Finding Correlations in Helium-3 and Electron Release During Impulsive Solar Energetic Particle Events

Abstract

There are two major kinds of events that occur on the Sun, solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Both are caused by build ups of magnetic energy in the Sun's atmosphere, but while solar flares are a release of that energy in the form of a flash of light, CMEs occur when the magnetic buildup launches solar material into space. These accelerated particles, known as solar energetic particles (SEPs) have two general types, gradual and impulsive. Gradual SEPs are shown to be directly connected with CMEs, while Impulsive SEPs, known for high levels of enriched 3He, do not have a clear origin. Using the data from the ACE ULEIS spectrometer and the Wind 3DP spacecraft, we are looking for correlation in the quantities of electrons and the isotope 3He in specific solar events across varying energy levels. From this, we hope to understand how these heavy ions are significantly accelerated enough to escape the solar atmosphere, and if there is any relation to the processes responsible for accelerating electrons in CMEs.