Scintillation of Solar Radio Sources: Implication for Spikes

Possible scattering regimes of the emission from a solar radio source due to dielectric permitivity fluctuations of an extended coronal plasma co-rotating with the Sun are discussed. The exact and approximate expressions are given for the spectrum of temporal intensity fluctuations in the regime of weak scattering. The frequency, at which the spectrum shows a bend, is determined by the location of the effective scattering screen if the source size is not too large. In the regime of strong scattering of the emission from a broadbanded nonimpulsive radio source, the formation of random intensity spikes, namely millisecond, narrowbanded spike bursts is a possibility. Their apparent size can be quite significant. However, the sources with very small true sizes are required in order to produce strong spikes.     

Spike observations in flares in China

Variations on short time-scales have been found in solar flares at different wavelengths. Millisecond scale radio spikes are a quickly developing area of solar radio astronomy. The solar radio astronomy group of Beijing Astronomical Observatory (BAO) has found fine structures of microwave bursts with millisecond time-scale at 2840 MHz. In this paper, we briefly summarize the observations. A joint-observation network for observing solar radio bursts with high time resolution has also been established. The equipment in the network covers a frequency domain of more than 10:1, including 1.3, 2.0, 6, 10, 15, 20 cm, and meter wavelengths. In particular, a multi-channel polarimeter with super-fast sampling (10 s) at 2600 MHz, an intensity interferometer with 1 ms sampling rate at 6 cm wavelength, and an auto-correlation radio spectrograph with 8 ms time constant at 21 cm wavelength are being established. We pay close attention to research on the spike emission features over wide bands, and their relationship to special characteristics in other spectral ranges.     

自由能密度上限及毫秒级射电尖峰的“饱和”机制

本文首先介绍了热力学自由能上限的普遍公式及其推导思想,然后应用于非热电子束的具体形式,从而估计太阳射电活动中的毫秒级尖峰辐射的“饱和”能量;在此基础上,进一步为饱和时间问题作一般性的讨论;最后,在把尖峰“饱和”的几种机制进行了比较之后提出:由于尖峰能量远未达到非线性饱和的水平,因此,由某种外部因素(例如加速机制等)所导致的高能电子束的非均匀性可能是一种较为合理的模型。     

Millisecond spikes in a short decimetric solar radio burst

The characteristics of the millisecond spikes with short duration and weak flux density which were observed with high time resolution (1 ms) at 1420, 2000 and 2840 MHz during the great type IV solar radio burst of 30 July 1990 are introduced in detail in this article. The time profiles of the spikes are statistically analyzed and the parameters of the spike source are also estimated.     

Interference origin of the fine structure in the dynamic spectra of solar radio bursts

The multibeam propagation of radio waves in the solar plasma is analyzed, because the emission from a solar flare passes through an inhomogeneous solar atmosphere on its way to the observer. A formula (a mathematical model) for calculating the structure of the dynamic spectrum for flare radio bursts has been obtained. Comparison of the calculated spectra with the observed ones shows that the results of interference explain the formation of a zebra structure and the separation of its stripes into individual spikes, describe the time profile of the spikes, and explain the properties of fibers, ropes of fibers, and chains of “point” bursts. The similarity of the dynamic spectra testifies that the fine structure of the spectra is formed not in the emission source but as a result of the propagation of waves through the solar corona and interplanetary space.     

周期性撕裂模的加速机制与射电尖峰的时间尺度

本文讨论了经典撕裂模理论的局限性,提出在考虑撕裂模的周期振荡后,其感应电场的大小及时空尺度均能满足太阳耀斑中的毫秒级射电尖峰所提供的高能粒子的信息,从而给耀斑粒子的一次加速提出了一种可能的机制。另一方面,撕裂模的周期与单个尖峰的宽度可对应,而撕裂模指数增长的特征时间又恰好与射电尖峰群的典型宽度具有同一量级,因此,快速尖峰辐射的时间结构很可能是由高能粒子流即加速电场本身的准周期性所决定。     

Millisecond radio spikes on long centimetre and short decimetre wavelengths and occurrence frequency

High time-resolution data observed in two periods, respectively, by three frequencies (1.42, 2.84, and 3.67 GHz) or four frequencies (1.42, 2.00, 2.84, and 4.00 GHz) of fast sampling radiotelescopes were processed. Obtained were some significant results showing that during the obviously rising or maximum phases of solar cycle 22, the occurrence frequency of millisecond radio spikes at three or four frequencies decreased with the frequency increase and the highest occurrence frequency was at 1.42 GHz. If we assume the secondx-mode is pre-dominant in the growth rate of ECM instability, we calculate the magnetic intensity of source regions with spike bursts at the four frequencies and interpret the occurrence frequency of millisecond radio spikes on long centimetre and short decimetre wavelengths. Finally, this paper suggests that, owing to the Razing effect, whenf126 MHz the occurrence frequency of millisecond radio spikes starts to decrease.     

