HR: 11:45h
AN: SH21C-06    [PDF]
TI: Implications of RHESSI Flare Observations for Magnetic Reconnection Models
AU: * Holman, G D
EM: holman@stars.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 682, Greenbelt, MD 20771 United States
AU: Sui, L
EM: lhsui@stars.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 682, Greenbelt, MD 20771 United States
AU: Sui, L
EM: lhsui@stars.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: The Catholic University of America, Department of Physics 620 Michigan Avenue, Washington, DC 20064 United States
AU: Dennis, B R
EM: brian.r.dennis@nasa.gov
AF: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 682, Greenbelt, MD 20771 United States
AB: The Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) observations of the 2002 April 15 solar flare and related flares provide compelling evidence for the formation of a large-scale, reconnecting current sheet in at least some flares. We describe the observed evolution of the April 15 flare in terms of magnetic reconnection models. We argue that the flare most likely evolved through magnetic geometries associated with super-slow reconnection (early rise phase), fast reconnection (impulsive phase), and slow reconnection (gradual phase). We also provide evidence for X-ray brightenings within the evolving current sheet, possibly induced by the tearing mode instability. This work was supported in part by the RHESSI Program and NASA's Sun-Earth Connection Program. This work would not have been possible without the dedicated efforts of the entire RHESSI team.
DE: 7519 Flares
DE: 7524 Magnetic fields
DE: 7554 X rays, gamma rays, and neutrinos
DE: 7835 Magnetic reconnection
SC: SPA - Solar and Heliospheric Physics [SH]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting