Special Issue: Magnetic Reconnection in Space and Laboratory Plasmas
- Article
- Published:
Seemingly intersecting flaring loops in microwaves: Possible radio evidence for reconnection
Earth, Planets and Space volume 53, pages 585–591 (2001)
Abstract
We present possible radio evidence of magnetic reconnection in a solar flare—an LDE event of GOES class M3.2 that was observed on 1999 February 16 on the disk. Our evidence is based upon the facts that we observed a bright microwave source-blob at 17 and 34 GHz near the intersection of two seemingly intersecting flaring loops or as a loop-top source above one flaring loop. The bright microwave source is clearly non-thermal and its time profile is similar to those of the flaring footpoint microwave sources; and in the late decay phase of the event the microwave source structure is similar to that of the corresponding SXR source.
References
Altyntsev, A. T., V. V. Grechnev, H. Nakajima, K. Fujiki, M. Nishio, and D. V. Prosovetsky, The limb flare of November 2, 1992: Physical conditions and scenario, Astron. Astrophys. Suppl. Ser., 135, 415–427, 1999.
Antonucci, E., C. Benna, and B. Somov, Interpretation of the observed plasma turbulent velocities as a result of magnetic reconnection in solar flares, Astrophys. J., 456, 833–839, 1996.
Gold, T. and F. Hoyle, On the origin of solar flares, MNRAS, 120, 89–105, 1960.
Holman, G. H., M. R. Kundu, and K. Papadopoulos, Electron pitch angle scattering and the impulsive phase microwave and hard X-ray emission from solar flares, Astrophys. J., 257, 354–360, 1982.
Kundu, M. R., Observational evidence for magnetic reconnection in microwave solar bursts, in Unstable Current Systems and Plasma Instabilities in Astrophysics, IAU Symp. No. 107, edited by M. R. Kundu and G. Holman, pp. 185–190, 1985.
Kundu, M. R., E. J. Schmahl, T. Velusamy, and L. Vlahos, Radio imaging of solar flares using the very large array: New insights into flare process, Astron. Astrophys., 108, 188–194, 1982.
Lee, J. W. and D. E. Gary, Microwave bursts and electron pitch angle, in High Energy Solar Physics: Anticipating HESSI, edited by Ramaty and Mandzhavidze, ASP conf. Series., 206, pp. 323–328, 2000.
Masuda, S. et al., A loop-top hard X-ray source in a compact solar flare as evidence for magnetic reconnection, Nature, 371, 495–497, 1994.
McKenzie, D. and H. S. Hudson, X-ray observations of motions and structure above a solar flare arcade, Astrophys. J. Lett., 519, L93–L96, 1999.
Parker, E. N., Sweet’s mechanism for merging magnetic fields in conducting fluids, J. Geophys. Res., 62, 509–520, 1957.
Petschek, H. E., Magnetic field annihilation, in Proc. AAS-NASA Symp. on Physics of Solar Flares, edited by W. N. Hess, pp. 425–439, NASA SP-50, Washington, D.C., 1964.
Shibata, K., Coronal X-ray jets observed with Yohkoh/SXT, Adv. Space Res., 17 (4/5), 197–200, 1996.
Shibata, K. et al., Hot plasma ejections associated with compact—loop solar flares, Astrophys. J. Lett., 451, L83–L85, 1995.
Sweet, P. A., The neutral point theory of solar flares, in Electromagnetic Phenomena in Cosmical Physics, IAU Symp. 6, edited by B. Lehnert, pp. 123–134, 1958.
Tsuneta, S., Structure and dynamics of magnetic reconnection in a solar flare, Astrophys. J., 456, 840–849, 1996.
Tsuneta, S. et al., Observation of a solar flare at the limb with the Yohkoh soft X-ray telescope, PASJ, 44, L63–L69, 1992.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kundu, M.R., Grechnev, V.V. Seemingly intersecting flaring loops in microwaves: Possible radio evidence for reconnection. Earth Planet Sp 53, 585–591 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03353275
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03353275