July 27, 2012, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

July 27, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Modeling the Solar Atmospheric Response to Flare-Accelerated Ion Beams

Dr. Joel Allred, NASA GSFC

In the standard flare model, both electrons and ions in the corona are accelerated to high energies and travel down magnetic field lines where they impact on the denser plasma producing chromospheric evaporation and causing numerous emission lines to dramatically brighten. Electron beams and their effects have been extensively studied. However, little work has been done modeling flare-accelerated ion beams. In this seminar, I will discuss my recent simulations which model the atmospheric response to ion beams. There are several key differences between how ion and electrons beams affect the solar atmosphere. For example, ion beams carry significantly more momentum than do electron beams. Accounting for this is important for understanding velocities measured during flares. My simulations also include detailed chromospheric radiative transfer allowing me to model how line and continuum transitions respond to flare heating. Of particular interest are emission lines in the EUV and the mechanism for producing white light continuum.