Type III solar radio burst storms observed at low frequencies

Abstract

Storms of type III solar radio bursts observed from 5.4 ot 0.2 MHz consist of a quasi-continuous production of type III events observable for half a solar rotation but persisting in some cases for well over a complete rotation (Fainberg and Stone, 1970). The observed burst drift rates are a function of the heliographic longitude of the associated active region. This apparent drift rate dependence is a consequence of the radio emission propagation time from source to observer. Based on this dependence, a least squares analysis of 2500 drift rates between frequencies in the 2.8 to 0.7 MHz range yields an average exciter speed of 0.38 c for the height range from approximately 11 to 30 R _⊙. In conjunction with the available determinations of exciter speeds of 0.33 c close to the sun, i.e. less than 3 R _⊙, and with in situ measurements of 40 keV solar electrons by space probes, the present results suggest that the exciters are electron packets which propagate with little deceleration over distances of at least 1 AU.