The composition of heavy ions in solar energetic particle events

The composition within individual SEP events may vary both with time and energy, and will in general be different from that in other SEP events. Average values of relative abundances measured in a large number of SEP events, however, are found to be roughly energy independent in the proportional1 to proportional20 MeV per nucleon range, and show a systematic deviation from photospheric abundances which seems to be organized in terms of the first ionization potential of the ion. Direct measurements of the charge states of SEPs have revealed the surprisingly common presence of energetic He+ along with heavy ions with typically coronal ionization states. High-resolution measurements of isotopic abundance ratios in a small number of SEP events show these to be consistent with the universal composition except for the puzzling overabundance of the SEP 22Ne/20Ne relative to this isotopes ratio in the solar wind. The broad spectrum of observed elemental abundance variations, which in their extreme result in composition anomalies characteristic of 3He-rich, heavy-ion rich and carbon-poor SEP events, along with direct measurements of the ionization states of SEPs provide essential information on the physical characteristics of, and conditions in the source regions, as well as important constraints to possible models for SEP production. (orig./HM)