Diagnosing Coronal Heating Processes with Spectrally Resolved Soft X-ray Measurements

TL;DR

This paper discusses the potential of spectrally resolved soft X-ray measurements to diagnose coronal heating processes in the Sun, emphasizing the role of low-cost, high-TRL instruments on small spacecraft.

Contribution

It introduces novel spectrometers and imagers suitable for small missions, advancing solar plasma diagnostics and understanding of energy release mechanisms.

Findings

Spectrally resolved SXR measurements can diagnose coronal heating.

Miniaturized instruments are feasible and effective for solar observations.

These instruments can significantly improve understanding of solar flare energy release.

Abstract

Decades of astrophysical observations have convincingly shown that soft X-ray (SXR; ~0.1--10 keV) emission provides unique diagnostics for the high temperature plasmas observed in solar flares and active regions. SXR observations critical for constraining models of energy release in these phenomena can be provided using instruments that have already been flown on sounding rockets and CubeSats, including miniaturized high-resolution photon-counting spectrometers and a novel diffractive spectral imager. These instruments have relatively low cost and high TRL, and would complement a wide range of mission concepts. In this white paper, we detail the scientific background and open questions motivating these instruments, the measurements required, and the instruments themselves that will make groundbreaking progress in answering these questions.