Electron Power-Law Spectra in Solar and Space Plasmas

Particles are accelerated to very high, non-thermal energies in solar and space plasma environments. While energy spectra of accelerated electrons often exhibit a power law, it remains unclear how electrons are accelerated to high energies and what processes determine the power-law index $\delta $ . Here, we review previous observations of the power-law index $\delta $ in a variety of different plasma environments with a particular focus on sub-relativistic electrons. It appears that in regions more closely related to magnetic reconnection (such as the ‘above-the-looptop’ solar hard X-ray source and the plasma sheet in Earth’s magnetotail), the spectra are typically soft ( $\delta \gtrsim 4$ ). This is in contrast to the typically hard spectra ( $\delta \lesssim 4$ ) that are observed in coincidence with shocks. The difference implies that shocks are more efficient in producing a larger non-thermal fraction of electron energies when compared to magnetic reconnection. A caveat is that during active times in Earth’s magnetotail, $\delta $ values seem spatially uniform in the plasma sheet, while power-law distributions still exist even in quiet times. The role of magnetotail reconnection in the electron power-law formation could therefore be confounded with these background conditions. Because different regions have been studied with different instrumentations and methodologies, we point out a need for more systematic and coordinated studies of power-law distributions for a better understanding of possible scaling laws in particle acceleration as well as their universality.