Energy Release and Particle Acceleration in Solar Flares

T.G. Forbes

The magnetic energy associated with currents flowing in the corona is the
only feasible source of energy for the acceleration of particles in solar
flares.  To understand particle acceleration fully one needs to understand
both the mechanism of the magnetic energy release, as well as the
processes which transfer this energy to the particles.  Models of the
energy release mechanism based on an ideal-MHD loss of equilibrium or
stability can readily account for the rapid time scale of the energy
release observed in explosive events, but such models cannot alone account
for the acceleration of the energetic particles.  Non-ideal processes,
such as magnetic reconnection and shock formation, must be invoked to
account for these aspects.  Radiation produced by energetic particles
provides unique information about the location and growth of these
non-ideal processes.  Since these processes vary considerably from one
model to another, observations of this radiation can, at least in
principle, be used to discriminate between the various models.