CORONAS-F observation of gamma-ray emission from the solar flare on 2003 October 29

Abstract

Appreciable hard X-ray (HXR) and gamma-ray emissions in the 0.04–150MeV energy range associated with the 2003 October 29 solar flare (X10/3B) were observed at 20:38–20:58 UT by the SONG instrument onboard the CORONAS-F mission. To restore flare gamma-ray spectra we fitted the SONG energy loss spectra with a three-component model of the incident spectrum: (1) a power law in energy, assumed to be due to electron bremsstrahlung; (2) a broad continuum produced by prompt nuclear de-excitation gamma-lines; and (3) a broad gamma-line generated from pion-decay. We also restored spectra from the RHESSI data, compared them with the SONG spectra and found a reasonable agreement between these spectra in the 0.1–10MeV energy range. The pion-decay emission was observed from 20:44:20 UT and had its maximum at 20:48–20:51 UT. The power-law spectral index of accelerated protons estimated from the ratio between intensities of different components of gamma rays changed with time. The hardest spectrum with a power-law index S =−3.5–3.6 was observed at 20:48–20:51 UT. Time histories of the pion-decay emission and proton spectrum were compared with changes of the locations of flare energy release as shown by RHESSI hard X-ray images and remote and remote Hα brightenings. An apparent temporal correlation between processes of particle acceleration and restructuring of flare magnetic field was found. In particular, the protons were accelerated to subrelativistic energies after radical change of the character of footpoint motion from a converging motion to a separation motion.