Natural spectral bandwidth of electron cyclotron maser emission

We studied the spectral properties of the electron cyclotron maser emission generated by anisotropic distributions of fast electrons with power-law magnitude distributions in solar flares. The natural bandwidth of the generated spectral line depends significantly on the angle between the direction of the wave emission and the direction of the magnetic field in the source. In addition, the line bandwidth depends on the parameters of the momentum and pitch-angle distribution functions for fast electrons. The typical spectral bandwidths are shown to lie within the range 0.1–0.4%, in agreement with the minimum observable bandwidths of millisecond solar radio spikes.     

Evolvement of microwave spike bursts in a solar flare on 2006 December 13

Solar radio spikes are one of the most intriguing spectral types of radio bursts. Their very short lifetimes, small source size and super-high brightness temperature indicate that they should be involved in some strong energy release, particle acceleration and coherent emission processes closely related to solar flares. In particular, for the microwave spike bursts, their source regions are much close to the related flaring source region which may provide the fundamental information of the flaring process. In this work,we identify more than 600 millisecond microwave spikes which recorded by the Solar Broadband Radio Spectrometer in Huairou(SBRS/Huairou) during an X3.4 solar flare on 2006 December 13 and present a statistical analysis about their parametric evolution characteristic. We find that the spikes have nearly the same probability of positive and negative frequency drifting rates not only in the flare rising phase, but also in the peak and decay phases. So we suppose that the microwave spike bursts should be generated by shockaccelerated energetic electrons, just like the terminational shock(TS) wave produced by the reconnection outflows near the loop top. The spike bursts occurred around the peak phase have the highest central frequency and obviously weak emission intensity, which imply that their source region should have the lowest position with higher plasma density due to the weakened magnetic reconnection and the relaxation of TS during the peak phase. The right-handed polarization of the most spike bursts may be due to the TS lying on the top region of some very asymmetrical flare loops.     

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.     

Effects of the distribution function of non-thermal electrons and of cyclotron resonant absorption on millisecond radio spikes

A theoretical analysis of electron-cyclotron maser instabilities indicates that the distribution function of non-thermal electrons influences millisecond radio spikes in solar flares, and that a hollow beam distribution is more likely than a loss-cone distribution. The restrictions of classical theories of cyclotron resonant absorption are discussed and a formula is derived for the absorption coefficient near the resonant frequency. Finally, the computations show that for typical coronal parameters, the growth rates of the fundamental of fast extraordinary modes are much faster than those of their second harmonics; and because the directional angle of the fundamental is smaller, its resonant absorption may be neglected. Moreover, the band-width of the fundamental is consistent with observation of radio spikes; therefore, we claim that the millisecond radio spikes in the decimetric range are composed mainly of fundamentals of the fast extraordinary modes. The second harmonics of fast extraordinary modes may be generated for directions near to the vertical to the magnetic field, but it is impossible to observe both fundamental and second harmonics in the same direction.     

On the microwave millisecond spike emission and its associated phenomena during the impulsive phase of large solar flare

We propose a model of two acceleration regions, which can explain, on the basis of microwave maser caused by a “hollow-beam” distribution of electrons, the presence of millisecond spikes in the event of 1981 May 16 and their absence in the event of 1981 October 12, and the enhanced continuous emission in the latter. We have also uncovered relations among the features, e.g. the Type III_G, Type IV_DCIM and hard x-ray bursts, that accompany the microwave millisecond spikes during the impulsive phase of a large flare.     

On the high-speed plasma streams,stormtime sudden commencements and cosmic-ray intensity: Relation amongst them during epoch 1978 to 1982

A new spectrometer has been put into operation that registers solar flare radio emission in the 0.1 to 3 GHz band. It is a frequency-agile system which can be fully programmed to measure both senses of circular polarization at any frequency within that range at selectable bandwidth. The time resolution has to be compromized with the number of frequency channels and can be in the range of 0.5 ms to 250 ms for 1 to 500 channels. First results mainly from the 1–3 GHz band are presented, a spectral region that has never been observed with high-resolution spectrometers. Most noteworthy are the frequent appearances of myriads of narrowband, fast-drifting bursts (microwave type III), diffuse patches of continuum emission, and broad clusters of millisecond spikes sometimes extending from 0.3 to 3 GHz.     

The importance of source positions during radio fine structure observations

The measurement of positions and sizes of radio sources in the observations of the fine structure of solar radio bursts is a determining factor for the selection of the radio emission mechanism. The identical parameters describing the radio sources for zebra structures（ZSs） and fiber bursts confirm there is a common mechanism for both structures. It is very important to measure the size of the source in the corona to determine if it is distributed along the height or if it is point-like. In both models of ZSs（the double plasma resonance（DPR） and the whistler model） the source must be distributed along the height, but by contrast to the stationary source in the DPR model, in the whistler model the source should be moving. Moreover, the direction of the space drift of the radio source must correlate with the frequency drift of stripes in the dynamic spectrum. Some models of ZSs require a local source, for example,the models based on the Bernstein modes, or on explosive instability. The selection of the radio emission mechanism for fast broadband pulsations with millisecond duration also depends on the parameters of their radio sources.     

