A Type II Radio Burst without a Coronal Mass Ejection

TL;DR

This study reports a rare type II radio burst not associated with a coronal mass ejection, linking it to a coronal shock wave driven by magnetic loop expansion rather than a CME.

Contribution

It introduces a new mechanism for type II burst formation involving magnetic loop expansion post-reconnection, challenging the traditional CME-driven shock paradigm.

Findings

Type II burst occurred without a CME, linked to a coronal shock.

Wave-like EUV structure propagated at ~600 km/s, matching shock speed.

Magnetic flux emergence and cancellation observed near flare site.

Abstract

Type II radio bursts are thought to be a signature of coronal shocks. In this paper, we analyze a short-lived type II burst that started at 07:40 UT on 2011 February 28. By carefully checking white-light images, we find that the type II radio burst is not accompanied by a coronal mass ejection, only with a C2.4 class flare and narrow jet. However, in the extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) images provided by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), we find a wave-like structure that propagated at a speed of $\sim$ 600 km s$^{-1}$ during the burst. The relationship between the type II radio burst and the wave-like structure is in particular explored. For this purpose, we first derive the density distribution under the wave by the differential emission measure (DEM) method, which is used to restrict the empirical density model. We then use the restricted density model to invert the speed of the shock that produces the observed frequency drift rate in the dynamic spectrum. The inverted shock speed is similar to the speed of the wave-like structure. This implies that the wave-like structure is most likely a coronal shock that produces the type II radio burst. We also examine the evolution of the magnetic field in the flare-associated active region and find continuous flux emergence and cancellation taking place near the flare site. Based on these facts, we propose a new mechanism for the formation of the type II radio burst, i.e., the expansion of the strongly-inclined magnetic loops after reconnected with nearby emerging flux acts as a piston to generate the shock wave.