Solar Type U Burst Associated with a High Coronal Loop

TL;DR

This study analyzes a solar inverted U burst linked to a high coronal loop, estimating its physical parameters and proposing methods to determine loop height and plasma temperature using radio observations.

Contribution

The paper introduces a model relating plasma density, temperature, and loop height, and suggests an alternative method for coronal loop height determination based on radio burst timing.

Findings

Coronal loops may contain plasma up to 20 times denser than surrounding plasma.

Higher loops tend to contain cooler plasma under the proposed model.

A new method to estimate loop height from radio burst delay was proposed.

Abstract

An inverted U burst with equally developed ascending and descending branches observed by Giant Ukrainian Radio Telescope (GURT) on 18 April 2017 in meter wavelengths band is discussed. This U burst was attributed to the high coronal loop above the limb active region NOAA 12651. Under the assumption that, associated with the burst, the coronal loop confines isothermal plasma stratified according to a Boltzmann density relation, the geometrical and physical parameters of the loop were estimated. According to our model coronal loops may contain plasma which is up to 20 times denser than the surrounding coronal plasma. In general the proposed model gives the relation between the plasma temperature and the height of the loop in such a way that under the given parameters of the associated U burst, higher loops contain cooler plasma and vice versa. An alternative method of coronal loop height determination was suggested. Assuming that the observed U burst and the preceding type III burst were generated by the same exciter we define the height of the loop from the delay of the former with respect to the latter at certain frequency. We show that defining of coronal loops heights by another independent method, e.g. interferometric or tied-array imaging may solve the uncertainty of the inside-the-loop plasma temperature determination.