Regular Solar Radio Imaging at Arecibo: Space Weather Perspective of Evolution of Active Regions

TL;DR

This paper discusses the use of regular solar radio imaging at Arecibo to monitor active regions on the Sun, aiming to improve space weather prediction by analyzing magnetic activity and eruption potential.

Contribution

It introduces a method for mapping solar active regions at X-band frequencies using Arecibo's radio telescope to track magnetic complexity evolution related to eruptions.

Findings

Monitoring brightness temperature helps identify eruption-prone regions.

Radio imaging provides insights into magnetic field evolution.

Potential for improved space weather forecasting with high-resolution observations.

Abstract

The sudden release of magnetic energy on the Sun drives powerful solar flares and coronal mass ejections. The key issue is the difficulty in predicting the occurrence time and location of strong solar eruptions, i.e., those leading to the high impact space weather disturbances at the near-Earth environment. Solar radio imaging helps identify the magnetic field characteristics of active regions susceptible to intense flares and energetic coronal mass ejections. Mapping of the Sun at X-band (8.1 -- 9.3 GHz) with the 12-m radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory allows monitoring of the evolution of the brightness temperature of active regions in association with the development of magnetic complexity, which can lead to strong eruptions. For a better forecasting strategy in the future, such ground-based radio observations of high-spatial and temporal resolution, along with a full polarization capability, would have tremendous potential not only to understand the magnetic activity of solar eruptions, but also for revealing the particle acceleration mechanism and additional exciting science.