Hard X-ray emission from a flare-related jet

Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK e-mail: hmbain@astro.gla.ac.uk

Received: January 1900
Accepted: 24 September 2009

Abstract

Aims. We aim to understand the physical conditions in a jet event which occurred on the 22nd of August 2002, paying particular attention to evidence for non-thermal electrons in the jet material.

Methods. We investigate the flare impulsive phase using multiwavelength observations from the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) and the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) satellite missions, and the ground-based Nobeyama Radioheliograph (NoRH) and Radio Polarimeters (NoRP).

Results. We report what we believe to be the first observation of hard X-ray emission formed in a coronal jet. We present radio observations which confirm the presence of non-thermal electrons present in the jet at this time. The evolution of the event is best compared with the magnetic reconnection jet model in which emerging magnetic field interacts with the pre-existing coronal field. We calculate an apparent jet velocity of ~500 km s^-1 which is consistent with model predictions for jet material accelerated by the force resulting in a jet velocity of the order of the Alfvén speed (~100–1000 km s^-1).