Particle acceleration in solar flares: observations versus numerical simulations

Solar flares are generally agreed to be impulsive releases of magnetic energy. Reconnection in dilute plasma is the suggested trigger for the coronal phenomenon. It releases up to 1026 J, accelerates up to 1038 electrons and ions and must involve a volume that greatly exceeds the current sheet dimension. The Ramaty High-Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager satellite can image a source in the corona that appears to contain the acceleration region and can separate it from other x-ray emissions. The new observations constrain the acceleration process by a quantitative relation between spectral index and flux. We present recent observational results and compare them with theoretical modelling by a stochastic process assuming transit-time damping of fast-mode waves, escape and replenishment. The observations can only be fitted if additional assumptions on trapping by an electric potential and possibly other processes such as isotropization and magnetic trapping are made. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)