We use radiation hydrodynamic simulations to examine two models of solar flare chromospheric heating: Alfvén wave dissipation and electron beam collisional losses. Both mechanisms are capable of strong chromospheric heating, and we show that the distinctive atmospheric evolution in the mid-to-upper chromosphere results in Mg ii k-line emission that should be observably different between wave-heated and beam-heated simulations. We also present Ca ii 8542 Å profiles that are formed slightly deeper in the chromosphere. The Mg ii k-line profiles from our wave-heated simulation are quite different from those from a beam-heated model and are more consistent with Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph observations. The predicted differences between the Ca ii 8542 Å in the two models are small. We conclude that careful observational and theoretical study of lines formed in the mid-to-upper chromosphere holds genuine promise for distinguishing between competing models for chromospheric heating in flares.

Current state-of-the-art spectrographs cannot resolve the fundamental spatial (subarcseconds) and temporal (less than a few tens of seconds) scales of the coronal dynamics of solar flares and eruptive phenomena. The highest-resolution coronal data to date are based on imaging, which is blind to many of the processes that drive coronal energetics and dynamics. As shown by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph for the low solar atmosphere, we need high-resolution spectroscopic measurements with simultaneous imaging to understand the dominant processes. In this paper: (1) we introduce the Multi-slit Solar Explorer (MUSE), a spaceborne observatory to fill this observational gap by providing high-cadence (<20 s), subarcsecond-resolution spectroscopic rasters over an active region size of the solar transition region and corona; (2) using advanced numerical models, we demonstrate the unique diagnostic capabilities of MUSE for exploring solar coronal dynamics and for constraining and discriminating models of solar flares and eruptions; (3) we discuss the key contributions MUSE would make in addressing the science objectives of the Next Generation Solar Physics Mission (NGSPM), and how MUSE, the high-throughput Extreme Ultraviolet Solar Telescope, and the Daniel K Inouye Solar Telescope (and other ground-based observatories) can operate as a distributed implementation of the NGSPM. This is a companion paper to De Pontieu et al., which focuses on investigating coronal heating with MUSE.

The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph routinely observes the Si iv resonance lines. When analyzing quiescent observations of these lines, it has typically been assumed that they form under optically thin conditions. This is likely valid for the quiescent Sun, but this assumption has also been applied to the more extreme flaring scenario. We used 36 electron-beam-driven radiation hydrodynamic solar flare simulations, computed using the RADYN code, to probe the validity of this assumption. Using these simulated atmospheres, we solved the radiation transfer equations to obtain the non-LTE, nonequilibrium populations, line profiles, and opacities for a model silicon atom, including charge exchange processes. This was achieved using the “minority species” version of RADYN. The inclusion of charge exchange resulted in a substantial fraction of Si iv at cooler temperatures than those predicted by ionization equilibrium. All simulations with an injected energy flux erg cm⁻² s⁻¹ resulted in optical depth effects on the Si iv emission, with differences in both intensity and line shape compared to the optically thin calculation. Weaker flares (down to F ≈ 5 × 10⁹ erg cm⁻² s⁻¹) also resulted in Si iv emission forming under optically thick conditions, depending on the other beam parameters. When opacity was significant, the atmospheres generally had column masses in excess of 5 × 10⁻⁶ g cm⁻² over the temperature range 40–100 kK, and the Si iv formation temperatures were between 30 and 60 kK. We urge caution when analyzing Si iv flare observations, or when computing synthetic emission without performing a full radiation transfer calculation.