Constraining Electron Acceleration at a Standing Shock with HXR and Radio Observations

Abstract

The acceleration of electrons to non-thermal energies in solar flares is one of the main unsolved questions in solar physics. One possibility for the production of these energetic electrons is acceleration at the reconnection outflow termination shock (TS). We use radio observations to constrain the characteristics of the TS, and hard X-ray and γ-ray observations provided by RHESSI and INTEGRAL to obtain the characteristics of the injected differential electron flux. Invoking relativistic shock-drift acceleration at the TS, we calculate differential electron fluxes, which are then compared with the observations. This approach allows us to answer the question if, and under which conditions, the TS is a viable electron accelerator.