Decameter type IV bursts associated with coronal transients

Recent observations of neutral line absorbing features in the solar atmosphere may give an important clue to the mechanism whereby both type III solar radiobursts and solar flares are triggered. It is suggested that as new satellite magnetic flux emerges at the edge of an active region in an area of opposite polarity a neutral sheet builds up between the new and old flux. When the sheet has a length of about a megametre its thermal insulation from the surrounding plasma is effective enough for a thermal instability to occur. The resulting compression and inflow of plasma is observed in H on the disc as a neutral line absorbing feature. Furthermore, the electric field of the accompanying collisionless tearing mode instability in a thin slab near the centre of the sheet exceeds the runaway field; it may therefore accelerate electrons to high enough energies to produce the type III burst which usually occurs at the same time as the absorbing feature. Perhaps the flare which sometimes ensues is triggered when the quasi-equilibrium state is destroyed by the development of turbulence in the neutral sheet.     

A review of solar type III radio bursts

Solar type III radio bursts are an important diagnostic tool in the understanding of solar accelerated electron beams. They are a signature of propagating beams of nonthermal electrons in the solar atmosphere and the solar system. Consequently, they provide information on electron acceleration and transport, and the conditions of the background ambient plasma they travel through. We review the observational properties of type III bursts with an emphasis on recent results and how each property can help identify attributes of electron beams and the ambient background plasma. We also review some of the theoretical aspects of type III radio bursts and cover a number of numerical efforts that simulate electron beam transport through the solar corona and the heliosphere.     

The brightness temperatures of solar type III bursts

There is a characteristic maximum brightness temperature T _B 10¹⁵K for type III solar radio bursts in the solar wind. The suggestion is explored that the maximum observed values of T _Bmay be attributed to saturation of the processes involved in the plasma emission. The processes leading to fundamental and second harmonic emission saturate when T _Bis approximately equal to the effective temperature T _Lof the Langmuir waves. The expected maximum value of T _Bis estimated for this saturation model in two ways: from the growth rate for the beam instability, and from the maximum amplitude of the observed Langmuir turbulence. The agreement with the observed values is satisfactory in view of the uncertainties in the estimates (a) of the intrinsic brightness temperature from the observed brightness temperature, (b) of the actual growth rate of the beam instability, which must be driven by local, transient features (that are unobservable using available instruments) in the electron distribution, and (c) in the k-space volume filled by the Langmuir waves, and this is consistent with the observational data on two well-studied events at the orbit of the Earth and with statistical data for events over a range of radial distances from the Sun.     

Interplanetary baseline observations of type III solar radio bursts

Simultaneous observations of type III radio bursts from spacecraft separated by 0.43 AU have been made using the solar orbiters HELIOS-A and HELIOS-B. The burst beginning at 19:22 UT on March 28, 1976 has been located from the intersection of the source directions measured at each spacecraft, and from burst arrival time differences. The source positions range from 0.03 AU from the Sun at 3000 kHz to 0.08 AU at 585 kHz. The electron density along the burst trajectory, and the exciter velocity (=0.13c) were determined directly, without the need to assume a density model as has been done with single-spacecraft observations. The separation of HELIOS-A and -B has also provided the first measurements of burst directivity at low frequencies. For the March 28 burst the intensity observed from near the source longitude (HELIOS-B) was 3–10 dB greater than that from 60° west of the source (HELIOS-A).     

Low frequency spectra of type III solar radio bursts

Flux density spectra have been determined for ninety-one simple type III solar bursts observed by the Goddard Space Flight Center radio astronomy experiment on the IMP-6 spacecraft during 1971 and 1972. Spectral peaks were found to occur at frequencies ranging from 44 kHz up to 2500 kHz. Half of the bursts peaked between 250 kHz and 900 kHz, corresponding to emission at solar distances of about 0.3 to 0.1 AU. Maximum burst flux density sometimes exceeds 10^–14 W m^–2 Hz^–1. The primary factor controlling the spectral peak frequency of these bursts appears to be variation in intrinsic power radiated by the source as the exciter moves outward from the Sun, rather than radio propagation effects between the source and IMP-6. Thus, a burst spectrum strongly reflects the evolution of the properties of the exciting electron beam, and according to current theory, beam deceleration could help account for the observations.     

The third harmonic of type III solar radio bursts

The harmonic ratios of a large sample of inverted-U bursts are found to be smaller at the turning frequency than at the starting frequency. Ratios <2.0 are explained by postulating that the lowest fundamental frequencies emitted are prevented from escaping from the corona by an evanescent region between the source and the observer. This concept is used to construct a source model for inverted-U bursts where the density is lower inside a magnetic flux tube than it is outside.     

A dynamic theory of type III solar radio bursts

All four large EUV bursts (peak 10–1030 Å flux enhancements 2 ergs cm^–2 s^–1 at 1 AU as deduced from sudden frequency deviations), for which there were available concurrent white light observations of at least fair quality, were detected as white light flares. The rise times and maxima of the white light emissions coincided with rise times and maxima of the EUV bursts. The frequency of strong EUV bursts suggests that white light flares may occur at the rate of five or six per year near sunspot maximum. All of the white light flare areas coincided with intense bright areas of the H flares. These small areas appeared to be sources of high velocity ejecta in H. The white light flares occurred as several knots or patches of 2 to 15 arc-sec diameter, with bright cores perhaps less than 2 arc-sec diameter (1500 km). They preferred the outer penumbral borders of strong sunspots within 10 arc-sec of a longitudinal neutral line in the magnetic field. The peak continuum flux enhancement over the 3500–6500 Å wavelength range is about the same order of magnitude as the peak 10–1030 Å flux enhancement.     

Directivity of low frequency solar type III radio bursts

The occurrence rate of type III solar bursts in the frequency range 4.9 MHz to 30 kHz is analyzed as a function of burst intensity and burst arrival direction. We find that (a) the occurrence rate of bursts falls off with increasing flux, S, according to the power law S ^–1.5, and (b) the distribution of burst arrival directions at each frequency shows a significantly larger number of bursts observed west of the Earth-Sun line than east of it. This western excess in occurrence rate appears to be correlated with the direction of the average interplanetary magnetic field, and is interpreted as beaming of the observed burst radiation along the magnetic field direction.Presently at the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland.     

Time structure of solar decametre type III radio bursts

The time structure of solar radio decametre Type III bursts occurring during the periods of enhanced emission is investigated. It is found that the time profiles can take a variety of forms of which three distinct types are the following: (1) profiles where the intensity rises to a small but steady value before the onset of the main burst, (2) the intensity of the main burst reduces to a finite level and remains steady before it decays to the base level, (3) the steady state is present during the rise as well as the decay phase of the main burst. It is shown that these profiles are not due to random superposition of bursts with varying amplitudes. They are also probably not manifestations of fundamental-harmonic pairs. Some of the observed time profiles can be due to superposition ot bursts caused by ordered electron beams ejected with a constant time delay at the base of the corona.     

Towards a theory for type III solar radio bursts

The possibilities for type III burst excitors are reviewed and it is concluded that particle streams are the most likely excitor. Possible methods of resolving the apparent discrepancy between the number of particle events observed in interplanetary space in the vicinity of the earth and the number of type III bursts are indicated. Observations relevant to the excitor are reviewed and translated into requirements for a theory of the exciting stream. Possibilities for an electron stream excitor are considered and it is concluded that, while such an excitor cannot be eliminated at the present time, there are definitely theoretical difficulties with it which can be overcome only by seemingly ad hoc and improbable assumptions. Possibilities for a proton stream excitor are examined and it is found that all theoretical difficulties can be overcome in a natural manner. The number of 50 MeV protons required to explain a strong type III burst is estimated conservatively as 3 × 10²⁵ which, after diffusion in interplanetary space, would be undetectable by the instruments flown thus far. This number is consistent with some theoretical ideas about the flare mechanism and also with present observational data.This paper concerns major type III bursts that have a measurable effect at low frequencies ( 10 MHz). The author is aware of the existence of different kinds of fast drift bursts which are fainter and mostly limited to the m-wave region (de Groot, 1970). These may be due to different kinds of excitors.Postdoctoral Fellow on the U.S.-U.S.S.R. Cultural Exchange Program.     

Towards a theory for type III solar radio bursts

The mechanisms for the transformation of plasma waves into radiation near the fundamental and second harmonic of the plasma frequency are reviewed and equations are given for both the emission and absorption coefficients for these mechanisms. Near the fundamental the process is the scattering of plasma waves on the polarization clouds of ions and the absorption coefficient can be negative, i.e. the radiation can be amplified. Near the second harmonic the process is the combination of two excited plasma waves for which the absorption coefficient can only be positive. These results are applied to construct models of the radiation source for type III solar radio bursts both at high frequencies where the fundamental is dominant and at low frequencies where the second harmonic is dominant using two model plasma wave spectra, one being one-dimensional, the other isotropic. At high frequencies second harmonic radiation is used to determine the source area for a given energy density in plasma waves W _p . The source size and W _p are detrmined uniquely for a given plasma wave spectrum by tracing rays in a model source taking into account amplification of the fundamental. The results for a strong source at the 80 MHz plasma level with a ratio of emissivities of the fundamental to second harmonic P(ω _p )/P(2ω _p ) ≈ 10 are that the source with a one-dimensional plasma wave spectrum is about 14000 km in diameter and W _p = 10^?6.52 erg cm^?3, and the source with an isotropic distribution of plasma waves is about 200 km in diameter and W _p = 10^?6.3 erg cm^?3. It is shown that at low frequencies, where amplification of the fundamental is no longer possible, second harmonic radiation must be dominant and thus very little information about the source can obtained from the radiation.     

Towards a theory for type III solar radio bursts

The procedure developed in Smith (1974) to model the radiation source for type III bursts is modified to include scattering of radiation in the source itself. Since the inhomogeneities in the source must have the same statistical properties as the inhomogeneities used in tracing radiation from the source to the observer, these two parts of the type III problem are no longer uncoupled. Thus we use inhomogeneities consistent with the scattering inhomogeneities of Steinberg et al. (1971) and Riddle (1974) and apply the procedure to an archetype ‘fundamental-harmonic’ pair observed at Culgoora on 28 September, 1973 at 0319 UT. We find that it is impossible to model this burst with a source which is homogeneous in the sense that every part of the source has the same energy density in plasma waves. The density inhomogeneities in the source severely hamper amplification of the supposed fundamental. Possible ways out of this dilemma are discussed, including second harmonic pairs and a source with an inhomogeneous distribution of plasma waves. It is concluded that none of the possibilities are completely satisfactory to explain present observations and suggested that critical observations are missing.     

Fundamental and harmonic radiation in solar type III bursts

There are three kinds of observations that provide indirect evidence for the contentions that (a) some type III radiation is fundamental radiation; and (b) type III's are at times emitted simultaneously as fundamental and second-harmonic plasma radiation.Presented by D. Melrose     

Generation of solar type III bursts at the second harmonic

Using the data from our experiments on the IMP-6 (Explorer 43) satellite, we have examined over 200 type III bursts at kilometric wavelengths, including 16 bursts which were accompanied by >18 keV electron events with sharp onsets, in a search for the electrostatic waves which, according to theory, should be the primary source of type III bursts. No electrostatic waves of sufficient intensity to generate the type III bursts by any of the wave-wave scattering theories which produce the second harmonic of the plasma frequency, have been found.     

Fundamental and harmonic radiation in type III solar radio bursts

Type III solar radio bursts are investigated by modelling the propagation of the electron beam and the generation and subsequent propagation of waves to the observer. Predictions from this model are compared in detail with particle, Langmuir wave, and radio data from the ISEE-3 spacecraft and with other observations to clarify the roles of fundamental and harmonic emission in type III radio bursts. Langmuir waves are seen only after the arrival of the beam, in accord with the standard theory. These waves persist after a positive beam slope is last resolved, implying that sporadic positive slopes persist for some time, unresolved but in accord with the predictions of stochastic growth theory. Local electromagnetic emission sets in only after Langmuir waves are seen, in accord with the standard theory, which relies on nonlinear processes involving Langmuir waves. In the events investigated here, fundamental radiation appears to dominate early in the event, followed and/or accompanied by harmonic radiation after the peak, with a long-lived tail of multiply scattered fundamental or harmonic emission extending long afterwards. These results are largely independent of, but generally consistent with, the conclusions of earlier works.     

Correlation of hard X-ray and type III bursts in solar flares

The observed correlations between X-ray and type III radio emissions from solar bursts are described by means of a bivariate distribution function. Procedures for determining the form of this distribution are described using a sample of data analyzed by Kane (1981). With the help of this distribution a model is constructed to explain the correlation between the X-ray spectral index and the ratio of X-ray to radio intensities. Implications of the model are discussed.     

Polarization measurements of solar type III radio bursts at 25.3 MHz

We report the results of 1966, 1968, and 1969 polarization measurements of solar type III radio noise bursts made by recording the output of two orthogonally polarized receiving channels and subsequent digital processing of selected data. The processed data yield total intensity, degree of polarization, ellipticity, and polarization ellipse orientation at 1 second intervals. The measurements are made in a 100 Hz bandwith to minimize the influence of the propagating medium on the measurements. The mean degree of polarization was found to be about 65% in contrast to previous studies which indicated that type III events were more weakly polarized. By assuming that type III bursts are flare related we study the polarization characteristics of type III bursts as a function of the solar longitude of the related flares. The relation between type III event polarization characteristics and flare importance is also investigated. The significance of polarization measurements in studies of solar radio events is pointed out and suggestions for further theoretical research are given.     

Decay time of type III solar bursts observed at kilometric wavelengths

Type III bursts were observed between 3.5 MHz and 50 kHz by the University of Michigan radio astronomy experiment aboard the OGO-5 satellite.Decay times were measured and then combined with published data ranging up to about 200 MHz. The observed decay times increase with decreasing frequency but at a rate considerably slower than that expected from electron-proton Coulomb collisions. At 50 kHz values differ by about a factor of 100. Using Hartle and Sturrock's solar wind model, Coulomb collisional frequencies were computed and compared with the apparent collisional frequencies deduced from the observations. It was found that the ratio of observed to computed values varies with heliocentric distance according to an inverse 0.71 power. This is similar to an ad hoc function used by Wolff, Brandt, and Southwick to increase the electron-proton collisional energy exchange and make the solar wind theory agree with the measurements of electron and proton temperature near the Earth. These results may provide a clue about the nature of the non-collisional plasma wave damping process responsible for the short duration of type III bursts.     

Fundamental wave of type III solar radio bursts and whistler waves

It is demonstrated by a numerical simulation that both the whistler waves and plasma waves are excited by a common solar electron beam. The excitation of the whistler waves is ascribed to the loss-cone distribution which arises at a later phase of the passage of the beam at a given height due to a velocity dispersion in the electron beam with a finite length. It is highly probable that the fundamental of type III bursts are caused by the coalescence of the whistler waves and the plasma waves excited by a common electron beam, although the plasma waves must suffer induce scatterings by thermal ions to have small wave numbers before the coalescence to occur.     

Numerical simulation of type III solar radio bursts on meter- and hectometer-waves

Numerical simulation of type III bursts is made by the use of fully numerical scheme showing a general rule for obtaining a numerically stable difference scheme. Although the electron distribution function is one-dimensional in velocity space, the plasma waves is cylindrically symmetric two-dimensional in K-space.It is confirmed that the previous simulation made by the use of semi-analytical method assuming the plateau distribution of electron distribution is qualitatively correct, but the number density of electron beam to have a typical type III burst was overestimated by a factor of about 3.It is demonstrated that a tentative neglection of a term for the induced scattering of plasma waves into nonresonant K-range gives no remarkable effect on the energy loss of the electron beam, though the scattering is strong. The reason is that the scattering reduces the saturation level of plasma waves resulting in a reduction of the energy loss, while a part of the energy of electron beam is indirectly lost by the scattering.