TYPE III RADIO BURSTS IN CORONAL PLASMAS WITH KAPPA PARTICLE DISTRIBUTIONS
- School of Physics, University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006 (Australia)
We present the first simulations of type III bursts produced in the corona with suprathermal non-Maxwellian background particles, as inferred from solar wind data and proposed by theories for the corona and solar wind. The coronal background particles are assumed to follow kappa ({kappa}) distributions. The predicted f{sub p} emission of type III bursts is sensitive via the {kappa} index to the presence of suprathermal background particles, where f{sub p} is the local plasma frequency. The simulations show that (1) the speeds v{sub b} of type III beams are much larger (e.g., v{sub b} Almost-Equal-To 0.58c for {kappa} = 5) and so type III bursts drift much faster for low {kappa} ({<=}5) background plasmas than for Maxwellian backgrounds (producing v{sub b} < 0.3c), and (2) f{sub p} emission generated in a {kappa}-distributed background corona has a larger total bandwidth than in a Maxwellian background, for similar onset frequencies. Type III beams are thus more persistent, i.e., extending over larger distances, in {kappa}-distributed corona. Consequently, observations of fast-drifting coronal type III bursts and associated fast electron beams suggest that the ambient electrons in the corona are {kappa}-distributed, at least when such bursts are observed. These results support, from the new viewpoint of nonthermal radio emission, the occasional presence of suprathermal background electrons in the corona and the associated mechanisms (e.g., 'velocity filtration') for coronal heating and solar wind acceleration. The new results also help resolve longstanding issues regarding the speeds and persistence of type III beams, and the production of remotely observable levels of f{sub p} emission despite severe losses during propagation.
- OSTI ID:
- 22078297
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 763, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
SUPRATHERMAL ELECTRONS IN THE SOLAR CORONA: CAN NONLOCAL TRANSPORT EXPLAIN HELIOSPHERIC CHARGE STATES?
An alternative to the plasma emission model: Particle-in-cell, self-consistent electromagnetic wave emission simulations of solar type III radio bursts