A Modeling Investigation for Solar Flare X-Ray Stereoscopy with Solar Orbiter/STIX and Earth-orbiting Missions
The Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) on board Solar Orbiter (SolO) provides a unique opportunity to systematically perform stereoscopic X-ray observations of solar flares with current and upcoming X-ray missions at Earth. These observations will produce the first reliable measurement...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2024-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad236f |
| _version_ | 1797242595165863936 |
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| author | Natasha L. S. Jeffrey Säm Krucker Morgan Stores Eduard P. Kontar Pascal Saint-Hilaire Andrea F. Battaglia Laura Hayes Hannah Collier Astrid Veronig Yang Su Srikar Paavan Tadepalli Fanxiaoyu Xia |
| author_facet | Natasha L. S. Jeffrey Säm Krucker Morgan Stores Eduard P. Kontar Pascal Saint-Hilaire Andrea F. Battaglia Laura Hayes Hannah Collier Astrid Veronig Yang Su Srikar Paavan Tadepalli Fanxiaoyu Xia |
| author_sort | Natasha L. S. Jeffrey |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) on board Solar Orbiter (SolO) provides a unique opportunity to systematically perform stereoscopic X-ray observations of solar flares with current and upcoming X-ray missions at Earth. These observations will produce the first reliable measurements of hard X-ray (HXR) directivity in decades, providing a new diagnostic of the flare-accelerated electron angular distribution and helping to constrain the processes that accelerate electrons in flares. However, such observations must be compared to modeling, taking into account electron and X-ray transport effects and realistic plasma conditions, all of which can change the properties of the measured HXR directivity. Here, we show how HXR directivity, defined as the ratio of X-ray spectra at different spacecraft viewing angles, varies with different electron and flare properties (e.g., electron angular distribution, highest-energy electrons, and magnetic configuration), and how modeling can be used to extract these typically unknown properties from the data. Finally, we present a preliminary HXR directivity analysis of two flares, observed by the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor and SolO/STIX, demonstrating the feasibility and challenges associated with such observations, and how HXR directivity can be extracted by comparison with the modeling presented here. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:41:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1c1ad2a794714d5585511dc927dff187 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:41:43Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-1c1ad2a794714d5585511dc927dff1872024-03-27T10:18:19ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572024-01-01964214510.3847/1538-4357/ad236fA Modeling Investigation for Solar Flare X-Ray Stereoscopy with Solar Orbiter/STIX and Earth-orbiting MissionsNatasha L. S. Jeffrey0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6583-1989Säm Krucker1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2002-9180Morgan Stores2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6060-8048Eduard P. Kontar3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8078-0902Pascal Saint-Hilaire4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8283-4556Andrea F. Battaglia5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4490-7344Laura Hayes6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6835-2390Hannah Collier7https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5592-8023Astrid Veronig8https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2073-002XYang Su9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4241-9921Srikar Paavan Tadepalli10Fanxiaoyu Xia11https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2630-4753Department of Mathematics, Physics & Electrical Engineering, Northumbria University , Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, UKInstitute for Data Science, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) , Bahnhofstrasse 6, 5210 Windisch, Switzerland; Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California , 7 Gauss Way, 94720 Berkeley, USADepartment of Mathematics, Physics & Electrical Engineering, Northumbria University , Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, UKSchool of Physics & Astronomy, University of Glasgow , Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UKSpace Sciences Laboratory, University of California , 7 Gauss Way, 94720 Berkeley, USAInstitute for Data Science, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) , Bahnhofstrasse 6, 5210 Windisch, Switzerland; ETH Zürich , Rämistrasse 101, 8092 Zürich, SwitzerlandEuropean Space Agency (ESA), European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) , Keplerlaan 1, NL-2201 AZ Noordwijk, The NetherlandsInstitute for Data Science, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) , Bahnhofstrasse 6, 5210 Windisch, Switzerland; ETH Zürich , Rämistrasse 101, 8092 Zürich, SwitzerlandUniversity of Graz , Institute of Physics & Kanzelhöhe Observatory for Solar and Environmental Research, Kanzelhöhe 19, 9521 Treffen, AustriaPurple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Nanjing, People's Republic of ChinaISRO UR Rao Satellite Center , Vimanapura, Bangalore, Karnataka—560017, IndiaPurple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Nanjing, People's Republic of ChinaThe Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) on board Solar Orbiter (SolO) provides a unique opportunity to systematically perform stereoscopic X-ray observations of solar flares with current and upcoming X-ray missions at Earth. These observations will produce the first reliable measurements of hard X-ray (HXR) directivity in decades, providing a new diagnostic of the flare-accelerated electron angular distribution and helping to constrain the processes that accelerate electrons in flares. However, such observations must be compared to modeling, taking into account electron and X-ray transport effects and realistic plasma conditions, all of which can change the properties of the measured HXR directivity. Here, we show how HXR directivity, defined as the ratio of X-ray spectra at different spacecraft viewing angles, varies with different electron and flare properties (e.g., electron angular distribution, highest-energy electrons, and magnetic configuration), and how modeling can be used to extract these typically unknown properties from the data. Finally, we present a preliminary HXR directivity analysis of two flares, observed by the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor and SolO/STIX, demonstrating the feasibility and challenges associated with such observations, and how HXR directivity can be extracted by comparison with the modeling presented here.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad236fThe SunSolar flaresSolar x-ray flaresSolar energetic particlesSolar atmosphereActive solar corona |
| spellingShingle | Natasha L. S. Jeffrey Säm Krucker Morgan Stores Eduard P. Kontar Pascal Saint-Hilaire Andrea F. Battaglia Laura Hayes Hannah Collier Astrid Veronig Yang Su Srikar Paavan Tadepalli Fanxiaoyu Xia A Modeling Investigation for Solar Flare X-Ray Stereoscopy with Solar Orbiter/STIX and Earth-orbiting Missions The Astrophysical Journal The Sun Solar flares Solar x-ray flares Solar energetic particles Solar atmosphere Active solar corona |
| title | A Modeling Investigation for Solar Flare X-Ray Stereoscopy with Solar Orbiter/STIX and Earth-orbiting Missions |
| title_full | A Modeling Investigation for Solar Flare X-Ray Stereoscopy with Solar Orbiter/STIX and Earth-orbiting Missions |
| title_fullStr | A Modeling Investigation for Solar Flare X-Ray Stereoscopy with Solar Orbiter/STIX and Earth-orbiting Missions |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Modeling Investigation for Solar Flare X-Ray Stereoscopy with Solar Orbiter/STIX and Earth-orbiting Missions |
| title_short | A Modeling Investigation for Solar Flare X-Ray Stereoscopy with Solar Orbiter/STIX and Earth-orbiting Missions |
| title_sort | modeling investigation for solar flare x ray stereoscopy with solar orbiter stix and earth orbiting missions |
| topic | The Sun Solar flares Solar x-ray flares Solar energetic particles Solar atmosphere Active solar corona |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad236f |
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