Consequences of Strong Pitch-Angle Diffusion of Particles in Solar Flares
Bespalov, P. A., V. V. Zaitsev, and A. V. Stepanov, Consequences of Strong Pitch-Angle Diffusion of Particles in Solar Flares, ApJ, 374, 369 (1991) (ADS)
(click on the image for a larger version)
"Turbulent mirrors" as a mechanism for trapping particles in coronal
loops has appealed conceptually to many, indeed since the 1960s to
the Archivist's painful personal knowledge.
Of course, simple mirrors have
also had their appeal, and the identification of the
appropriate physics remains murkily dark.
The turbulent mirrors here are the dashed regions in the
cartoon, and the argument is that Alfvénic turbulence there can
bottle up energetic protons (shown as dots here) so that they can
escape (eventually?) upwards.
The whistler-wave turbulence impedes the
electrons less effectively, and they can precipitate; hence we have
a half-silvered mirror
that filters out the protons.
This is topical at the time of update for these notes, since the
Fermi/LAT signatures of "sustained" GeV gamma-ray emission need an
explanation No. 1 or an
explanation No. 2 or...
And, as of this moment, the Parker Solar Probe has already completed several
perihelia, and so we may get a closer peek at some point..
"Turbulent mirrors" as a mechanism for trapping particles in coronal loops has appealed conceptually to many, indeed since the 1960s to the Archivist's painful personal knowledge. Of course, simple mirrors have also had their appeal, and the identification of the appropriate physics remains murkily dark. The turbulent mirrors here are the dashed regions in the cartoon, and the argument is that Alfvénic turbulence there can bottle up energetic protons (shown as dots here) so that they can escape (eventually?) upwards. The whistler-wave turbulence impedes the electrons less effectively, and they can precipitate; hence we have a half-silvered mirror that filters out the protons.
This is topical at the time of update for these notes, since the Fermi/LAT signatures of "sustained" GeV gamma-ray emission need an explanation No. 1 or an explanation No. 2 or... And, as of this moment, the Parker Solar Probe has already completed several perihelia, and so we may get a closer peek at some point..