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On the Thermal Interpretation of Hard X-Ray Bursts from Solar Flares

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 May 2016

John C. Brown*
Affiliation:
Dept. of Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland

Abstract

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The possible validity of thermal bremsstrahlung models of flare hard X-ray bursts is investigated quantitatively. In particular, the problem of rapid thermal conduction in ‘multi-temperature’ models is adequately examined for the first time by using a continuous temperature distribution consistent with the observed X-ray spectrum. This distribution is obtained from a general analytic solution for the temperature structure required to mimick any ‘non-thermal’ spectrum, the method being equally applicable to cosmic sources.

It is concluded that the thermal interpretation might extend to X-rays of hundreds of keV, a result with important consequences for flare energetics. The relationship of such a model to observations of X-ray polarization and rapid time variations is also considered.

Type
Part III Shock Waves and Plasma Ejection
Copyright
Copyright © Reidel 1974 

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