Evidence for a spatially extended component of gamma rays from solar flares

We present gamma-ray measurements of a large solar flare that occurred beyond the western solar limb on September 29, 1989. The gamma-ray spectrum shows a neutron capture line which is much stronger than predicted by limb-darkening curves that fit the measurements for flares on the visible hemisphere. We show that this strong neutron capture line can be explained if, in addition to the compact impulsive phase component that normally dominates the total fluence, there is a spatially extended component. For the September 29, 1989 flare we find that such a spatially extended region must subtend more than about 30 deg on the solar surface. We suggest that the extended component could be powered by particles that diffuse from a compact impulsive region or by particles that diffuse into the lower solar atmosphere from a large-scale acceleration site.