R. Ramaty

Shock acceleration of electrons and ions in solar flares

The simultaneous first-order Fermi shock acceleration of electrons, protons, and alpha particles are compared to observations of solar energetic particle events. For each event, a unique shock compression ratio in the range of approximately 1.6-3 produces spectra in good agreement with observation. The range in compression ratios predicts that the more than five orders of magnitude spread in electron-to-proton intensity ratios observed at MeV energies is compressed to about three orders of magnitude at an assumed injection energy of 100 keV. The remaining spread can be accounted for with a modest range of injection conditions. The model predicts that the acceleration time to a given energy will be approximately equal for electrons and protons, and for reasonable solar parameters, can be on the order of 1 s to approximately 100 MeV. 37 references.

GYROSYNCHROTRON EMISSION AND ABSORPTION IN A MAGNETOACTIVE PLASMA.

Intensity, spectrum and polarization of gyrosynchrotron radiation from magnetoactive plasma electrons distribution

Nuclear gamma-rays from energetic particle interactions

Gamma ray line emission from nuclear deexcitation following energetic particle reactions is evaluated. The compiled nuclear data and the calculated gamma ray spectra and intensities can be used for the study of astrophysical sites which contain large fluxes of energetic protons and nuclei. A detailed evaluation of gamma ray line production in the interstellar medium is made.

Solar gamma rays

The theory of gamma-ray production in solar flares is treated in detail. Both lines and continuum are produced. The strongest line predicted at 2.225 MeV with a width of less than 100 eV and detected at 2.24±0.02 MeV, is due to neutron capture by protons in the photosphere. Its intensity is dependent on the photospheric 3He abundance. The neutrons are produced in nuclear reactions of flare accelerated particles which also produce positrons and prompt nuclear deexcitation lines. The strongest prompt lines are at 4.43 MeV from 12C and at ∼6.2 from 16O and 15N. These lines result from both direct excitation and spallation. The widths of individual prompt lines are determined by nuclear kinematics. The width of the 4.43 MeV line is ∼100 keV and that of the 6.2 MeV feature is ∼300 keV. Both these lines have been observed from a solar flare. Other potentially observable lines are predicted at 0.845 and 1.24 MeV from 56Fe, at 1.63 MeV principally from 14N and 20Ne, at 1.78 MeV from 28Si, at ∼5.3 MeV from 15O and 15N, and at 7.12 MeV from 16O. The widths of the iron lines are only a few keV, while those of the other lines are about 100 keV. The only other observed line is at 0.511 MeV from positron annihilation. The width of this line is determined by the temperature, and its temporal variation depends on the density of the ambient medium in the annihilation region. Positrons can also annihilate from the 3S state of positronium to produce a 3-photon continuum below 0.511 MeV. In addition, the lines of 7Li and 7Be at 0.478 keV and 0.431 keV, which have kinematical widths of ∼30 keV, blend into a strong feature just below the 0.511 MeV line.From the comparison of the observed and calculated intensities of the line at 4.4 MeV to that of the 2.2 MeV line it is possible to obtain information on the spectrum of accelerated nuclei in flares. Moreover, from the absolute intensities of these lines the total number of accelerated nuclei at the Sun and their heating of the flare region can be estimated. We find that about 1033 protons of energies greater than 30 MeV were produced in the 1972, August 4 flare.The gamma-ray continuum, produced by electron bremsstrahlung, allows the determination of the spectrum and number of accelerated electrons in the MeV region. From the comparison of the line and continuum intensities we find a proton-to-electron ratio of about 10 to 102 at the same energy for the 1972, August 4 flare. For the same flare the protons above 2.5 MeV which are responsible for the gamma-ray emission produce a few percent of the heat generated by the electrons which make the hard X-rays above 20 keV.

High-energy processes in solar flares

A detailed study of high-energy processes in solar flares is reported, including the production of neutrons and pions, and incorporating isobaric and scaling models and a recent compilation of pion production data (Dermer, 1986). The broad-band gamma-ray spectrum resulting from the decay of neutral pions, the bremsstrahlung of positrons and electrons from the decay of charged pions, and the annihilation in flight of positrons is evaluated. Also evaluated is the 0.511 MeV gamma-ray line resulting from the annihilation of the positrons which survive annihilation in flight. Calculations were based on an isotropic, thick-target model using the best available nuclear data and models. Results are compared with extensive observation of the June 3, 1982 flare (10-120 MeV gamma rays), 0.511 and 2.2 MeV line emission, nuclear line emission, high-energy neutrons, and interplanetary charged particles. 75 references.

Light Elements and Cosmic Rays in the Early Galaxy

Observations of Be and B in low-metallicity halo stars formed during the first 109 yr of Galactic evolution show that cosmic-ray acceleration must have taken place in the early Galaxy. The observed abundances of these elements relative to Fe, which, in the early Galaxy, is almost exclusively produced in Type II supernovae, strongly suggest that the cosmic-ray acceleration is also related to such supernovae with the particles being accelerated out of freshly nucleosynthesized matter before it mixes into the ambient, essentially nonmetallic interstellar medium. The observed abundances require that about 3 × 1049 to 2 × 1050 ergs per Type II supernova be imparted to these metallic cosmic rays, depending on whether or not H and He are accelerated along with the metals. The current data, however, are not sufficient to decide whether these cosmic rays are predominantly low energy or high energy. But, in any case, arguments of energetics imply a hard-energy spectrum extending up in energy to at least 50 MeV nucleon-1. This rules out Be and B production by supernova ejecta without further acceleration. In addition to production by cosmic rays, there must also be significant 11B production by neutrinos. This argument is driven by the observed 11B/10B ratio in meteorites that is very difficult to reproduce by cosmic-ray interactions. Observations of 6Li and Li in the early Galaxy provide information on the acceleration of nonmetallic cosmic rays out of the interstellar medium.

