X-ray observations by the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager. The in situ observations are used to identify events, and the hard X-ray observations are then searched for signatures of supra-thermal electrons radiating bremsstrahlung emission in the solar atmosphere. Only prompt events detected above 50 keV with a close temporal correlation between the flare hard X-ray emission and the electrons seen near Earth are selected, limiting the number of events to 16. We show that for 7 of these 16 events, hard X-ray imaging shows three chromospheric sources: two at the footpoints of the post-flare loop and one related to an apparently open field line. The remaining events show two footpoints (seven events, four of which show elongated sources possibly hiding a third source) or are spatially unresolved (two events). Out of the 16 events, 6 have a solar source region within the field of view of the Transition Region and Corona Explorer (TRACE). All events with TRACE data show EUV jets that have the same onset as the hard X-ray emission (within the cadence of tens of seconds). After the hard X-ray burst ends, the jets decay. These results suggest that escaping prompt supra-thermal electron events observed near Earth are accelerated in flares associated with reconnection between open and closed magnetic field lines, the so-called interchange reconnection scenario.

HARD X-RAY OBSERVATIONS OF A JET AND ACCELERATED ELECTRONS IN THE CORONA

We report the first hard X-ray observation of a solar jet on the limb with flare footpoints occulted, so that faint emission from accelerated electrons in the corona can be studied in detail. In this event on 2003 August 21, RHESSI observed a double coronal hard X-ray source in the pre-impulsive phase at both thermal and nonthermal energies. In the impulsive phase, the first of two hard X-ray bursts consists of a single thermal/nonthermal source coinciding with the lower of the two earlier sources, and the second burst shows an additional nonthermal, elongated source, spatially and temporally coincident with the coronal jet. Analysis of the jet hard X-ray source shows that collisional losses by accelerated electrons can deposit enough energy to generate the jet. The hard X-ray time profile above 20 keV matches that of the accompanying Type III and broadband gyrosynchrotron radio emission, indicating both accelerated electrons escaping outward along the jet path and electrons trapped in the flare loop. The double coronal hard X-ray source, the open field lines indicated by Type III bursts, and the presence of a small post-flare loop are consistent with significant electron acceleration in an interchange reconnection geometry.

Constraining hot plasma in a non-flaring solar active region with FOXSI hard X-ray observations

We present new constraints on the high-temperature emission measure of a non-flaring solar active region using observations from the recently flown Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager sounding rocket payload. FOXSI has performed the first focused hard X-ray (HXR) observation of the Sun in its first successful flight on 2012 November 2. Focusing optics, combined with small strip detectors, enable high-sensitivity observations with respect to previous indirect imagers. This capability, along with the sensitivity of the HXR regime to high-temperature emission, offers the potential to better characterize high-temperature plasma in the corona as predicted by nanoflare heating models. We present a joint analysis of the differential emission measure (DEM) of active region 11602 using coordinated observations by FOXSI, Hinode/XRT and Hinode/EIS. The Hinode-derived DEM predicts significant emission measure between 1 MK and 3 MK, with a peak in the DEM predicted at 2.0-2.5 MK. The combined XRT and EIS DEM also shows emission from a smaller population of plasma above 8 MK. This is contradicted by FOXSI observations that significantly constrain emission above 8 MK. This suggests that the Hinode DEM analysis has larger uncertainties at higher temperatures and that >8 MK plasma above an emission measure of 3x10^44 cm^-3 is excluded in this active region.

The Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager (FOXSI)

The Focusing Optics x-ray Solar Imager (FOXSI) is a sounding rocket payload funded under the NASA Low Cost Access to Space program to test hard x-ray focusing optics and position-sensitive solid state detectors for solar observations. Todays leading solar hard x-ray instrument, the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) provides excellent spatial (2 arcseconds) and spectral (1 keV) resolution. Yet, due to its use of indirect imaging, the derived images have a low dynamic range (<30) and sensitivity. These limitations make it difficult to study faint x-ray sources in the solar corona which are crucial for understanding the solar flare acceleration process. Grazing-incidence x-ray focusing optics combined with position-sensitive solid state detectors can overcome both of these limitations enabling the next breakthrough in understanding particle acceleration in solar flares. The FOXSI project is led by the Space Science Laboratory at the University of California. The NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, with experience from the HERO balloon project, is responsible for the grazing-incidence optics, while the Astro H team (JAXA/ISAS) will provide double-sided silicon strip detectors. FOXSI will be a pathfinder for the next generation of solar hard x-ray spectroscopic imagers. Such observatories will be able to image the non-thermal electrons within the solar flare acceleration region, trace their paths through the corona, and provide essential quantitative measurements such as energy spectra, density, and energy content in accelerated electrons.

THE FIRST FOCUSED HARD X-RAY IMAGES OF THE SUN WITH NuSTAR

We present results from the the first campaign of dedicated solar observations undertaken by the \textit{Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope ARray} ({\em NuSTAR}) hard X-ray telescope. Designed as an astrophysics mission, {\em NuSTAR} nonetheless has the capability of directly imaging the Sun at hard X-ray energies (

THE FIRST X-RAY IMAGING SPECTROSCOPY OF QUIESCENT SOLAR ACTIVE REGIONS WITH NuSTAR

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