Charge states of Mg and Si from stochastic acceleration in impulsive solar flares Original Research Article

We consider the acceleration of heavy ions in impulsive solar flares. In particular, we have performed Monte Carlo simulations of stochastic acceleration by Alfvén wave turbulence, and compare new results for magnesium and silicon ions with previous results for iron. The model takes into account stripping due to collisions with ambient electrons and heavy particles (protons and He+2) which becomes increasingly important for more energetic ions, as well as radiative and dielectronic recombination due to collisions with electrons. Spatial diffusion and Coulomb losses are also taken into account. For comparison, we also calculate equilibrium mean charges. We examine the effects of plasma parameters on the calculated energy-dependent charge state distributions of these elements, which can be compared with results from space-borne instruments in order to put constraints on the physical environment of the acceleration region.