K alpha line emission during solar X-ray bursts

Calculations of K alpha line emission from S, Ar, Ca and Fe are presented. It is reported that on the basis of data for hard X-ray bursts, the flux during most impulsive, non-thermal events is likely to be weak, though for a few strong bursts, a flux of approximately 100 photons/cm/s may be expected. The amount of S K alpha emission particularly is sensitively dependent on the value of the lower energy bound of the non-thermal electron distribution, offering a possible means of determining this. Thermal K alpha emission is only significant for Fe ions. The calculated thermal K alpha radiation is much less than that observed during an intense soft X-ray burst. It is concluded that a detailed temperature structure for the emission source is required in order to explain the discrepancy.