George Simnett
University of Birmingham
Observational Insights Into Solar Particle Acceleration To Relativistic Energies And The Relevance To Flare Energetics
Studies of relativistic solar electrons reveal three distinct types of acceleration mechanism. It is likely that these mechanisms also accelerate protons. We present justification for these ideas, which are supported by the observation of a short burst of relativistic protons from the 20 January 2005 ground level event. One conclusion is that the highest energy protons are accelerated at or near the flare site, and a new concept for solar flares consistent with all the above ideas is presented