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J. Lin, J. C. Raymond, S. R. Cranmer, J. L. Kohl (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA)
A significant potential hazard to astronauts and their equipment in interplanetary space is the relativistic proton flux produced by coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and solar flares. The longest-duration phase of solar energetic particle (SEP) activity is believed to come from the CME shock as it propagates through the extended corona and heliosphere. Ultraviolet spectroscopy by SOHO has revealed a means for: (1) detecting and characterizing CME shocks in the corona, and (2) determining the plasma conditions in the pre-CME corona which are needed to understand the formation and evolution of shocks. Such remote sensing - combined with models of SEP acceleration and transport - can be used to predict the strength, duration, and production sites of the radiation.
This poster describes the specific means by which ultraviolet spectroscopy and other remote-sensing data can be used to determine the inputs and boundary conditions for individual events (such as the October-November 2003 storms) in existing SEP model codes. We also discuss an additional potential source of SEP radiation associated with electric fields in the current sheets that form in flare regions in the wake of CME. Both observations and model calculations show that the reconnection-induced electric field can reach a maximum strength of a few V/cm within tens of minutes after the onset of the eruption, then decreases gradually over several hours. SEPs produced in these regions may account for X-rays and \gamma-rays observed prior to the formation of CME shocks. Ultraviolet spectroscopy has been shown to provide constraints on the plasma properties in all of the above CME features.
This work is supported by NASA under grant NAG5-12865 to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, by Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, and by the Swiss contribution to ESA's PRODEX program.
If you would like more information about this abstract, please follow the link to http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/uvcs/SEP/uvcs_sep.html. This link was provided by the author. When you follow it, you will leave the Web site for this meeting; to return, you should use the Back comand on your browser.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: jlin@cfa.harvard.edu
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 #2
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