A complex solar radio burst and the characteristics of its related microwave sources and EUV coronal loops

On 2001 Oct. 19, a very complex solar radio burst with a host of interesting features was observed with a broadband (0.7–7.6 GHz) solar radio spectrometer. Combining with the data of NoRH (Nobeyama Radio Heliograph) and TRACE (Transition Region and Corona Explorer), the spectral features of the radio burst, the evolution of the microwave radio sources, and relations with the complex EUV coronal loops are analyzed. The burst is the radio manifestation of a large double-ribbon flare; it consisted of two stages. The earlier stage was dominated bya broadband burst in the centimeter-meter waveband from gyro-synchrotron emission of sources at the footpoints of the loop. The later stage was dominated by a narrow-band decimeter wave burst in the decimetermeter waveband, from a combination of plasma emission and gyro-resonance emission from sources in the top of the loop.     

一个复杂太阳射电爆发及其微波源和远紫外冕环特征的初步研究

利用太阳射电宽带频谱仪(0．7-7．6GHz)于2001年10月19日观测到的复杂太阳射电大爆发，呈现出许多有趣的特征，结合NoRH(Nobeyama Radio Heliograph)的高空间分辨率射电成像观测及TRACE(Transition Region and Coronal Explorer)在远紫外(EUV)波段的高空间分辨率成像观测资料，分析了该爆发的射电频谱特征和微波射电源的演化以及它们与复杂的EUV日冕环系统的关系，该爆发是一个双带大耀斑的射电表征．前一部分以宽带(从厘米到米波)爆发为主，机制是回旋同步辐射，所对应的是环足源的辐射；后一部分以窄带(分米到米波)分米波爆发为主，机制是等离子体辐射和回旋共振辐射的联合，对应的是环顶源的辐射。     

A mechanism for pulsation in solar microwave bursts

I suggest that the pulsation in solar microwave bursts is a modulation of gyro-synchrotron radiation. Whistler waves at the foot of a coronal loop (radio source) interact with nonthermal electrons with loss-cone distribution at the top. As a consequence, electrons outside the loss-cone diffuse into the loss-cone, pass through the loop foot, sink in the atmosphere, and emit gyro-synchrotron radiation as additional pulses. Electrons remaining outside the loss-cone give the background radiation of the burst.Assuming the configuration of a magnetic dipole lying below the photosphere, I calculated the period of pulsation to be 1 s- 1 min. The ratio of the pulse peak to background intensity is calculated to be 0 – 100%; the calculated pulse width is about 0.3 – 50 s. These values are consistent with the observed values. A brief discussion of the probable interpretation of fast, millisecond structures is also given.     

Thermal cyclotron radiation from hot coronal loops and peculiarities of the polarization structure of solar microwave emission sources: II. Integrated characteristics

We present our calculations of the expected characteristics of the integrated spectrum of thermal cyclotron radiation from a solar active region with a coronal magnetic loop. A hot torus is considered as a three-dimensional loop model. We show that the hot-loop emission can change appreciably the emission characteristics of the active region at centimeter and decimeter wavelengths. At certain loop parameters, the emission frequency spectrum can have a nonmonotonic and complex pattern with several peaks or contain narrow-band cyclotron lines. The polarization structure of the source with a hot loop is also complex and the polarization is repeatedly reversed over the observed frequency range under certain conditions. The revealed spectral-polarization peculiarities are considered from the standpoint of whether some atypical observed properties of the emission sources associated with solar active regions can be explained.     

Combined Radio and Space-Based Solar Observations: From Techniques to New Results – Preface

The phenomena observed at the Sun have a variety of unique radio signatures that can be used to diagnose the processes in the solar atmosphere. The insights provided by radio observations are further enhanced when they are combined with observations from space-based telescopes. This Topical collection demonstrates the power of combination methodology at work and provides new results on i) type I solar radio bursts and thermal emission to study active regions; ii) type II and IV bursts to better understand the structure of coronal mass ejections; and iii) non-thermal gyro-synchrotron and/or type III bursts to improve the characterisation of particle acceleration in solar flares. The ongoing improvements in time, frequency, and spatial resolutions of ground-based telescopes reveal new levels in the complexity of solar phenomena and pose new questions.     

Calculations of Coronal Magnetic Field Parallel and Perpendicular to Line-of-Sight in Microwave Bursts

Based on the approximations of the non-thermal gyro-synchrotron radiation used by G.A. Dulk, and K.A. Marsh, Astrophs. J. 259, 350, 1982, the author analyses calculations of the propagation angle and coronal magnetic field self-consistently with brightness temperature, spectral index, frequency, turnover frequency, and polarization degree in solar microwave bursts. Hence, the coronal magnetic fields parallel and perpendicular to the line-of-sight in the sources of microwave bursts are calculated theoretically, and discussed in an event observed by the Nobeyama Radio Polarimeters (NoRP).     

