Hard X-ray Focusing Optics for Solar Physics
Abstract
Magnetic reconnecion is widely believed to play an essentrial role in energy release in solar flares and associated coronal mass ejections.Theory predicts particle acceleration and plasma heating. Hard X-rays are used as an important diagnostic for these processes. The indirect imaging hard X-ray telescopes, such as RHESSI and Yohkoh/HXT, have been very successful in characterizing the properties of areas of intense signals. In order to advance the knowledge about the role of magnetic reconnection in flares and CMEs, however, we need to measure high-energy radiation from areas where it is not intense. This is not an obvious task for indirect imaging telescopes, for which the dynamic range depends on the source complexity and extension. Over-exposure (or long integration) does not essentially contribute to enhancing the dynamic range limited by the inevitably missing Fourier components. Therefore we have begun to explore ways to construct a direct imaging hard X-ray telescope. We describe our design in terms of three major requirements: (1) arc second spatial resolution, (2) full-disk coverage, (3) short focal length and light weight to fit in a SMEX class payload.
- Publication:
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AAS/Solar Physics Division Meeting #34
- Pub Date:
- May 2003
- Bibcode:
- 2003SPD....34.2004U