Element abundance and the physics of solar energetic particles

Abstract

The acceleration and transport of solar energetic particles (SEPs) cause their abundance, measured at a constant velocity, to be enhanced or suppressed as a function of the magnetic rigidity of each ion, and hence, of its atomic mass-to-charge ratio of A/Q. Ion charges, in turn, depend upon the source electron temperature. In small “impulsive” SEP events, arising from solar jets, acceleration during magnetic reconnection causes steep power-law abundance enhancements. These impulsive SEP events can have 1,000-fold enhancements of heavy elements from sources at ∼2.5 MK and similar enhancements of 3He/4He and of streaming electrons that drive type-III radio bursts. Gamma-ray lines show that solar flares also accelerate 3He-rich ions, but their electrons and ions remain trapped in magnetic loops, so they dissipate their energy as X-rays, γ-rays, heat, and light. “Gradual” SEPs accelerated at shock waves, driven by fast coronal mass ejections (CMEs), can show power-law abundance enhancements or depressions, even with seed ions from the ambient solar corona. In addition, shocks can reaccelerate seed particles from residual impulsive SEPs with their pre-existing signature heavy-ion enhancements. Different patterns of abundance often show that heavy elements are dominated by a source different from that of H and He. Nevertheless, the SEP abundance, averaged over many large events, defines the abundance of the corona itself, which differs from the solar photosphere as a function of the first ionization potential (FIP) since ions, with FIP <10 eV, are driven upward by forces of electromagnetic waves, which neutral atoms, with FIP >10 eV, cannot feel. Thus, SEPs provide a measurement of element abundance in the solar corona, distinct from solar wind, and may even better define the photosphere for some elements.