Energy dependence of the ionic charge state distribution during the November 1997 solar energetic particle event

Geophys. Res. Lett. 26, 145, 1999

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Ionic charge state distributions for a variety of species, such as C, O, Ne, Mg, Si and Fe were obtained with the Solar Energetic Particle Ionic Charge Analyzer (SEPICA) on ACE for the strongest of a series of energetic particle events avter the November 4 and 7, 1997, flares. The capabilities of SEPICA allow a much more detailed analysis of the charge distributions than previous instrumentation. Over the energy range from ~0.2 to 1 MeV/Nuc a trend is observed that shows charge states increasing with energy, in particular for Mg, Si and Fe. In addition, for Fe a mixed charge state distribution with a distinct peak at lower charge states (10–14) is observed simultaneously with a tail reaching to charge states up to ~20. This may be an indication of a mixture of different energetic particle populations.

See this paper and other papers from the ACE special section online at the Space Physics and Aeronomy in Geophysical Research Letters site.

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