太阳米波和分米波Ⅱ型、Ⅲ型射电暴及其精细结构观测研究进展

太阳米波和分米波的射电观测是对太阳爆发过程中耀斑和日冕物质抛射现象研究的重要观测手段。米波和分米波的太阳射电暴以相干等离子体辐射为主导,表现出在时域和频域的多样性和复杂性。其中Ⅱ型射电暴是激波在日冕中运动引起电磁波辐射的结果。在Ⅱ型射电暴方面,首先对米波Ⅱ型射电暴的激波起源问题和米波Ⅱ型射电暴与行星际Ⅱ型射电暴的关系问题进行了讨论;其次,结合Lin-Forbes太阳爆发理论模型对Ⅱ型射电暴的开始时间和起始频率进行讨论:最后,对Ⅱ型射电暴信号中包含的两种射电精细结构,Herringbone结构(即鱼骨结构)和与激波相关的Ⅲ型射电暴也分别进行了讨论。Ⅲ型射电暴是高能电子束在日冕中运动产生电磁波辐射的结果。在Ⅲ型射电暴方面,首先介绍了利用Ⅲ型射电暴对日冕磁场位形和等离子体密度进行研究的具体方法;其次,对利用Ⅲ型射电暴测量日冕温度的最新理论进行介绍;最后,对Ⅲ型射电暴和Ⅱ型射电暴的时间关系、Ⅲ型射电暴和粒子加速以及Ⅲ型射电暴信号中包含的射电精细结构(例如斑马纹、纤维爆发及尖峰辐射)等问题进行讨论并介绍有关的最新研究进展。     

White light and radio studies of the coronal transient of 14–15 September 1973

Observations of a coronal transient event were obtained in white light by the Skylab coronagraph and at metric wavelengths by the radioheliograph and spectrograph at Culgoora and the spectrograph-interferometer at Boulder. The continuum radio burst was found to originate above the outward-moving white light loop - a region of compressed material headed by a bow wave. The computed density in the region of radio emission, based on either gyro-synchrotron or harmonic plasma radiation mechanisms, was approximately 10 times the ambient coronal density; this is compatible with the density deduced from the white light observations. The magnetic energy density derived from the radio observations was greater than 10 times the thermal energy density, marginally larger than the kinetic energy density in the fastest moving portion of the transient, and considerably larger in most other regions. The ambient medium, the white light front, the compression region, the loop, and the slower, massive flow of material behind are each examined. It is found that the plasma was magnetically controlled throughout, and that magnetic forces provided the principal mechanism for acceleration of the transient material from the Sun.Also, High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado.Now at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.On leave from Institute of Applied Physics, University of Berne, Switzerland.Also, Division of Radiophysics, CSIRO, Sydney, Australia.     

Analysis of spike emission data at 2545/2645 MHz in the peak year of the 22nd solar cycle

We briefly discuss the observed features including the high flux density, short duration, narrow emission band, fast frequency drift, quasi-periodic oscillation and fast variation of polarized components, of 51 spike emission events observed at 2545/2645 MHz in the solar activity peak year, 1991 January–December, and carry out correlation analysis between these events and optical flares, magnetic field intensity and configuration of flare regions, and sunspot evolution types of active regions. In view of the fact that the observed and statistical characteristics of the spike emissions are very different from those of known types of solar radio burst and known solar radio components, we think that the spike emission in the peak years is probably a new type of radio burst excited by electron cyclotron maser instability under wave-particle resonance, or a new solar radio component.     

日冕磁场和重联的射电信号

总结了近期用射电频谱仪（高时间和高频谱分辨）和野边山射电日像仪（高空间分辨）以及国内外其它空间和地面设备分析日冕磁场和重联的系列工作。主要结论可归纳为：1）在Dulk等人（1982）的近似下自恰计算射电爆发源区磁场的平行和垂直分量，并首次得到该磁场在日面的两雏分布。2）为了考虑非热电子低能截止的影响，必须采用更严格的回旋同步辐射理论来计算。结果表明：低能截止和日冕磁场对计算有明显的影响，而其它参数（包括背景温度、密度、高能截止和辐射方向）的影响均可忽略。因此，对低能截止和日冕磁场必须联立求解。3）射电爆发中的精细结构可能反映了射电爆发源比较靠近粒子加速（磁场重联）的区域，利用高时间和高频率分辨的频谱仪和高空间分辨的日像仪联合分析，可以确定精细结构的源区位置，从而确定粒子加速（磁场重联）的准确时间和地点。     

Electron acceleration in solar-flare magnetic traps: Model properties and their observational confirmations

