Energy Spectra vs. Element Abundances in Solar Energetic Particles and the Roles of Magnetic Reconnection and Shock Acceleration

TL;DR

This study investigates how energy spectra and element abundances in solar energetic particles relate, revealing that shock-driven acceleration in large events causes correlated spectral and abundance behaviors, while magnetic reconnection events show decoupled spectra and abundances.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the roles of magnetic reconnection and shock acceleration in shaping SEP energy spectra and element abundances across different event types.

Findings

Correlated spectral and abundance behavior in large SEP events driven by CME shocks.

Reacceleration of impulsive SEPs by CME shocks causes significant abundance changes.

Spectra and abundances are decoupled in magnetic reconnection-dominated SEP events.

Abstract

We reexamine the relationship between energy spectral indices and element abundance enhancements in solar energetic particle (SEP) events at energies of a few MeV/amu. We find a correlated behavior only in the largest gradual SEP4 events when all ions are accelerated from the ambient coronal plasma by shock waves driven by fast, wide coronal mass ejections (CMEs). This correlated abundance behavior can track complex time variations in the spectral indices during an event. In other (SEP3) events, CME-driven shock waves, days apart, sample seed particles from a single pool of suprathermal impulsive ions contributed earlier. Of the smaller, Fe-rich, impulsive SEP events, previously related to magnetic reconnection in solar jets, over half are subsequently reaccelerated by CME-driven shock waves (SEP2) causing typical ion intensities to have a 64% correlation with shock speed. In these SEP2 events, onset of shock acceleration is signaled by a new component in the abundances, large proton excesses. The remaining SEP1 events lack evidence of shock acceleration. However, for all these events (SEP1 - SEP3) with abundances determined by magnetic reconnection, spectra and abundances are decoupled.