Particle acceleration by a solar flare termination shock

• DOI: 10.1126/science.aac8467
• Publication Date: 2015-12-03T19:28:26Z
• Authors: Bin Chen; Timothy S. Bastian; Chengcai Shen; Dale E. Gary; Säm Krucker; Lindsay Glesener
• Keywords: High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE); Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics; 0103 physical sciences; FOS: Physical sciences; Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena; 01 natural sciences; 7. Clean energy; Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)

Electron acceleration in solar flares

Magnetic reconnection during a solar flare releases energy into the Sun's atmosphere, some of which is converted into accelerated particles in the plasma. Chen et al. combined radio and ultraviolet observations of a solar flare to identify the termination shock region where electrons are accelerated to relativistic speeds.

They confirmed these results with magneto-hydrodynamic simulations. This improved knowledge of the mechanism behind flares improves our understanding of the solar wind and space weather.

Science , this issue p. 1238