Numerical modeling of type III solar radio bursts in the inhomogeneous solar corona and interplanetary medium

Abstract

The first numerical calculations are presented for type III solar radio bursts in the inhomogeneous solar corona and interplanetary medium that include microscale quasilinear and nonlinear processes, intermediate-scale driven ambient density fluctuations, and large-scale evolution of electron beams, Langmuir and ion-sound waves, and fundamental and harmonic electromagnetic emission. Bidirectional coronal radiation driven by oppositely directed beams is asymmetric between the upward and downward directions due to downward beam narrowing in velocity space, and harmonic emission dominates fundamental emission, consistent with observations and theoretical analysis. In the interplanetary medium, fundamental and/or harmonic emission can be important depending on beam parameters and plasma conditions. Furthermore, Langmuir waves are bursty, ion-sound waves also show some degree of irregularity, while electromagnetic radiations are relatively smooth, all qualitatively consistent with observations. Moreover, the statistics of Langmuir wave energy agree well with the predictions of stochastic growth theory, indicating that the beam-Langmuir wave system evolves to a stochastic growth state.