Using an analytical solution of the kinetic equation, we have investigated the model properties of the coronal and chromospheric hard X-ray sources in the limb flare of July 19, 2012. We calculated the emission spectrum at the flare loop footpoints in the thick-target approximation with a reverse current and showed it to be consistent with the observed one. The spectrum of the coronal source located above the flare loop was calculated in the thin-target approximation. In this case, the slope of the hard X-ray spectrum is reproduced very accurately, but the intensity of the coronal emission is lower than the observed one by several times. Previously, we showed that this contradiction is completely removed if the additional (relative to the primary acceleration in the reconnecting current layer) electron acceleration in the coronal magnetic trap that contracts in the transverse direction and decreases in length during the impulsive flare phase is taken into account. In this paper we study in detail this effect in the context of a more realistic flare scenario, where a whole ensemble of traps existed in the hard X-ray burst time, each of which was at different stages of its evolution: formation, collapse, destruction. Our results point not only to the existence of first-order Fermi acceleration and betatron electron heating in solar flares but also to their high efficiency. Highly accurate observations of a specific flare are used as an example to show that the previously predicted theoretical features of the model find convincing confirmations.     

Microwave and hard X-ray bursts from solar flares

We have applied detailed theories of gyro-synchrotron emission and absorption in a magnetoactive plasma, X-ray production by the bremsstrahlung of non-thermal electrons on ambient hydrogen, and electron relaxation in a partially ionized and magnetized gas to the solar flare burst phenomenon. The hard X-ray and microwave bursts are shown to be consistent with a single source of non-thermal electrons, where both emissions arise from electrons with energies < mc ². Further-more, the experimental X-ray and microwave data allow us to deduce the properties of the electron distribution, and the values of the ambient magnetic field, the hydrogen density, and the size of the emitting region. The proposed model, although derived mostly from observations of the 7 July 1966 flare, is shown to be representative of this type of event.NAS-NRC Resident Research Associate.     

Diagnosis of coronal magnetic field with data of Nobeyama Radio Heliograph

The expression is derived for the coronal magnetic field strength from the observations of brightness, temperature, peak frequency, spectral index, and polarization degree of solar microwave bursts. One example of solar burst on November 28, 1998 is given for the calculation of coronal magnetic field from the data of Nobeyama Radio Heliograph (NoRH). The results are comparable with the SOHO/MDI magnetogram and the calculation from the Nobeyama Radio Polarimeters (NoRP), as well as the coronal loops in SOHO/EIT and YOHKOH/SXT images. Therefore, it may be the first time that the two-dimensional diagnosis of coronal magnetic field in a microwave burst source from the radio observations has been made.     

Superfine Temporal Structure of the Microwave Burst on 21 April 2002: What Can We Learn about the Emission Mechanism?

Zebra pattern is observed as a number of almost parallel bright and dark stripes in the dynamic spectrum of solar radio emission. Recent observations show that zebra patterns in the microwave range often have superfine temporal structure, when the zebra stripes consist of individual short pulses similar to millisecond spikes. In this article, the burst on 21 April 2002 is investigated. The burst with a distinct superfine structure was detected at the Huairou Station (China) in 2.6?–?3.8 GHz frequency range. It is found that the emission pulses are quasi-periodic, the pulse period is about 25?–?40 ms and decreases with an increase of the emission frequency. The degree of circular polarization of zebra pattern increases with an increase of the emission frequency, it varies from moderate (about 20%) to relatively high (>60%) values. The temporal delay between the signals with left- and right-handed polarization is not found. The conclusion is made that the emission is generated by plasma mechanism at the fundamental plasma frequency in a relatively weak magnetic field. The observed polarization of the emission is formed during its propagation due to depolarization effects. A model is proposed in which the superfine temporal structure is formed due to modulation of the emission mechanism by downward propagating MHD oscillations; this model allows us to explain the observed variation of the pulse period with the emission frequency.     

On the Possible Connection between Photospheric 5-Min Oscillation and Solar Flare Microwave Emission

Dynamic spectra of low-frequency modulation of microwave emission from solar flares are obtained. Data of 15 bursts observed in 1989–2000 with Metsähovi radio telescope at 37 GHz have been used. During 13 bursts a 5-min modulation of the microwave emission intensity was detected with the frequency of ν _I = 3.2± 0.24 (1σ) mHz. Five bursts revealed a 5-min wave superimposed on a ～1 Hz, linear frequency modulated signal generated, presumably, by coronal magnetic loop, this wave frequency is ν_fm = 3.38± 0.37 (1σ) mHz. Both intensity and frequency modulations detected are in good agreement with the data on 5-min global oscillations of photosphere and with the data on the umbral velocity oscillations observed in the vicinity of sunspots. Possible role of p-mode photospheric oscillations in modulation of microwave burst emission is discussed.     

