The November 22, 1977 solar flare: Evidence for 2.23 and 4.43 MeV line emission from the signe 2MP experiment

The November 22, 1977 solar flare was observed at energies up to 4.9 MeV by French-built gamma ray detectors aboard the Soviet Prognoz-6 satellite. The data show evidence for 2.23 and 4.43 MeV line emission, with the 2.23 MeV emission occurring about 3 min after the flare onset in hard X-rays. The line intensities, 0.11 cm⁻²s⁻¹ and ∼0.06 cm⁻²s⁻¹ for the 2.23 and 4.43 lines, respectively, are roughly comparable to intensities observed in other events. Particle detectors aboard the Prognoz-6 satellite, however, recorded a proton flux much lower than that observed for the 4 August 1972 event. It is shown that this may be taken as evidence for a thick target interpretation of the proton interactions in the solar atmosphere.