Jean-Pierre Raulin

Can microbunch instability on solar flare accelerated electron beams account for bright broadband coherent synchrotron microwaves

The physical processes producing bright broadband coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) bursts in laboratory accelerators are proposed to happen also in solar flares, bringing a plausible explanation to serious interpretation constraints raised by the discovery of a solar flare sub-mm-wave spectral emission component peaking in the terahertz (THz) range simultaneous to the well-known microwaves component. The THz component is due to incoherent synchrotron radiation (ISR) produced by a beam of ultrarelativistic electrons. Beam density perturbations, on a scale of the order of or smaller than the emitting wavelength, sets a microbunch instability producing the intense CSR at lower frequencies. Hard x-ray/γ-ray emissions may include a significant synchrotron emission component from the same ISR spectrum, bringing a new possibility to explain the so called “solar flare electron number paradox.”

Rapid Pulsations in Sub-THz Solar Bursts

A new solar burst emission spectral component has been found showing sub-THz fluxes increasing with frequency, spectrally separated from the well known microwave component. Rapid pulsations are found present in all events observed at the two frequencies of the solar submillimeter-wave telescope: 212 and 405 GHz. They were studied in greater detail for three solar bursts exhibiting the new THz spectral component. The pulse amplitudes are of about 5%-8% of the mean flux throughout the bursts durations, being comparable for both frequencies. Pulsations range from one pulse every few seconds to 8-10 per second. The pulse repetition rates (R) are linearly proportional to the mean burst fluxes (S), following the simple relationship S = kR, suggesting that the pulsations might be the response to discrete flare particle accelerator injections quantized in energy. Although this result is consistent with qualitative trends previously found in the GHz range, the pulse amplitude relative to the mean fluxes at the sub-THz frequencies appear to be nearly ten times smaller than expected from the extrapolation of the trends found in the GHz range. However there are difficulties to reconcile the nearly simultaneous GHz and THz burst emission spectrally separated components, exhibiting rapid pulsations with considerably larger relative intensities in the GHz range.

PROPERTIES OF FAST SUBMILLIMETER TIME STRUCTURES DURING A LARGE SOLAR FLARE

We report properties of fast varying submillimeter emission during one of the strongest solar radio flares of solar cycle 23. Emission was obtained by the Solar Submillimeter-Wave Telescope at 212 and 405 GHz and compared with hard X-ray and γ-ray counts up to few tens of MeV photon energy ranges. We employ different methods to detect and characterize flux density variations and find that during the impulsive phase of the event, the closer in time to the peak flare, the higher the occurrence of the fastest and brightest time structures. The good comparison with hard X-ray and γ-ray count rates indicates that fast submillimeter pulses are the signatures of primary energetic injections. The characteristics of the fast spikes at 212 and 405 GHz, such as their flux density and localization, compared to those of the underlying slower impulsive component, also suggest that their nature is different.

Solar Submillimeter and Gamma-Ray Burst Emission

Solar are emission was measured at 212 GHz in the submillimeter range by the Submillimeter Solar Telescope in the 1.2-18 GHz microwave range by the Owens Valley Solar Array and in the gamma-ray energy range (continuum) by experiments on board the Yohkoh ( > 1. 2 MeV) and Shenzhou 2 ( > 0.2 MeV) satellites. At the burst onset, the submillimeter and microwave time profiles were well correlated with gamma rays to the limit of the temporal resolution (less than or equal to10 s). At 212 GHz, fast pulses ( 1. 2 MeV), attaining nearly 50 pulses per minute at the maximum. These results suggest that gamma rays might be the response to multiple rapid pulses at 212 GHz and might be produced at different sites within the flaring region.

Rapid Submillimeter Brightenings Associated with a Large Solar Flare

We present high time resolution observations of Active Region 8910 obtained simultaneously at 212 and 405 GHz during a large Hα flare, which produced a soft X-ray class X1.1 event. Data were obtained with the new solar submillimeter telescope recently installed at the El Leoncito Observatory to explore this poorly known part of the solar emission spectrum. A small slow submillimeter enhancement (≤300 sfu) was associated to bulk emissions at X-rays, Hα, and microwaves. The event exhibited numerous submillimeter-wave 100-300 ms duration spikes, the larger ones with fluxes on the order of 220 and 500 sfu (±20%) at 212 and 405 GHz, respectively. A dramatic increase in the incidence rate of submillimeter spikes sets in as a new large loop system appears in AR 8910, and X-ray emission increases nearly 1 hr before the large flare. The brightening incidence rate (~20 per minute) correlates well with the large flare light curves at X-rays and Hα. The submillimeter spikes may be associated to microflares, waves, or quakes in flaring active regions.