Anisotropic Beam Model for the Spectral Observations of Radio Burst Fine Structures on 1998 April 15

A fine structure consisting of three almost equidistant frequency bands was observed in the high frequency part of a solar burst on 1998 April 15 by the spectrometer of Beijing Astronomical Observatory in the range 2.6-3.8GHz. A model for this event based on beam-anisotropic instability in the solar corona is presented. Longitudinal plasma waves are excited at cyclotron resonance and then transformed into radio emission at their second harmonic.The model is in accordance with the observations if we suppose a magnetic field strength in the region of emission generation of about 200G.     

Diagnostics of magnetic flux tube oscillations on the Sun based on fine-structure characteristics of the radio spectrum

The possibility of obtaining information about oscillation processes in magnetic flux tubes on the Sun by analyzing the undulating frequency drift of the zebra pattern in the dynamic spectrum of solar radio emission is discussed. It is shown that the oscillatory variation in the frequency of zebra stripes can be associated with fast magnetoacoustic (FMA) oscillations in a flux tube, which lead to oscillations in the magnetic field strength and electron number density. The October 25, 1994 event recorded by the radio spectrograph of the Astrophysical Institute Potsdam is used as an example to demonstrate the possibility of determining the parameters of FMA oscillations and the physical conditions in coronal magnetic loops from the observed zebra-pattern characteristics.     

The self absorption of gyro-synchrotron emission in a magnetic dipole field: Microwave impulsive burst and hard X-ray burst

The gyro-synchrotron emission from a model source with a non-uniform magnetic field is computed taking into account the self absorption. This model seems adequate not only to interpret the radio spectrum and its time variation of microwave impulsive bursts but also to solve the discrepancy between the numbers of non-thermal electrons emitting radio burst and those emitting hard X-ray burst.The decrease of flux of radio burst with decreasing frequency at low microwave frequencies is due to the self absorption and/or the thermal gyro-absorption. In this frequency range, the radio source is optically thick even at weak microwave bursts. The weakness of the bursts may be rather due to the small size of the radio source and/or the weakness of the magnetic field than the small number density of the non-thermal electrons.The time variation of the flux of radio burst may be mainly attributed to the variation of source size in a horizontal direction ( direction) instead of the variation of the number density of non-thermal electrons itself, implying that the acceleration region progressively moves in the horizontal direction leaving the non-thermal electrons behind during the increasing phase of the radio burst.     

Theoretical scaling law of coronal magnetic field and electron power-law index in solar microwave burst sources

It is first proposed a theoretical scaling law respectively for the coronal magnetic field strength \(B\) and electron power-law index \(\delta\) versus frequency and coronal height in solar microwave burst sources. Based on the non-thermal gyro-synchrotron radiation model (Ramaty in Astrophys. J. 158:753, 1969), \(B\) and \(\delta\) are uniquely solved by the observable optically-thin spectral index and turnover (peak) frequency, the other parameters (plasma density, temperature, view angle, low and high energy cutoffs, etc.) are relatively insensitive to the calculations, thus taken as some typical values. Both of \(B\) and \(\delta\) increase with increasing of radio frequency but with decreasing of coronal height above photosphere, and well satisfy a square or cubic logarithmic fitting.     

Great Microwave Bursts and hard X-rays from solar flares

The microwave and hard X-ray characteristics of 13 solar flares that produced microwave fluxes greater than 500 solar flux units have been analyzed. These Great Microwave Bursts were observed in the frequency range from 3 to 35 GHz at Bern, and simultaneous hard X-ray observations were made in the energy range from 30 to 500 keV with the Hard X-Ray Burst Spectrometer on the Solar Maximum Mission spacecraft. The principal aim of this analysis is to determine whether or not the same distribution of energetic electrons can explain both emissions. The temporal and spectral behaviors of the microwaves as a function of frequency and the X-rays as a function of energy were tested for correlations, with results suggesting that optically thick microwave emission, at a frequency near the peak frequency, originates in the same electron population that produces the hard X-rays. The microwave emission at lower frequencies, however, is poorly correlated with emission at the frequency which appears to characterize this common source. A single-temperature and a multitemperature model were tested for consistency with the coincident X-ray and microwave spectra at microwave burst maximum. Four events are inconsistent with both of the models tested, and neither of the models attempts to explain the high-frequency part of the microwave spectrum. A source area derived on the basis of the single-temperature model agrees to within the uncertainties with the observed area of the one burst for which spatially resolved X-ray images are available.Swiss National Science Foundation Fellow from the University of Bern.Also Energy/Environmental Research Group, Incorporated, Tucson, Arizona, and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Present address: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland.