Diagnostics of electron bombardment in solar flares from hydrogen Balmer lines

Astronomical Institute, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Fričova 298, Ondřejov, 25165, The Czech Republic

Corresponding author: J. Kašparová, kasparov@asu.cas.cz

Received: 23 July 2001
Accepted: 8 November 2001

Abstract

Influence of non-thermal collisional rates, related to an electron beam, on hydrogen Balmer line profiles is investigated. Semi-empirical temperature structure of the flare model F1 has been used for computing non-LTE profiles of Hα, Hβ, and Hγ. Contribution functions and their change due to different values of beam parameters are shown. Unlike the line core intensity, the intensity of line wings considerably depends on beam parameters and it is significantly enhanced for typical values of the beam energy flux. The ratio of line intensities at a selected wavelength is proposed to be used for diagnostics of electron beams during solar flares, particularly at impulsive phases. Obtained Hα line profiles are compared to those of Fang et al. ([CITE]).