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Long‐duration neutron production by nonflaring transients in the solar corona
Author(s) -
Feldman William C.,
Lawrence David J.,
Vestrand W. Thomas,
Baker Daniel N.,
Peplowski Patrick N.,
Rodgers Douglas J.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: space physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9402
pISSN - 2169-9380
DOI - 10.1002/2015ja021042
Subject(s) - neutron , physics , spacecraft , spectrometer , astrophysics , nuclear physics , astronomy , optics
The purpose of this work is to study neutron enhancements observed using the Neutron Spectrometer aboard MESSENGER in order to identify events that may have been generated at/or near the Sun by solar transients. To securely establish an origin of the observed neutrons that is nonlocal to the MESSENGER spacecraft, a measurement of the energetic ion environment local to MESSENGER is needed. For this purpose, we use energetic ion spectrometers on several spacecraft at 1 AU when they were magnetically connected to MESSENGER during an event. We report strong evidence that for six neutron events studied in detail, the detected neutrons do not likely have a local spacecraft origin. By implication, most of the detected neutrons for these six events may have originated near the Sun, generated by many moderate‐level solar eruptive events that produce an extended solar exosphere of moderate‐energy neutrons, protons, and electrons.