The high-energy Sun - probing the origins of particle acceleration on our nearest star

Matthews, S. A. et al. (2022) The high-energy Sun - probing the origins of particle acceleration on our nearest star. Experimental Astronomy, 54(2-3), pp. 335-360. (doi: 10.1007/s10686-021-09798-6)

Abstract

As a frequent and energetic particle accelerator, our Sun provides us with an excellent astrophysical laboratory for understanding the fundamental process of particle acceleration. The exploitation of radiative diagnostics from electrons has shown that acceleration operates on sub-second time scales in a complex magnetic environment, where direct electric fields, wave turbulence, and shock waves all must contribute, although precise details are severely lacking. Ions were assumed to be accelerated in a similar manner to electrons, but γ-ray imaging confirmed that emission sources are spatially separated from X-ray sources, suggesting distinctly different acceleration mechanisms. Current X-ray and γ-ray spectroscopy provides only a basic understanding of accelerated particle spectra and the total energy budgets are therefore poorly constrained. Additionally, the recent detection of relativistic ion signatures lasting many hours, without an electron counterpart, is an enigma. We propose a single platform to directly measure the physical conditions present in the energy release sites and the environment in which the particles propagate and deposit their energy. To address this fundamental issue, we set out a suite of dedicated instruments that will probe both electrons and ions simultaneously to observe; high (seconds) temporal resolution photon spectra (4 keV – 150 MeV) with simultaneous imaging (1 keV – 30 MeV), polarization measurements (5–1000 keV) and high spatial and temporal resolution imaging spectroscopy in the UV/EUV/SXR (soft X-ray) regimes. These instruments will observe the broad range of radiative signatures produced in the solar atmosphere by accelerated particles.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: MacKinnon, Dr Alexander and Kontar, Professor Eduard and Fletcher, Professor Lyndsay and Hannah, Dr Iain
• Authors: Matthews, S. A., Reid, H. A. S., Baker, D., Bloomfield, D. S., Browning, P. K., Calcines, A., Del Zanna, G., Erdelyi, R., Fletcher, L., Hannah, I. G., Jeffrey, N., Klein, L., Krucker, S., Kontar, E., Long, D. M., MacKinnon, A., Mann, G., Mathioudakis, M., Milligan, R., Nakariakov, V. M., Pesce-Rollins, M., Shih, A. Y., Smith, D., Veronig, A., and Vilmer, N.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy
• Journal Name: Experimental Astronomy
• Publisher: Springer
• ISSN: 0922-6435
• ISSN (Online): 1572-9508
• Published Online: 09 November 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Experimental Astronomy 54(2-3): 335-360
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
173210		Modelling and Multi-wavelength Observations of Solar Flare Heating	Lyndsay Fletcher	Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)	ST/N004981/1	P&S - Physics & Astronomy