Coronal Diagnostics of Solar Type-III Radio Bursts Using LOFAR and PSP Observations

TL;DR

This paper combines multiwavelength observations from LOFAR and PSP with modeling to analyze the source, kinematics, and plasma conditions of solar type III radio bursts, providing new insights into their origins and physical environment.

Contribution

It introduces an automated method to identify and characterize type III bursts and integrates observational data with PFSS and MHD models for comprehensive analysis.

Findings

Identified 9 and 16 type III bursts in combined and LOFAR spectra.

Electrons originate from the same source within 30 minutes.

Plasma density from MAS model is lower than theoretical expectations.

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the ambiguous source and the underlying physical processes of the solar type III radio bursts that occurred on April 3, 2019, through the utilization of multiwavelength observations from the LOFAR radio telescope and the PSP space mission, as well as incorporating results from a PFSS and MHD models. The primary goal is to identify the spatial and temporal characteristics of the radio sources, as well as the plasma conditions along their trajectory. Data preprocessing techniques are applied to combine high- and low-frequency observations from LOFAR and PSP between 2.6 kHz and 80 MHz. We then extract information on the frequency drift and speed of the accelerated electron beams from the dynamic spectra. Additionally, we use LOFAR interferometric observations to image the sources of the radio emission at multiple frequencies and determine their locations and kinematics in the corona. Lastly, we analyze the plasma parameters and magnetic field along the trajectories of the radio sources using PFSS and MHD model results. We present several notable findings related to type III radio bursts. Firstly, through our automated implementation, we were able to effectively identify and characterize 9 type III radio bursts in the LOFAR-PSP combined dynamic spectrum and 16 type III bursts in the LOFAR dynamic spectrum. Secondly, our imaging observations show that the electrons responsible for these bursts originate from the same source and within a short time frame of fewer than 30 minutes. Finally, our analysis provides informative insights into the physical conditions along the path of the electron beams. For instance, we found that the plasma density obtained from the MAS model is significantly lower than the expected theoretical density.