Effect of asymmetry on a trap model for solar hard X-ray bursts

The model proposed by Melrose and White (1979) for the precipitation of trapped energetic particles in an asymmetric flux tube is examined. It is shown that scattering due to Coulomb interactions should be weak for the electrons which emit hard X-rays in a trap model for solar hard X-ray bursts. The X-ray emission would then consist of thin target emission from the trap and thick target emission from the weaker foot of the flux tube, with no emission from the other (stronger-field) foot. The lifetime of the hard X-ray burst provides a measure of the scattering time and electron density in the trap.