The shock‐reprocessing model of electron acceleration in impulsive solar flares

ABSTRACT We propose a new two‐stage model for acceleration of electrons in solar flares. In the first stage, electrons are accelerated stochastically in a post‐reconnection turbulent downflow. The second stage is the reprocessing of a subset of these electrons as they pass through a weakly compressive fast shock above the apex of the closed flare loop on their way to the chromosphere. We call this the ‘shock‐reprocessing’ model. The model reproduces the sign and magnitude of the energy‐dependent arrival time delays for both the pulsed and smooth component of impulsive solar flare X‐rays, but requires either enhanced cooling or the presence of a loop‐top trap to explain the concavity of the observed time delay energy relation for the smooth component. The model also predicts an emission site above the loop‐top, as seen in the Masuda flare. The loop‐top source distinguishes the shock‐reprocessing model from previous models. The model makes testable predictions for the energy dependence of footpoint pulse strengths and the location and spectrum of the loop‐top emission, and can account for the observed soft‐hard‐soft trend in the spectral evolution of footpoint emission. The model also highlights the concept that magnetic reconnection provides an environment which permits multiple acceleration processes. Which combination of processes operates within a particular flare may depend on the initial conditions that determine, for example, whether the reconnection downflow is turbulent or laminar. The shock‐reprocessing model comprises one such combination.