On the Origin of the Iron K Line in the Spectrum of The Galactic X-Ray Background

We propose a mechanism for the origin of the Galactic ridge X-ray background that naturally explains the properties of the Fe K line, specifically the detection of the centroid line energy below 6.7 keV and the apparent broadness of the line. Motivated by recent evidence of nonthermal components in the spectrum of the Galactic X-ray/gamma-ray background, we consider a model that is a mixture of thermal plasma components of perhaps supernova origin and nonthermal emission from the interaction of low energy Cosmic ray electrons (LECRe) with the interstellar medium. The LECRe may be accelerated in supernova explosions or by ambient interstellar plasma turbulence. Atomic collisions of fast electrons produce characteristic nonthermal, narrow X-ray emission lines that can explain the complex Galactic background spectrum. Using the ASCA GIS archival data from the Scutum arm region, we show that a two-temperature thermal plasma model with kT~0.6 and ~2.8 keV, plus a LECRe component models the data satisfactorily. Our analysis rules out a purely nonthermal origin for the emission. It also rules out a significant contribution from low energy Cosmic ray ions, because their nonthermal X-ray production would be accompanied by a nuclear gamma-ray line diffuse emission exceeding the upper limits obtained using OSSE, as well as by an excessive Galaxy-wide Be production rate. The proposed model naturally explains the observed complex line features and removes the difficulties associated with previous interpretations of the data which evoked a very hot thermal component (kT~7 keV).

Cosmic-Ray Acceleration from Supernova Ejecta in Superbubbles

We suggest that the cosmic rays are accelerated primarily out of the supernova ejecta-enriched matter in the interiors of superbubbles. These hot, low-density superbubbles, which reach dimensions of several hundred parsecs, are generated by the winds and ejecta of supernova explosions of massive stars formed in giant molecular cloud OB associations that last for tens of megayears. Since these bubbles expand with shell velocities that are much faster than the dispersion velocities of the O and B star progenitors of the supernovae that power the bubbles, the bulk of the supernovae occur in their cores. The expanding remnants of each of these supernovae fill only less than 1% of this core before they have slowed to sonic velocities. Thus, the bulk of these supernovae remnants, together with their metal-rich grain and gas ejecta and their cosmic-ray-accelerating shocks, are well confined within the cores of superbubbles. These cores can thus provide a source of cosmic-ray matter of essentially constant metallicity throughout the age of the Galaxy, which is required to account for the constancy of cosmic-ray-produced Be relative to supernova-produced Fe observed in halo stars formed in the early Galaxy. The interactions of the grains and gas in metal-rich superbubbles, with recurrent supernova shocks every ~3×105 yr, also reconcile the requirement of a supernova ejecta source of cosmic rays with the recent observations that require a greater than 105 yr delay between nucleosynthesis and acceleration for the cosmic-ray metals. Supernova-enriched bubble metallicity may also explain the X-ray emission from the interiors of superbubbles in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

MICROWAVE AND HARD X-RAY BURSTS FROM SOLAR FLARES.

We have applied detailed theories of gyro-synchrotron emission and absorption in a magnetoactive plasma, X-ray production by the bremsstrahlung of non-thermal electrons on ambient hydrogen, and electron relaxation in a partially ionized and magnetized gas to the solar flare burst phenomenon. The hard X-ray and microwave bursts are shown to be consistent with a single source of non-thermal electrons, where both emissions arise from electrons with energies < mc2. Further-more, the experimental X-ray and microwave data allow us to deduce the properties of the electron distribution, and the values of the ambient magnetic field, the hydrogen density, and the size of the emitting region. The proposed model, although derived mostly from observations of the 7 July 1966 flare, is shown to be representative of this type of event.

Solar Atmospheric Abundances and Energy Content in Flare-accelerated Ions from Gamma-Ray Spectroscopy

We used SMM gamma-ray data from 19 solar flares to study ambient elemental abundances in the solar atmosphere. We found that the abundance ratios of low FIP (first ionization potential) to high FIP elements are enhanced relative to photospheric abundances, but that the variability of these ratios from flare to flare is limited to a narrower range than that inferred from EUV and X-ray observations. The mean of the gamma-ray derived Mg/O (a low FIP to high FIP element abundance ratio) is coronal and the individual values are always higher than the photospheric Mg/O. The value of Ne/O (~0.25) is higher than the coronal value of 0.15 obtained from solar energetic particle data, but not inconsistent with some EUV and X-ray determinations. To avoid Ne/O higher than 0.3 a steep accelerated particle energy spectrum extending down to about 1 MeV per nucleon is needed. This implies that a large fraction of the available flare energy is contained in accelerated ions.