3He-rich flares: A possible explanation

A plasma mechanism is proposed to explain the dramatic enhancements in 3He observed in 3He-rich flares. It is shown that a common current instability in the corona may heat ambient 3He+2 over any other ion, and thus may preferentially inject 3He into the flare acceleration process. This mechanism operates when the abundance of 4He and heavier elements is larger than normal in the coronal plasma. It may also preferentially heat and thus inject certain ions of iron. The mechanism thus provides a possible explanation for the observed correlation between 3He and heavy enhancements in 3He-rich flares