太阳射电毫秒Spike辐射窄带宽的理论探讨

在磁拱底部非线性等离子体密度波传播期间,损失锥分布的反射电子驱动着电子迴旋maser不稳定性的增长,激励出二次谐频波模,支配着太阳射电毫秒Spike辐射。根据这个理论模型,本文着重研究了太阳射电毫秒Spike辐射的频带宽度问题。对于典型参数,计算结果发现:辐射带宽一般为几MHz到几十MHz,最高为100MHz。而且通常折射出的二次谐频z模辐射带宽较窄,而二次谐频o模辐射带宽较宽。     

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.     

High time resolution observations of solar radio emission at four frequencies: evidence for energy release in microflares

As evidence for energy release in microflares, high time resolution observations of solar radio emission obtained with our “synchronous observation system of solar radio radiation with high time resolution at four frequencies (1.42, 2.13, 2.84 and 4.26 GHz)” from December 1989 to April 1993 are presented in this paper. The observed events include weak ms spikes, “spike-likes”, fast pulsations as well as two kinds of newly discovered fast fine structures, i.e., microwave type III bursts and microwave patch-like structures. A statistical study of the duration of fast fine structures has been made and on its basis the various types of phenomena are illustrated with actual examples.     

Ion-Sound Model of Microwave Spikes with Fast Shocks in the Reconnection Region

A new model for solar spike bursts is considered based on the interaction of Langmuir waves with ion-sound waves: l+st. Such a mechanism can operate in shock fronts, propagating from a magnetic reconnection region. New observations of microwave millisecond spikes are discussed. They have been observed in two events: 4 November 1997 between 05:52–06:10 UT and 28 November 1997 between 05:00–05:10 UT using the multichannel spectrograph in the range 2.6–3.8 GHz of Beijing AO. Yohkoh/SXT images in the AR and SOHO EIT images testify to a reconstruction of bright loops after the escape of a CME. A fast shock front might be manifested as a very bright line in T _e SXT maps (up to 20 MK) above dense structures in emission measure (EM) maps. Moreover one can see at the moment of spike emission (for the 28 November 1997 event) an additional maximum at the loop top on the HXR map in the AR as principal evidence of fast shock propagation. The model gives the ordinary mode of spike emission. Sometimes we observed a different polarization of microwave spikes that might be connected with the depolarization of the emission in the transverse magnetic field and rather in the vanishing magnetic field in the middle of the QT region. Duration and frequency band of isolated spikes are connected with parameters of fast particle beams and shock front. Millisecond microwave spikes are probably a unique manifestation of flare fast shocks in the radio emission.     

Recent results of zebra patterns in solar radio bursts

This review covers the most recent experimental results and theoretical research on zebra patterns(ZPs)in solar radio bursts.The basic attention is given to events with new peculiar elements of zebra patterns received over the last few years.All new properties are considered in light of both what was known earlier and new theoretical models.Large-scale ZPs consisting of small-scale fiber bursts could be explained by simultaneous inclusion of two mechanisms when whistler waves"highlight"the levels of double plasma resonance(DPR).A unique fine structure was observed in the event on 2006 December 13: spikes in absorption formed dark ZP stripes against the absorptive type Ⅲ-like bursts.The spikes in absorption can appear in accordance with well known mechanisms of absorptive bursts.The additional injection of fast particles filled the loss-cone(breaking the loss-cone distribution),and the generation of the continuum was quenched at these moments.The maximum absorptive effect occurs at the DPR levels.The parameters of millisecond spikes are determined by small dimensions of the particle beams and local scale heights in the radio source.Thus,the DPR model helps to understand several aspects of unusual elements of ZPs.However,the simultaneous existence of several tens of the DPR levels in the corona is impossible for any realistic profile of the plasma density and magnetic field.Three new theories of ZPs are examined.The formation of eigenmodes of transparency and opacity during the propagation of radio waves through regular coronal inhomogeneities is the most natural and promising mechanism.Two other models(nonlinear periodic space-charge waves and scattering of fast protons on ion-sound harmonics)could happen in large radio bursts.     

A theoretical study of the direction and polarization of solar radio millisecond spike radiation

We investigated the angular direction and polarization of the solar radio millisecond spike emission in the model in which the spike emission is due to the second harmonic instability modes driven by electron cyclotron maser of loss cone distributed electrons during the propagation of a nonlinear plasma density wave near the magnetic mirror. We found that, when the angle θ between the wave vector and the magnetic field is > 60 °, the emission is in 100% X-mode polarization; when 40 ° < θ<60 °, the emission is in 100% O-mode polarization provided the amplitude of the density wave is below a certain limit; above that limit, the polarization will fall from 100% O-mode to even the X-mode. We also found that only 0.1% of the free energy of energy carrying electrons in the source region is converted into radiation wave energy.