Solar type III radio burst fine structure from Langmuir wave motion through turbulent plasma

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduard Kontar ◽  
Hamish Reid
Keyword(s):  
Fine Structure ◽  
Solar Corona ◽  
Interplanetary Space ◽  
Langmuir Wave ◽  
Turbulent Medium ◽  
Density Fluctuations ◽  
Solar Radio Emission ◽  
Langmuir Waves ◽  
Type Iii ◽  
Diagnostic Potential

<div>The Sun frequently accelerates near-relativistic electron beams that travel out through the solar corona and interplanetary space. Interacting with their plasma environment, these beams produce type III radio bursts, the brightest astrophysical radio sources detected by humans. The formation and motion of type III fine frequency structures is a puzzle but is commonly believed to be related to plasma turbulence in the solar corona and solar wind. Combining a theoretical framework with kinetic simulations and high-resolution radio type III observations, we quantitatively show that the fine structures are caused by the moving intense clumps of Langmuir waves in a turbulent medium. Our results show how type III fine structure can be used to remotely analyse the intensity and spectrum of compressive density fluctuations, and can infer ambient temperatures in astrophysical plasma, both significantly expanding the current diagnostic potential of solar radio emission.</div><div> </div>

Type III Radio Bursts and Langmuir Wave Excitation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gottfried Mann ◽  
Christian Vocks ◽  
Mario Bisi ◽  
Eoin Carley ◽  
Bartosz Dabrowski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Distribution Function ◽  
Interplanetary Space ◽  
Langmuir Wave ◽  
Velocity Distribution Function ◽  
Radio Bursts ◽  
Radio Waves ◽  
Langmuir Waves ◽  
Low Frequencies ◽  
Energetic Electrons ◽  
Type Iii

<p>Type III radio bursts are a common phenomenon the Sun’s nonthermal radio radiation. They appear as stripes of enhanced radio emission with a rapid drift from high to low frequencies in dynamic radio spectra. They are considered as the radio signatures of beams of energetic electrons travelling along magnetic field lines from the solar corona into the interplanetary space. With the ground based radio interferometer LOFAR and the instrument FIELDS onboard NASA’s “Parker Solar Probe” (PSP) , type III radio bursts can be observed simultaneously from high (10-240 MHz) to low frequencies (0.01-20 MHz) with LOFAR and PSP’s FIELDs, respectively. That allows to track these electron beams from the corona up to the interplanetary space. Assuming that a population of energetic electrons is initially injected, the velocity distribution function of these electrons evolves into a beam like one. Such distribution function leads to the excitation of Langmuir waves which convert into radio waves finally observed as type II radio bursts. Numerical calculations of the electron-beam-plasma interaction reveal that the Langmuir waves are excited by different parts of the energetic electrons at different distances in the corona and interplanetary space. This result is compared with special type III radio bursts observed with LOFAR and PSP’s FIELDS.</p>

scholarly journals High frequency ion sound waves associated with Langmuir waves in type III radio burst source regions

2004 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 411-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Thejappa ◽  
R. J. MacDowall
Keyword(s):  
Short Wavelength ◽  
Langmuir Wave ◽  
Linear Process ◽  
Radio Bursts ◽  
Sound Waves ◽  
Burst Source ◽  
Langmuir Waves ◽  
Type Iii ◽  
Resonant Wave ◽  
Source Regions

Abstract. Short wavelength ion sound waves (2-4kHz) are detected in association with the Langmuir waves (~15-30kHz) in the source regions of several local type III radio bursts. They are most probably not due to any resonant wave-wave interactions such as the electrostatic decay instability because their wavelengths are much shorter than those of Langmuir waves. The Langmuir waves occur as coherent field structures with peak intensities exceeding the Langmuir collapse thresholds. Their scale sizes are of the order of the wavelength of an ion sound wave. These Langmuir wave field characteristics indicate that the observed short wavelength ion sound waves are most probably generated during the thermalization of the burnt-out cavitons left behind by the Langmuir collapse. Moreover, the peak intensities of the observed short wavelength ion sound waves are comparable to the expected intensities of those ion sound waves radiated by the burnt-out cavitons. However, the speeds of the electron beams derived from the frequency drift of type III radio bursts are too slow to satisfy the needed adiabatic ion approximation. Therefore, some non-linear process such as the induced scattering on thermal ions most probably pumps the beam excited Langmuir waves towards the lower wavenumbers, where the adiabatic ion approximation is justified.

