Heavy Ion and Electron Release Times in Solar Particle Events

Using data from the SIS and EPAM instruments on ACE we have measured the onset times of 6 - 88 MeV/nuc ions and 38 - 315 keV electrons in 11 solar energetic particle (SEP) events from 1997 through 2002. We find that heavy ions are generally released later than electrons, by as much as ∼50 minutes. There is an apparent correlation between the release times (and the inferred release distances) and the 3He/4He ratio.