Abstract
Two very intense and impulsive nuclear γ-ray and electron bremsstrahlung X-ray emitting solar flares, on 7 and 21 June 1980, were observed with <2 s time resolution. These observations have allowed us to study, for the first time, the relative starting times of energetic ion and electron interactions with the solar atmosphere. The simultaneous starting times of X rays >40 keV and γ-ray emission show that electrons and ions were accelerated within seconds of each other. The near simultaneous peaking, together with the observation of >400-MeV neutrons, show that the solar flare acceleration process can produce the full intensity and spectrum of electrons (>1 MeV) and ions (>102 MeV) in a time scale of <5 s. These results are in direct contradiction to the widely accepted concept of solar flare particle acceleration.
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Forrest, D., Chupp, E. Simultaneous acceleration of electrons and ions in solar flares. Nature 305, 291–292 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1038/305291a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/305291a0
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