STATISTICS OF DENSITY FLUCTUATIONS DURING THE TRANSITION FROM THE OUTER SOLAR CORONA TO THE INTERPLANETARY SPACE

2009 ◽  
Vol 706 (1) ◽  
pp. 238-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Telloni ◽  
R. Bruno ◽  
V. Carbone ◽  
E. Antonucci ◽  
R. D'Amicis
Keyword(s):  
Solar Corona ◽  
Interplanetary Space ◽  
Density Fluctuations

Ulysses Observations of Nonlinear Wave-wave Interactions in the Source Regions of Type III Solar Radio Bursts

2000 ◽  
Vol 179 ◽  
pp. 447-450
Author(s):  
G. Thejappa ◽  
R. J. MacDowall
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Waves ◽  
Modulational Instability ◽  
Langmuir Wave ◽  
Wave Interactions ◽  
Burst Source ◽  
Langmuir Waves ◽  
Type Iii ◽  
Source Regions ◽  
Ion Acoustic ◽  
Solar Type

AbstractThe Ulysses Unified Radio and Plasma Wave Experiment (URAP) has observed Langmuir, ion-acoustic and associated solar type III radio emissions in the interplanetary medium. Bursts of 50–300 Hz (in the spacecraft frame) electric field signals, corresponding to long-wavelength ion-acoustic waves are often observed coincident in time with the most intense Langmuir wave spikes, providing evidence for the electrostatic decay instability. Langmuir waves often occur as envelope solitons, suggesting that strong turbulence processes, such as modulational instability and soliton formation, often coexist with weak turbulence processes, such as electrostatic decay, in a few type III burst source regions.

scholarly journals Fundamental Electromagnetic Emissions by a Weak Electron Beam in Solar Wind Plasmas with Density Fluctuations

2022 ◽  
Vol 924 (2) ◽  
pp. L24
Author(s):  
C. Krafft ◽  
P. Savoini
Keyword(s):  
Electron Beam ◽  
Electromagnetic Radiation ◽  
Inhomogeneous Plasma ◽  
Langmuir Wave ◽  
Density Fluctuations ◽  
Electromagnetic Energy ◽  
Langmuir Waves ◽  
Harmonic Emission ◽  
Electromagnetic Emissions ◽  
Weak Electron

Abstract The generation of Langmuir wave turbulence by a weak electron beam in a randomly inhomogeneous plasma and its subsequent electromagnetic radiation are studied owing to two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations in conditions relevant to type III solar radio bursts. The essential impact of random density fluctuations of average levels of a few percents of the background plasma on the characteristics of the electromagnetic radiation at the fundamental plasma frequency ω p is shown. Not only wave nonlinear interactions but also processes of Langmuir waves’ transformations on the density fluctuations contribute to the generation of such emissions. During the beam relaxation, the amount of electromagnetic energy radiated at ω p in a plasma with density fluctuations strongly exceeds that observed when the plasma is homogeneous. The fraction of Langmuir wave energy involved in the generation of electromagnetic emissions at ω p saturates around 10−4, i.e., one order of magnitude above that reached when the plasma is uniform. Moreover, whereas harmonic emission at 2ω p dominates over fundamental emission during the time evolution in a homogeneous plasma, fundamental emission is strongly dominant when the plasma contains density fluctuations, at least during several thousands of plasma periods before being overcome by harmonic emission when the total electromagnetic energy begins to saturate.

Connection between ambient density fluctuations and clumpy Langmuir waves in type III radio sources

1992 ◽  
Vol 387 ◽  
pp. L101 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. A. Robinson ◽  
I. H. Cairns ◽  
D. A. Gurnett
Keyword(s):  
Density Fluctuations ◽  
Radio Sources ◽  
Langmuir Waves ◽  
Type Iii

scholarly journals Electron Beams and Langmuir Turbulence in Solar Type III Radio Bursts Observed in the Interplanetary Medium

1990 ◽  
Vol 142 ◽  
pp. 467-481
Author(s):  
R. P. Lin
Keyword(s):  
Interplanetary Medium ◽  
Electron Beams ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Langmuir Wave ◽  
Plasma Waves ◽  
Wave Number ◽  
Langmuir Waves ◽  
Decay Instability ◽  
Type Iii ◽  
Solar Type

The ISEE-3 spacecraft has provided in situ observations of electron beams, plasma waves, and associated solar type III radio emission in the interplanetary medium near 1 AU. These observations show that electron beams are formed by the faster electrons arriving before the slower ones, following an impulsive injection at the Sun. The resulting bump-on-tail in the reduced one-dimensional distribution function, f(v||), is unstable to the growth of electrostatic electron plasma (Langmuir) waves. The Langmuir waves are observed to be highly impulsive in nature. The onset and temporal variations of the observed plasma waves are in good qualitative agreement with the wave growth expected from the evolution of measured f(v||). However, far higher Langmuir wave intensities are predicted than are detected. In addition, the lack of obvious plateauing of the bump-on-tail suggests that the waves have been removed from resonance with the beam electrons by some wave-wave interaction. Bursts of low frequency, 30–300 Hz (in the spacecraft frame) waves are often found coincident in time with the most intense spikes of the Langmuir waves. These low-frequency waves appear to be long-wavelength ion acoustic waves, with wave number approximately equal to the beam-resonant Langmuir wave number. The observations suggest several possible interpretations: modulational instability, electrostatic decay instability, and electromagnetic decay instability; but none of these are fully consistent with the observations. Microstructures, too short in duration to be resolved by present experiments, have been invoked as an explanation of the phenomenon. Experiments are currently being developed to study these processes using fast wave-particle correlation techniques.

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