Anticipated Results from the FOXSI SMEX Mission

While there have been significant advances in our understanding of impulsive energy release at the Sun since the advent of RHESSI observations, there is a clear need for new X-ray observations that can capture the full range of emission in flares (e.g., faint coronal sources near bright chromospheric sources), follow the intricate evolution of energy release and changes in morphology, and search for the signatures of impulsive energy release in even the quiescent Sun. The FOXSI Small Explorer (SMEX) mission, currently undergoing a Phase A concept study, combines state-of-the-art grazing-incidence focusing optics with pixelated solid-state detectors to provide direct imaging of hard X-rays for the first time on a solar observatory. FOXSI's X-ray observations will provide quantitative information on (1) the non-thermal populations of accelerated electrons and (2) the thermal plasma distributions at the high temperatures inaccessible through other wavelengths. FOXSI's major science questions include: Where are electrons accelerated and on what time scales? Where do escaping flare-accelerated electrons originate? What is the energy input of accelerated electrons into the chromosphere and corona? How much do flare-like processes heat the corona above active regions? Here we present examples with simulated observations to show how FOXSI's capabilities will address and resolve these and other questions.