Abstract
The study of nuclear line spectra from solar flares holds a rich promise for elucidating the properties of both the accelerated particles and the interaction or target region. We review the observations and the analysis of the large nuclear line rich flare which occurred near the west limb starting at 08:03 UT on 27 April, 1981. The observed spectrum from this flare contains three intense and isolated gamma-ray lines which can be analyzed in a model independent way. The measured energies are 1.628 ± 0.008, 4.430 ± 0.011, and 6.147 ± 0.022 MeV, identifying them as the de-excitation lines of 20Ne (1.634 MeV), 12C (4.438 MeV), and 16O (6.129 MeV). Elemental abundances of the ambient gas at the site of gamma-ray line production in the solar atmosphere are deduced using these gamma-ray line observations. The resultant abundances are different from local galactic abundances which are thought to be similar to photospheric abundances.
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Resident Research Associate at NRL under the NRC Associateship Program.
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Forrest, D.J., Murphy, R.J. Nuclear line spectroscopy of solar flares. Sol Phys 118, 123–135 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00148590
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00148590