solar energetic particles (SEP)

Flare Accelerated Electron Transport in Type III Solar Radio Bursts: large-scale transport and super-diffusive beam expansion by E. P. Kontar et al.

January 21, 2025

Solar flares, the most powerful magnetic explosions in our solar system, are often accompanied by intense bursts of radio emission known as type III solar radio bursts. These bursts provide valuable clues about the acceleration and transport of energetic electrons in the Sun’s atmosphere and beyond. Understanding these bursts is not only crucial for solar physics but also for predicting space weather events that can disrupt our technological infrastructure. A […]

A possible new scenario for widespread solar energetic particle events by Nina Dresing et al.

September 12, 2023

A long-standing problem in solar energetic particle (SEP) studies is to pinpoint their source regions at the Sun. Potential contributions by both the flare and CME-driven shocks complicate the analysis. A certain type of SEP events shows very wide particle spreads up to all around the Sun. The mechanisms proposed so far to generate these widespread events are a very wide SEP injection region, likely a shock, or strong perpendicular […]

Langmuir wave motion observed in the most intense radio sources in the sky by H. Reid and E. Kontar

August 31, 2021

The Sun routinely produces energetic electrons in its outer atmosphere that subsequently travel through interplanetary space. These electron beams generate Langmuir waves in the background plasma, producing type III radio bursts that are the brightest radio sources in the sky (Suzuki & Dulk, 1985). These solar radio bursts also provide a unique opportunity to understand particle acceleration and transport which is important for our prediction of extreme space weather events […]

Spectral Structures of Type II Solar Radio Bursts and Solar Energetic Particles by K. Iwai

March 3, 2020

Solar eruptive phenomena, such as flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), generate high-energy particles called solar energetic particles (SEPs). Severe SEP events sometimes cause satellite anomalies and radiation exposure to humans in space. Hence, understanding and forecasting SEPs is an important issue in space weather. Type II solar radio bursts are nonthermal radio emissions with negative frequency drift observed between the metric and kilometric frequency range. They are thought to […]

Solar Physics with the Square Kilometre Array by A. Nindos et al.*

August 13, 2019

Although solar physics is one of the most mature branches of astrophysics, the Sun confronts us with a large number of outstanding problems that are fundamental in nature.  These problems include the determination of the structure and dynamics of the solar atmosphere, the magnetic field evolution in the chromosphere and corona, coronal heating, the physics of impulsive energy release, energetic particle acceleration and transport, the physics of coronal mass ejections […]