Signatures of the non-Maxwellian $\kappa$-distributions in optically thin line spectra. II. Synthetic Fe XVII--XVIII X-ray coronal spectra and predictions for the Marshall Grazing-Incidence X-ray Spectrometer (MaGIXS)

Abstract

We investigated the possibility of diagnosing the degree of departure from the Maxwellian distribution using the Fe XVII - Fe XVIII spectra originating in plasmas in collisional ionization equilibrium, such as in the cores of solar active regions or microflares. The original collision strengths for excitation are integrated over the non-Maxwellian electron $\kappa$-distributions characterized by a high-energy tail. Synthetic X-ray emission line spectra were calculated for a range of temperatures and $\kappa$. We focus on the 6-24 A spectral range to be observed by the upcoming Marshall Grazing-Incidence X-ray Spectrometer MaGIXS. We find that many line intensity ratios are sensitive to both $T$ and $\kappa$. Best diagnostic options are provided if a ratio involving both Fe XVII and Fe XVIII is combined with another ratio involving lines formed within a single ion. The sensitivity of such diagnostics to $\kappa$ is typically a few tens of per cent. Much larger sensitivity, of about a factor of two to three, can be obtained if the Fe XVIII 93.93 A line observed by SDO/AIA is used in conjuction with the X-ray lines. We conclude that the MaGIXS instrument is well-suited for detection of departures from the Maxwellian distribution, especially in active region cores.

arXiv commentAstronomy & Astrophysics, accepted

References in corpus (62)

• The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) Mission
• The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS)
• An Observational Overview of Solar Flares
• On Solving the Coronal Heating Problem
• CHIANTI - An atomic database for Emission Lines. Version 8
• Differential Emission Measures from the Regularized Inversion of Hinode and SDO data
• Thermal Diagnostics with the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory: A Validated Method for Differential Emission Measure Inversions
• Key Aspects of Coronal Heating
• Solar UV and X-Ray Spectral Diagnostics
• Stochastic Acceleration of Electrons and Protons. I. Acceleration by Parallel Propagating Waves
• The power-law spectra of energetic particles during multi-island magnetic reconnection
• A Systematic Survey of High Temperature Emission in Solar Active Regions
• Ionization Equilibrium Timescales in Collisional Plasmas
• Constraints on the Heating of High Temperature Active Region Loops: Observations from Hinode and SDO
• The Formation of Kappa-Distribution Accelerated Electron Populations in Solar Flares
• Kappa Distribution Model for Hard X-Ray Coronal Sources of Solar Flares
• Using a Differential Emission Measure and Density Measurements in an Active Region Core to Test a Steady Heating Model
• Photometric and Thermal Cross-calibration of Solar EUV Instruments
• Multi-thermal dynamics and energetics of a coronal mass ejection in the low solar atmosphere
• A revised radiometric calibration for the Hinode/EIS instrument
• Hinode X-Ray Telescope Detection of Hot Emission from Quiescent Active Regions: A Nanoflare Signature?
• Evidence of widespread hot plasma in a non-flaring coronal active region from Hinode/XRT
• Particle acceleration and transport in reconnecting twisted loops in a stratified atmosphere
• The X-ray spectrum of Fe XVII revisited with a multi-ion model
• Microflare Heating of a Solar Active Region Observed with NuSTAR, Hinode/XRT, and SDO/AIA
• Correlation of hard X-ray and white light emission in solar flares
• Hinode/EIS spectroscopic validation of very hot plasma imaged with Solar Dynamics Observatory in non-flaring active region cores
• Non-Equilibrium Processes in the Solar Corona, Transition Region, Flares, and Solar Wind \textit{(Invited Review)}
• Measurements of Non-Thermal Line Widths in Solar Active Regions
• Broad Non-Gaussian Fe XXIV Line Profiles in the Impulsive Phase of the 2017 September 10 X8.3 class Flare Observed by Hinode/EIS
• Kappa distribution and hard X-ray emission of solar flares
• KAPPA: A Package for Synthesis of optically thin spectra for the non-Maxwellian kappa-distributions based on the CHIANTI database
• A Chandra/LETGS Survey of Main Sequence Stars
• Non-Maxwellian analysis of the transition-region line profiles observed by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph
• H to Zn Ionization Equilibrium for the Non-Maxwellian Electron kappa-distributions: Updated Calculations
• Constraining the hard X-ray properties of the quiet Sun with new RHESSI observations
• Ion Charge States in the Fast Solar Wind: New Data Analysis and Theoretical Refinements
• The Origin of Non-Maxwellian Solar Wind Electron Velocity Distribution Function: Connection to Nanoflares in the Solar Corona
• Spectroscopic Observations of Hot Lines Constraining Coronal Heating in Solar Active Regions
• Multiwavelength imaging and spectroscopy of chromospheric evaporation in an M-class solar flare
• Signatures of the non-Maxwellian $\kappa$-distributions in optically thin line spectra \subtitle{I. Theory and synthetic Fe IX--XIII spectra}
• Comparison of Hinode/XRT and RHESSI detection of hot plasma in the non-flaring solar corona
• An Assessment of the Fe XVIII and Fe XIX Line Ratios from the Chandra Grating Observations of Capella
• NuSTAR hard X-ray observation of a sub-A class solar flare
• Patterns of Activity in a Global Model of a Solar Active Region
• NuSTAR Detection of X-Ray Heating Events in the Quiet Sun
• The Evolution of the EM Distribution in the Core of an Active Region
• Multi-thermal representation of the kappa-distribution of solar flare electrons and application to simultaneous X-ray and EUV observations
• Spectroscopic Observations of Fe XVIII in Solar Active Regions
• Electron Distribution Functions in Solar Flares from combined X-ray and EUV Observations
• Spectroscopy of very hot plasma in non-flaring parts of a solar limb active region: spatial and temporal properties
• Imaging and Spectroscopic Observations of a Transient Coronal Loop: Evidence for the Non-Maxwellian $\kappa$-Distributions
• Impulsive Heating of Solar Flare Ribbons Above 10 MK
• Spectroscopic diagnostics of the non-Maxwellian $\kappa$-distributions using SDO/EVE observations of the 2012 March 7 X-class flare
• Suprathermal electron distributions in the solar transition region
• Multimodal Differential Emission Measure in the Solar Corona
• Heating and cooling of coronal loops observed by SDO
• Thermal structure of hot non-flaring corona from Hinode/EIS
• Modeling Coronal Response in Decaying Active Regions with Magnetic Flux Transport and Steady Heating
• First NuSTAR Limits on Quiet Sun Hard X-Ray Transient Events
• Spectroscopic Measurements of the Ion Velocity Distribution at the Base of the Fast Solar Wind
• Thermalisation and hard X-ray bremsstrahlung efficiency of self-interacting solar flare fast electrons

Cited by in corpus (6)

• The First Flight of the Marshall Grazing Incidence X-ray Spectrometer (MaGIXS)
• Comprehensive Laboratory Measurements Resolving the LMM Dielectronic Recombination Satellite Lines in Ne-like Fe XVII Ions
• Solar Flare Irradiance: Observations and Physical Modeling
• The Quiet-Sun DEM Under Kappa: Diagnostic Degeneracy and the Failure of the Conductive Closure
• Radio, X-ray, and EUV signatures of internal and external reconnection of an erupting flux rope
• Plasma Diagnostics From Active Region and Quiet Sun Spectra Observed by Hinode/EIS: Quantifying the Departures from a Maxwellian Distribution