EGU21-12013
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-12013
EGU General Assembly 2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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

Eduard Kontar1 and Hamish Reid2
Eduard Kontar and Hamish Reid
  • 1University of Glasgow, Physics and Astronomy, Glasgow, UK
  • 2Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, UK
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.
 

How to cite: Kontar, E. and Reid, H.: Solar type III radio burst fine structure from Langmuir wave motion through turbulent plasma, EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021, EGU21-12013, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-12013, 2021.