A comparative analysis of zebra-pattern structures at frequencies from 20 to 7000 MHz

Abstract

A joint analysis of several recent solar type IV radio outbursts with zebra structures and fiber bursts in their dynamical radio spectra is carried out using all available ground-based and satellite data (Yohkoh, SOHO, TRACE). Zebra structures and fiber bursts were observed at frequencies from 20 to 6500 MHz. The main relative spectral parameters and degree of circular polarization of the zebra structures and fiber bursts are nearly the same. The relative width of the zebra structures varies only slightly with frequency (≈0.003–0.005); the radio emission is radiated in the ordinary mode. New data on centimeter-wavelength zebra structures and fiber bursts testifies that they are analogous to similar structures observed at meter wavelengths. A double-plasma-resonance model for the zebra structures based on the observational dependences for the electron density and magnetic field yields a frequency dependence for the frequency separation between stripes that does not agree with the observations. Fine structure was observed together with the rise into the corona of new, hot magnetic loops, in which instabilities associated with high-frequency and low-frequency plasma waves develop. The frequency range of the fine structure in the dynamical spectra is probably determined by the extent of these new loops in the corona. The continuous transition of the fiber bursts into zebra structures and vice versa testifies to a single origin for these two structures. All the main properties of the stripes in emission and absorption can be explained if they are associated with interactions between electrostatic plasma waves and whistlers. It is possible to obtain realistic values for the magnetic-field strength of B≈160 G at a plasma level of about 3 GHz in this model.