Summary
We report the detection of emission from a nonthermal electron distribution in a small solar microflare (GOES class A5.7) observed by the <i>Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array</i>, with supporting observation by the <i>Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager</i> (<i>RHESSI</i>). The flaring plasma is well accounted for by a thick-target model of accelerated electrons collisionally thermalizing within the loop, akin to the "coronal thick-target" behavior occasionally observed in larger flares. This is the first positive detection of nonthermal hard X-rays from the Sun using a direct imager (as opposed to indirectly imaging instruments). The accelerated electron distribution has a spectral index of 6.3 ± 0.7, extends down to at least 6.5 keV, and deposits energy at a rate of
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