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Cairns IH, Lobzin VV, Donea A, Tingay SJ, McCauley PI, Oberoi D, Duffin RT, Reiner MJ, Hurley-Walker N, Kudryavtseva NA, Melrose DB, Harding JC, Bernardi G, Bowman JD, Cappallo RJ, Corey BE, Deshpande A, Emrich D, Goeke R, Hazelton BJ, Johnston-Hollitt M, Kaplan DL, Kasper JC, Kratzenberg E, Lonsdale CJ, Lynch MJ, McWhirter SR, Mitchell DA, Morales MF, Morgan E, Ord SM, Prabu T, Roshi A, Shankar NU, Srivani KS, Subrahmanyan R, Wayth RB, Waterson M, Webster RL, Whitney AR, Williams A, Williams CL. Low Altitude Solar Magnetic Reconnection, Type III Solar Radio Bursts, and X-ray Emissions. Sci Rep 2018; 8:1676. [PMID: 29374211 PMCID: PMC5786056 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-19195-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2015] [Accepted: 12/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Type III solar radio bursts are the Sun's most intense and frequent nonthermal radio emissions. They involve two critical problems in astrophysics, plasma physics, and space physics: how collective processes produce nonthermal radiation and how magnetic reconnection occurs and changes magnetic energy into kinetic energy. Here magnetic reconnection events are identified definitively in Solar Dynamics Observatory UV-EUV data, with strong upward and downward pairs of jets, current sheets, and cusp-like geometries on top of time-varying magnetic loops, and strong outflows along pairs of open magnetic field lines. Type III bursts imaged by the Murchison Widefield Array and detected by the Learmonth radiospectrograph and STEREO B spacecraft are demonstrated to be in very good temporal and spatial coincidence with specific reconnection events and with bursts of X-rays detected by the RHESSI spacecraft. The reconnection sites are low, near heights of 5-10 Mm. These images and event timings provide the long-desired direct evidence that semi-relativistic electrons energized in magnetic reconnection regions produce type III radio bursts. Not all the observed reconnection events produce X-ray events or coronal or interplanetary type III bursts; thus different special conditions exist for electrons leaving reconnection regions to produce observable radio, EUV, UV, and X-ray bursts.
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Affiliation(s)
- I H Cairns
- School of Physics, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
| | - V V Lobzin
- School of Physics, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
- Space Weather Services, Bureau of Meteorology, PO Box 1386, Sydney, NSW 1240, Australia
| | - A Donea
- Centre for Astrophysics, School of Mathematical Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - S J Tingay
- International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia
| | - P I McCauley
- School of Physics, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - D Oberoi
- National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, Tata Institute for Fundamental Research, Ganeshkhind, Pune, 411007, India
| | - R T Duffin
- School of Physics, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
- International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia
- Department of Physics, Seattle University, Seattle, WA, 98122-1090, USA
| | - M J Reiner
- The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, USA
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, 02330, USA
| | - N Hurley-Walker
- International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia
| | - N A Kudryavtseva
- International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia
- Department of Cybernetics, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, 12 618, Estonia
| | - D B Melrose
- School of Physics, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - J C Harding
- School of Physics, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - G Bernardi
- Square Kilometre Array South Africa (SKA SA), Cape Town, South Africa
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, USA
- Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
| | | | - R J Cappallo
- MIT Haystack Observatory, Westford, MA, 01886-1299, USA
| | - B E Corey
- MIT Haystack Observatory, Westford, MA, 01886-1299, USA
| | | | - D Emrich
- International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia
| | - R Goeke
- MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Cambridge, USA
| | | | - M Johnston-Hollitt
- International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia
- Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - D L Kaplan
- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, USA
| | - J C Kasper
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, USA
| | - E Kratzenberg
- MIT Haystack Observatory, Westford, MA, 01886-1299, USA
| | - C J Lonsdale
- MIT Haystack Observatory, Westford, MA, 01886-1299, USA
| | - M J Lynch
- International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia
| | - S R McWhirter
- MIT Haystack Observatory, Westford, MA, 01886-1299, USA
| | - D A Mitchell
- International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia
- University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | | | - E Morgan
- MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Cambridge, USA
| | - S M Ord
- International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, USA
| | - T Prabu
- Raman Research Institute, Bangalore, India
| | - A Roshi
- National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), Charlottesville, USA
| | | | - K S Srivani
- MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Cambridge, USA
| | - R Subrahmanyan
- Raman Research Institute, Bangalore, India
- National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), Charlottesville, USA
| | - R B Wayth
- International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO), Sydney, USA
| | - M Waterson
- International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia
- Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - R L Webster
- University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO), Sydney, USA
| | - A R Whitney
- MIT Haystack Observatory, Westford, MA, 01886-1299, USA
| | - A Williams
- International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia
| | - C L Williams
- MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Cambridge, USA
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