Ion-rich Acceleration during an Eruptive Flux Rope Event in a Multiple Null-point Configuration
Abstract We report on the γ -ray emission above 100 MeV from the GOES M3.3 flare SOL2012-06-03. The hard X-ray (HXR) and microwave emissions have typical time profiles with a fast rise to a well-defined peak followed by a slower decay. The >100 MeV emission during the prompt phase displayed a double-peaked temporal structure with the first peak following the HXR and microwaves, and the second one, about 3 times stronger, occurring 17 ± 2 s later. The time profiles seem to indicate two separate acceleration mechanisms at work, where the second γ -ray peak reveals a potentially pure or at least largely dominant ion acceleration. The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly imaging shows a bright elliptical ribbon and a transient brightening in the northwestern (NW) region. Nonlinear force-free extrapolations at the time of the impulsive peaks show closed field lines connecting the NW region to the southeastern part of the ribbon, and the magnetic topology revealed clusters of nulls. These observations suggest a spine-and-fan geometry, and based on these observations, we interpret the second γ -ray peak as being due to the predominant acceleration of ions in a region with multiple null points. The >100 MeV emission from this flare also exhibits a delayed phase with an exponential decay of roughly 350 s. We find that the delayed emission is consistent with ions being trapped in a closed flux tube with gradual escape via their loss cone to the chromosphere.
Authors
- T. Wiegelmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6238-0721)
- A. Warmuth (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1439-3610)
- Hugh S. Hudson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5685-1283)
- S. Masson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6376-1144)
- M. Pesce-Rollins (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1790-8018)
- A. L. MacKinnon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3558-4806)
- A. J. B. Russell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5690-2351)
- C. E. Parnell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5694-9069)
- N. Nitta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6119-0221)
- N. Omodei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5448-7577)
- Karl-Ludwig Klein
Institutions
- Université d'Orléans (FR)
- Lockheed Martin (United States) (US)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- École Polytechnique (FR)
- University of St Andrews (GB)
- Université Paris Cité (FR)
- Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (FR)
- Université Paris-Saclay (FR)
- Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (DE)
- Observatoire de Paris (FR)
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (US)
- Sorbonne Université (FR)
- Sorbonne Paris Cité (FR)
- Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (US)
- Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (DE)
- Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas (FR)
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa (IT)
- University of Glasgow (GB)
- Stanford University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Astrophysical Journal
- Published
- 2025-08-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adeb7f
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.15
Funders
- U.S. Department of Energy
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- University of Glasgow
- Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
- Nuclear Safety and Security Commission
- Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
- Vetenskapsrådet
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
- Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica
- High Energy Accelerator Research Organization
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare
- Science and Technology Facilities Council
- Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
- Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules