Wavelet-based Characterization of Small-scale Solar Emission Features at Low Radio Frequencies

Low radio frequency solar observations using the Murchison Widefield Array have recently revealed the presence of numerous weak short-lived narrowband emission features, even during moderately quiet solar conditions. These nonthermal features occur at rates of many thousands per hour in the 30.72 MH...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Suresh, A., Sharma, R., Oberoi, D., Das, S., Pankratius, V., Timar, B., Lonsdale, C., Bowman, J., Briggs, F., Cappallo, R., Corey, B., Deshpande, A., Emrich, David, Goeke, R., Greenhill, L., Hazelton, B., Johnston-Hollitt, M., Kaplan, D., Kasper, J., Kratzenberg, E., Lynch, Mervyn, McWhirter, S., Mitchell, D., Morales, M., Morgan, E., Ord, S., Prabu, T., Rogers, A., Roshi, A., Shankar, N., Srivani, K., Subrahmanyan, R., Tingay, Steven, Waterson, M., Wayth, Randall, Webster, R., Whitney, A., Williams, Anne, Williams, C.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Institute of Physics Publishing 2017
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/58276
_version_ 1848760219203534848
author Suresh, A.
Sharma, R.
Oberoi, D.
Das, S.
Pankratius, V.
Timar, B.
Lonsdale, C.
Bowman, J.
Briggs, F.
Cappallo, R.
Corey, B.
Deshpande, A.
Emrich, David
Goeke, R.
Greenhill, L.
Hazelton, B.
Johnston-Hollitt, M.
Kaplan, D.
Kasper, J.
Kratzenberg, E.
Lynch, Mervyn
McWhirter, S.
Mitchell, D.
Morales, M.
Morgan, E.
Ord, S.
Prabu, T.
Rogers, A.
Roshi, A.
Shankar, N.
Srivani, K.
Subrahmanyan, R.
Tingay, Steven
Waterson, M.
Wayth, Randall
Webster, R.
Whitney, A.
Williams, Anne
Williams, C.
author_facet Suresh, A.
Sharma, R.
Oberoi, D.
Das, S.
Pankratius, V.
Timar, B.
Lonsdale, C.
Bowman, J.
Briggs, F.
Cappallo, R.
Corey, B.
Deshpande, A.
Emrich, David
Goeke, R.
Greenhill, L.
Hazelton, B.
Johnston-Hollitt, M.
Kaplan, D.
Kasper, J.
Kratzenberg, E.
Lynch, Mervyn
McWhirter, S.
Mitchell, D.
Morales, M.
Morgan, E.
Ord, S.
Prabu, T.
Rogers, A.
Roshi, A.
Shankar, N.
Srivani, K.
Subrahmanyan, R.
Tingay, Steven
Waterson, M.
Wayth, Randall
Webster, R.
Whitney, A.
Williams, Anne
Williams, C.
author_sort Suresh, A.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Low radio frequency solar observations using the Murchison Widefield Array have recently revealed the presence of numerous weak short-lived narrowband emission features, even during moderately quiet solar conditions. These nonthermal features occur at rates of many thousands per hour in the 30.72 MHz observing bandwidth, and hence necessarily require an automated approach for their detection and characterization. Here, we employ continuous wavelet transform using a mother Ricker wavelet for feature detection from the dynamic spectrum. We establish the efficacy of this approach and present the first statistically robust characterization of the properties of these features. In particular, we examine distributions of their peak flux densities, spectral spans, temporal spans, and peak frequencies. We can reliably detect features weaker than 1 SFU, making them, to the best of our knowledge, the weakest bursts reported in literature. The distribution of their peak flux densities follows a power law with an index of -2.23 in the 12-155 SFU range, implying that they can provide an energetically significant contribution to coronal and chromospheric heating. These features typically last for 1-2 s and possess bandwidths of about 4-5 MHz. Their occurrence rate remains fairly flat in the 140-210 MHz frequency range. At the time resolution of the data, they appear as stationary bursts, exhibiting no perceptible frequency drift. These features also appear to ride on a broadband background continuum, hinting at the likelihood of them being weak type-I bursts.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T10:12:18Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-58276
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T10:12:18Z
publishDate 2017
publisher Institute of Physics Publishing
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-582762018-03-26T07:33:08Z Wavelet-based Characterization of Small-scale Solar Emission Features at Low Radio Frequencies Suresh, A. Sharma, R. Oberoi, D. Das, S. Pankratius, V. Timar, B. Lonsdale, C. Bowman, J. Briggs, F. Cappallo, R. Corey, B. Deshpande, A. Emrich, David Goeke, R. Greenhill, L. Hazelton, B. Johnston-Hollitt, M. Kaplan, D. Kasper, J. Kratzenberg, E. Lynch, Mervyn McWhirter, S. Mitchell, D. Morales, M. Morgan, E. Ord, S. Prabu, T. Rogers, A. Roshi, A. Shankar, N. Srivani, K. Subrahmanyan, R. Tingay, Steven Waterson, M. Wayth, Randall Webster, R. Whitney, A. Williams, Anne Williams, C. Low radio frequency solar observations using the Murchison Widefield Array have recently revealed the presence of numerous weak short-lived narrowband emission features, even during moderately quiet solar conditions. These nonthermal features occur at rates of many thousands per hour in the 30.72 MHz observing bandwidth, and hence necessarily require an automated approach for their detection and characterization. Here, we employ continuous wavelet transform using a mother Ricker wavelet for feature detection from the dynamic spectrum. We establish the efficacy of this approach and present the first statistically robust characterization of the properties of these features. In particular, we examine distributions of their peak flux densities, spectral spans, temporal spans, and peak frequencies. We can reliably detect features weaker than 1 SFU, making them, to the best of our knowledge, the weakest bursts reported in literature. The distribution of their peak flux densities follows a power law with an index of -2.23 in the 12-155 SFU range, implying that they can provide an energetically significant contribution to coronal and chromospheric heating. These features typically last for 1-2 s and possess bandwidths of about 4-5 MHz. Their occurrence rate remains fairly flat in the 140-210 MHz frequency range. At the time resolution of the data, they appear as stationary bursts, exhibiting no perceptible frequency drift. These features also appear to ride on a broadband background continuum, hinting at the likelihood of them being weak type-I bursts. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/58276 10.3847/1538-4357/aa774a Institute of Physics Publishing fulltext
spellingShingle Suresh, A.
Sharma, R.
Oberoi, D.
Das, S.
Pankratius, V.
Timar, B.
Lonsdale, C.
Bowman, J.
Briggs, F.
Cappallo, R.
Corey, B.
Deshpande, A.
Emrich, David
Goeke, R.
Greenhill, L.
Hazelton, B.
Johnston-Hollitt, M.
Kaplan, D.
Kasper, J.
Kratzenberg, E.
Lynch, Mervyn
McWhirter, S.
Mitchell, D.
Morales, M.
Morgan, E.
Ord, S.
Prabu, T.
Rogers, A.
Roshi, A.
Shankar, N.
Srivani, K.
Subrahmanyan, R.
Tingay, Steven
Waterson, M.
Wayth, Randall
Webster, R.
Whitney, A.
Williams, Anne
Williams, C.
Wavelet-based Characterization of Small-scale Solar Emission Features at Low Radio Frequencies
title Wavelet-based Characterization of Small-scale Solar Emission Features at Low Radio Frequencies
title_full Wavelet-based Characterization of Small-scale Solar Emission Features at Low Radio Frequencies
title_fullStr Wavelet-based Characterization of Small-scale Solar Emission Features at Low Radio Frequencies
title_full_unstemmed Wavelet-based Characterization of Small-scale Solar Emission Features at Low Radio Frequencies
title_short Wavelet-based Characterization of Small-scale Solar Emission Features at Low Radio Frequencies
title_sort wavelet-based characterization of small-scale solar emission features at low radio frequencies
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/58276