Relationship of type III radio bursts with quasi-periodic pulsations in a solar flare

TL;DR

This study investigates the quasi-periodic pulsations in a solar flare across microwave, X-ray, and radio bands, revealing a common 40-50 second period likely linked to periodic magnetic reconnection dynamics.

Contribution

The paper demonstrates a correlation of quasi-periodic pulsations across multiple wave bands and suggests a magnetic reconnection modulation as their cause, which is a novel insight.

Findings

Quasi-periodic variations with a 40-50 s period observed in microwave, X-ray, and radio emissions.

Amplitude of variations exceeds 30%, reaching 80% after flare maximum.

No periodicity found in thermal X-ray flux or source size dynamics.

Abstract

We studied a solar flare with pronounced quasi-periodic pulsations detected in the microwave, X-ray, and radio bands. We used the methods of correlation, Fourier, and wavelet analyses to examine the temporal fine structures and relationships between the time profiles in each wave band. We found that the time profiles of the microwaves, hard X-rays and type III radio bursts vary quasi-periodically with the common period of 40-50 s. The average amplitude of the variations is high, above 30% of the background flux level and reaching 80% after the flare maximum. We did not find the periodicity in either the thermal X-ray flux component or source size dynamics. Our findings indicate that the detected periodicity is likely to be associated with periodic dynamics in the injection of non-thermal electrons, that can be produced by periodic modulation of magnetic reconnection.