DETECTION OF SOLAR PARTICLE STREAMS USING HIGH-FREQUENCY RADIO WAVES
Abstract
Interactions between radio waves and charged particles change their character when the particles have high average velocities. The nature of such interactions is investigated assuming no collisions, no external magnetic field, and low particle densities. A stream of such particles makes the medium anisotropic. As a result the medium propagates two waves of unchanging (characteristic) polarization, one linearly polarized perpendicular to the particle stream and a second at right angles to the first. Such a medium can change the polarization ellipse of a propagating wave. The sun produces such streams radiating outward either in the form of a steady 'solar wind' or in bursts associated with sun spots. Three experiments are suggested to detect the streams by measuring polarization of waves propagated through them. The least sensitive of the three, moon radar, would have measurable effects only during increased solar activity, while the other two--transmission to a deep space probe and observation of polarized cosmic noise sources--show effects even during quiet solar conditions. These sensitivities are based on observations of the proton component of the solar wind.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1963
- Accession Number
- AD0406839
Entities
People
- B. B. Lusignan
Organizations
- Stanford University