Validation Of The Coronal Thick Target Source Model

Abstract

We present detailed 3D modeling of a dense, coronal thick target X-ray flare using the GX Simulator tool, photospheric magnetic measurements, and microwave imaging and spectroscopy data. The developed model offers a remarkable agreement between the synthesized and observed spectra and images in both X-ray and microwave domains, which validates the entire model. The flaring loop parameters are chosen to reproduce the emission measure, temperature, and the nonthermal electron distribution at low energies derived from the X-ray spectral fit, while the remaining parameters, unconstrained by the X-ray data, are selected such as to match the microwave images and total power spectra. The modeling suggests that the accelerated electrons are trapped in the coronal part of the flaring loop, but away from where the magnetic field is minimal, and, thus, demonstrates that the data are clearly inconsistent with electron magnetic trapping in the weak diffusion regime mediated by the Coulomb collisions. Thus, the modeling supports the interpretation of the coronal thick-target sources as sites of electron acceleration in flares and supplies us with a realistic 3D model with physical parameters of the acceleration region and flaring loop.

10 pages, 5 figures, ApJ in press

References in corpus (5)

• 3D Radio and X-Ray Modeling and Data Analysis Software: Revealing Flare Complexity
• Radio Spectral Evolution of an X-ray Poor Impulsive Solar Flare: Implications for Plasma Heating and Electron Acceleration
• On the variation of solar flare coronal x-ray source sizes with energy
• Spatially-resolved Energetic Electron Properties for the 21 May 2004 Flare from Radio Observations and 3D Simulations
• Konus-Wind and Helicon-Coronas-F Observations of Solar Flares

Cited by in corpus (9)

• Electron Power-Law Spectra in Solar and Space Plasmas
• Accelerated electrons observed down to <7 keV in a NuSTAR solar microflare
• A Cold Flare With Delayed Heating
• Three-dimensional Forward-fit Modeling of the Hard X-Ray and the Microwave Emissions of the 2015 June 22 M6.5 Flare
• Revealing evolution of nonthermal electrons in solar flares using 3D modeling
• The coronal volume of energetic particles in solar flares as revealed by microwave imaging
• A Large-scale Plume in an X-Class Solar Flare
• Hard X-ray morphology of the X1.3 April 25, 2014 partially occulted limb solar flare
• Energy-Containing Electrons in Solar Flares: Improving Hard X-Ray and EUV Diagnostics