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Microwave diagnostics of magnetic field strengths in solar flaring loops

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Abstract

We have performed microwave diagnostics of the magnetic field strengths in solar flaring loops based on the theory of gyrosynchrotron emission. From Nobeyama Radioheliograph observations of three flare events at 17 and 34 GHz, we obtained the degree of circular polarization and the spectral index of microwave flux density, which were then used to map the magnetic field strengths in post-flare loops. Our results show that the magnetic field strength typically decreases from ∼800 G near the loop footpoints to ∼100 G at a height of 10–25 Mm. Comparison of our results with magnetic field modeling using a flux rope insertion method is also discussed. Our study demonstrates the potential of microwave imaging observations, even at only two frequencies, in diagnosing the coronal magnetic field of flaring regions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Rui Zhu, Hui Tian & GuangYu Tan

  2. Key Laboratory of Solar Activity, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China

    BaoLin Tan, Hui Tian, XingYao Chen & YongLiang Song

  3. School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    BaoLin Tan

  4. Key Laboratory of Dark Matter and Space Astronomy, Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China

    YingNa Su

  5. School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China

    YingNa Su

  6. School of Astronomy and Space Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China

    Yu Xu

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  1. Rui Zhu
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Correspondence to Hui Tian.

Additional information

This work was supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDA17040507), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11790300, 11790301, 11790302, 11790304, 11825301, 11973057, 11803002 and 11473071). We thank Dr. Yang Guo for helpful discussion.

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Zhu, R., Tan, B., Su, Y. et al. Microwave diagnostics of magnetic field strengths in solar flaring loops. Sci. China Technol. Sci. 64, 169–178 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-020-1620-7

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