First Gamma-Ray Images of a Solar Flare

Imaging of gamma-ray lines, produced by nuclear collisions of energetic ions with the solar atmosphere, provides the only direct indication of the spatial properties of accelerated ions near the Sun. We present the first gamma-ray images of a solar flare, obtained with the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) for the X4.8 flare of 2002 July 23. Two rotating modulation collimators (with 35'' and 183'' resolution) were used to obtain images for the same time interval in four energy bands: the narrow deuterium line at 2.223 MeV formed by the thermalization and capture of neutrons produced in the collisions; the 3.25-6.5 MeV band that includes the prompt de-excitation lines of C and O; and the 0.3-0.5 and 0.7-1.4 MeV bands that are dominated by electron bremsstrahlung. The centroid of the 2.223 MeV image was found to be displaced by 20'' ± 6'' from that of the 0.3-0.5 MeV image, implying a difference in acceleration and/or propagation between the accelerated electron and ion populations near the Sun.