Observations of the Flux Density of Some Interplanetary Type II and Type III Radio Bursts and Initial Comparisons With Theory

Abstract:

The measured intensity of a radio signal depends on the effective antenna length, which may vary with (at least) the plasma properties and radiation frequency. Here the effective antenna lengths are estimated as a function of frequency for the RAD1 and RAD2 instruments on the WIND spacecraft when in SUM mode. This is done by calibrating against the known galactic background radiation spectrum after removal of receiver noise and thermal plasma noise where possible. Flux density spectra and lower limits to the maximum brightness temperature are determined for three type II and three type III radio bursts based on two calibration methods, one of which uses the effective antenna lengths as a function of frequency. The second calibration method uses Wind data for the relative flux in dB to equate the minimum flux observed with the galactic background and receiver noise. The results emphasize that the second method is more successful in obtaining calibrated type II and III fluxes. Calibrated flux densities obtained show that The type IIs have similar maximum flux densities to the type III events in this sample, but the type IIs are much more variable in frequency and time. Theoretical predictions are obtained for shocks moving with a suitable range of initial speeds and accelerations. Dynamic spectra are then predicted for the three selected type II events using the theory of Knock et al. [2001] and a simple, unstructured, solar wind model. Because of the continuous emission of 24-26 August 1998 that is present in a wide range from 100 MHz to 21 kHz, albeit with strongly varying intensity, a comparison between its observed and predicted dynamic spectra is presented. The agreement between theory and data is discussed and the implications described for future modeling.