SYNTHETIC SPECTRA OF RADIO, MILLIMETER, SUB-MILLIMETER, AND INFRARED REGIMES WITH NON-LOCAL THERMODYNAMIC EQUILIBRIUM APPROXIMATION

We use a numerical code called PAKALMPI to compute synthetic spectra of the solar emission in quiet conditions at millimeter, sub-millimeter, and infrared wavelengths. PAKALMPI solves the radiative transfer equation, with non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE), in a three-dimensional geometry using a multiprocessor environment. The code is able to use three opacity functions: classical bremsstrahlung, H?, and inverse bremsstrahlung. In this work, we have computed and compared two synthetic spectra, one in the common way: using bremsstrahlung opacity function and considering a fully ionized atmosphere; and a new one considering bremsstrahlung, inverse bremsstrahlung, and H? opacity functions in NLTE. We analyzed in detail the local behavior of the low atmospheric emission at 17, 212, and 405?GHz (frequencies used by the Nobeyama Radio Heliograph and the Solar Submillimeter Telescope). We found that the H? is the major emission mechanism at low altitudes (below 500?km) and that at higher altitudes the classical bremsstrahlung becomes the major mechanism of emission. However, the brightness temperature remains unalterable. Finally, we found that the inverse bremsstrahlung process is not important for radio emission at these heights.

The new submillimeter-wave solar telescope

A new and unique solar submillimeter telescope (SST) was installed in the El Leoncito site, Argentina Andes. It has a 1.5 m radome-enclosed cassegrain antenna, and arrays of four 212 GHz and two 405 GHz radiometers placed in the focal plane. We present a brief technical description of the system, preliminary results on its performance, the atmospheric opacity measured at the site, and the first detection of solar flare submm-wave emissions.

Response of the low ionosphere to X‐ray and Lyman‐α solar flare emissions

[1] Using soft X-ray measurements from detectors onboard the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) and simultaneous high-cadence Lyman-a observations from the Large Yield Radiometer (LYRA) onboard the Project for On-Board Autonomy 2 (PROBA2) ESA spacecraft, we study the response of the lower part of the ionosphere, the D region, to seven moderate to medium-size solar flares that occurred in February and March of 2010. The ionospheric disturbances are analyzed by monitoring the resulting sub-ionospheric wave propagation anomalies detected by the South America Very Low Frequency (VLF) Network (SAVNET). We find that the ionospheric disturbances, which are characterized by changes of the VLF wave phase, do not depend on the presence of Lyman-a radiation excesses during the flares. Indeed, Lyman-a excesses associated with flares do not produce measurable phase changes. Our results are in agreement with what is expected in terms of forcing of the lower ionosphere by quiescent Lyman-a emission along the solar activity cycle. Therefore, while phase changes using the VLF technique may be a good indicator of quiescent Lyman-a variations along the solar cycle, they cannot be used to scale explosive Lyman-a emission during flares.

THE CONTRIBUTION OF MICROBUNCHING INSTABILITY TO SOLAR FLARE EMISSION IN THE GHz TO THz RANGE OF FREQUENCIES

Recent solar flare observations in the sub-terahertz range have provided evidence of a new spectral component with fluxes increasing for larger frequencies, separated from the well-known microwave emission that maximizes in the gigahertz range. Suggested interpretations explain the terahertz spectral component but do not account for the simultaneous microwave component. We present a mechanism for producing the observed double spectra. Based on coherent enhancement of synchrotron emission at long wavelengths in laboratory accelerators, we consider how similar processes may occur within a solar flare. The instability known as microbunching arises from perturbations that produce electron beam density modulations, giving rise to broadband coherent synchrotron emission at wavelengths comparable to the characteristic size of the microbunch structure. The spectral intensity of this coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) can far exceed that of the incoherent synchrotron radiation (ISR), which peaks at a higher frequency, thus producing a double-peaked spectrum. Successful CSR simulations are shown to fit actual burst spectral observations, using typical flaring physical parameters and power-law energy distributions for the accelerated electrons. The simulations consider an energy threshold below which microbunching is not possible because of Coulomb repulsion. Only a small fraction of the radiating charges accelerated to energies above the threshold is required to produce the microwave component observed for several events. The ISR/CSR mechanism can occur together with other emission processes producing the microwave component. It may bring an important contribution to microwaves, at least for certain events where physical conditions for the occurrence of the ISR/CSR microbunching mechanism are possible.

Estimating the VLF modal interference distance using the South America VLF Network (SAVNET)

Pronounced amplitude minima are observed during the subionospheric propagation of VLF waves at times (Terminator Times) when the Terminator Line crosses given locations along the propagation path. The distance between such two successive minima is called the modal interference distance D, which is related to nighttime mode propagation in the Earth-ionosphere waveguide. Therefore, the temporal behavior of the distance D can bring information on the dynamics of the nighttime lower ionosphere and on the presence of external forcing agents, including those associated with seismic activity. In this paper we present a methodology to estimate D based on the measure and analysis of the pronounced VLF amplitude minima. We have used a long-term database of almost 5 years from three different VLF propagation paths from the South America VLF Network. We emphasize that the accuracy of the determination of the distance D achieved by our method is better than those obtained in earlier studies. The reason for that is the use of a long-term continuous database, from different parallel propagation paths mainly oriented along the west-to-east direction. We discuss typical properties of the obtained distance D, as the simultaneous occurrence of amplitude minima for parallel propagation paths, anomalous values of D at locations where the Terminator Line is close to the receiver, and the derivation of the undisturbed nighttime ionospheric height at hN ~ 88 km.