Spectral Analysis of Solar Radio Type III Bursts from 20 kHz to 410 MHz

TL;DR

This study provides a comprehensive statistical analysis of solar radio type III bursts across a broad frequency range, confirming a flux density maximum around 2 MHz and modeling the flux behavior with an empirical polynomial.

Contribution

First to extend spectral analysis of type III bursts from 20 kHz to 410 MHz, establishing the flux maximum and deriving an empirical flux model.

Findings

Median flux density peaks near 2 MHz.

Flux modeled by a polynomial in natural log scale.

Maximum radio power occurs between 4 and 10 solar radii.

Abstract

We present the statistical analysis of the spectral response of solar radio type III bursts over the wide frequency range between 20 kHz and 410 MHz. For this purpose, we have used observations that were carried out using both spaced-based (Wind/Waves) and ground-based (Nan\c{c}ay Decameter Array and Nan\c{c}ay Radioheliograph) facilities. In order to compare the flux densities observed by the different instruments, we have carefully calibrated the data and displayed them in Solar Flux Units. The main result of our study is that type III bursts, in the metric to hectometric wavelength range, statistically exhibit a clear maximum of their median radio flux density around 2 MHz. Although this result was already reported by inspecting the spectral profiles of type III bursts in the frequency range 20 kHz - 20 MHz, our study extends such analysis for the first time to metric radio frequencies (i.e., from 20 kHz to 410 MHz) and confirms the maximum spectral response around 2 MHz. In addition, using a simple empirical model we show that the median radio flux $S$ of the studied dataset obeys the polynomial form $Y = 0.04 X^3 - 1.63 X^2 + 16.30 X -41.24$, with $X=\ln{(F_\text{MHz})}$ and with $Y=\ln{(S_\text{SFU})}$. Using the Sittler and Guhathakurtha model for coronal streamers \citep{Sit1999}, we have found that maximum of radio power falls therefore in the range 4 to 10 $R_{\odot}$, depending on whether the type III emissions are assumed to be at the fundamental or the harmonic.