Lyman-alpha emission from nonthermal proton beams

Nonthermal fast protons penetrating an atmosphere containing neutral hydrogen will produce some nonthermal fast neutrals which will radiate Doppler-shifted photons. The hydrogen line profiles observed from such an atmosphere will thus have nonthermal, partially polarized wings that contain information on the flux, energy spectrum, and direction of the incident proton beam. This paper develops the theory of this effect and applies it to proton beams from impulsive solar flares impacting on the sun's atmosphere. Calculations of the L-alpha profile from the region of impact have been made for the Vernazza-Avrett-Loeser solar atmosphere assuming proton energy fluxes and power-law spectra similar to those inferred for the electron beams believed responsible for hard X-ray bursts. The resulting profiles show that the effect should be detectable and that it could serve as a diagnostic for flare protons near their place of origin on the sun.