Small-scale inhomogeneities in the solar corona: Evidence from meter-λ radio bursts

✍ Scribed by D. B. Melrose

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1975
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 517 KB
• Volume: 43
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0038-0938
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00155144

✦ Synopsis

A number of inconsistencies between simple theory and observations of solar radio bursts indicate that mode-mode coupling in the solar corona is much stronger than predicted. The inconsistencies include the absence of predicted reversal of the sense of polarization in a type 1 storm at CMP, and the anomalously weak polarization of type II and type III emission. The strong mode coupling could be explained in terms of small scale inhomogeneities (LN~ < 100 kin) throughout the relevant regions of the corona. The relevant regions are those with open magnetic field lines overlying active regions.

it is suggested that the coronal plasma is confined to magnetically self-pinched sheets, and it is pointed out that another inconsistency, namely the anomalously small amount of Faraday variation in type III bursts, could be explained if the value of neB in the inter-sheet region were two orders of magnitude less than in the sheets.